Clayton Christensen

It was 1969 or 1970. I was a senior at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. Miss Hickman the guidance counselor called me into her office. She was looking for a student to take with her to watch Governor Rampton sign a piece of legislation dealing with gifted and talented children. I don’t think I was her first choice, but she didn’t have much notice and I was the best she could do.

We piled into her enormous olive green Plymouth and drove to the state capitol. We waited in the reception area of the governor’s office. Soon after we arrived another high school student joined us. He was the student body president of West High School, just down the hill from the state capitol building. He introduced himself. His name was Clayton Christensen.

The receptionist ushered us in to meet the governor. Governor Rampton was astonished to see us. He was clearly expecting elementary aged children and here we were, a couple of fully grown high school students. Tall high school students! I am six feet two and Clayton was several inches taller than me.

Clayton Christensen really was gifted. He went on to become a professor of economics at Harvard University where he developed the influential theory of disruptive innovation.

As for me, in spite of studying computer science at Stanford, I never got around to starting an innovative Silicon Valley startup that became worth billions by disrupting an entire industry.

Nathan Chen

Back in 2003, I was in the habit of ice skating for half an hour before going to work. I often saw a three-year-old boy skating while his mother watched from the sidelines. He was such fun to watch! He was already really good, and he skated with so much joy. The boy was Nathan Chen, who grew up to become a world-famous figure skater.