Karen Dillon

New York Times best-selling author and speaker

"One of the Best Management Books of 2023"

There is a force in our everyday lives that we aren't even aware of—and it's so powerful it threatens to derail otherwise promising careers and lives: microstress. It's the hidden epidemic of small moments of anxiety that infiltrate both our work and personal lives. Here's what you can do to fight back.

TED Talk: Do you have a strategy for your life?

Watch Karen's powerful talk at TEDx BYU.

How Will You Measure Your Life? workshop

Everyone aspires to have a satisfying professional life -- and enough balance to have a satisfying personal life, too. But so many people fail to achieve that. How can you get this right? In this workshop, Karen Dillon can help your employees understand how the choices they are making can play out over the course of their life and how to course-correct before it's too late.

Books by Karen Dillon

New York Times best-seller How Will You Measure Your Life. "One of the more surprisingly powerful books of personal philosophy of the 21st century." -- Forbes

(HarperCollins, January 2019)

"The Prosperity Paradox by Clayton Christensen, Efosa Ojomo, and Karen Dillon is a timely must-read on the mindset change that turns poverty into opportunity and enables the creation of sustainable prosperity. As World Bank Treasurer, I saw first-hand how the innovative approaches described in this compelling easy to read primer empowers development practitioners and businesses to seek out these profitable opportunities."- Arunma Oteh, former World Bank Treasurer

About the Author

Karen Dillon, Editor, Writer, Storyteller

Karen Dillon is a 3x co-author with revered Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, including their New York Times best-selling collaboration, How Will You Measure Your Life? She is also the co-author The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems--and What to Do about It with Rob Cross, which was named by the Financial Times as one of the best reads of the summer 2023 and the Thinkers50 Best Management Books of 2023. A former editor of Harvard Business Review, Karen is on the faculty of Intermountain Healthcare Leadership Institute, where she leads workshops on living a purposeful life. She was named by Ashoka as one of the most inspiring women in the world.

It's a wrap! With Clayton Christensen

A decade of collaboration. "Karen managed to translate complex thoughts into something that is both clear and powerful at the same time. Karen writes by understanding my mind and my heart simultaneously and has done a beautiful job capturing both. As a writer, she is unsurpassed. She truly has been an invaluable thought partner, collaborator, and friend. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have the chance to work with Karen."--Clayton Christensen

A popular keynote and workshop speaker:

"Nearly a week later, we all are still talking about Karen's talk and the impact it had, especially at a time in all of our lives when we are questioning everything and looking for ways to establish or re-establish normalcy. She seamlessly tied together the two biggest ways many of us will measure ourselves – personal lives and career success. And she provided tools and tactics for how to think about the impact each has on the other, as well as the false notions many of us chase when we put title, salary and prestige ahead of purpose, respect and growth. Most of us probably would've been in tears if she'd presented live, so I'm relieved we had the barrier of virtualness to keep the crying jags at bay."

--Anne Marie Squeo, Chief Communications and Brand Officer at Xerox

"The lessons you shared on mastering office politics informed and inspired VA employees, who continue to face great challenges as a result of the events of the past year. I've received many messages from staff members today wanting to express their appreciation. Please accept theirs along with mine. It was such a great pleasure to work with you, Karen. You have the unique ability to engage anaudience with your warmth, authenticity and wisdom. That's a rare skill and I'm grateful VA employees were able to listen in as you outlined some of the valuable insights you presented in your book. I also appreciated your willingness to answer questions from the audience. You addressed sensitive issues spontaneously with great diplomacy and creativity."

--Moira Shaughnessy, Office of Talent Management, US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Distinguished Speaker Series