I found Brooks' article to be timely and poignant and appreciated your pointing out that the two lives offered do not have to be mutually exclusive paths.  Clayton Christensen wrote a companion piece, "How Will You Measure Your Life?" on the HBR site.  It's well worth reading: http://hbr.org/2010/07/how-will-you-measure-your-life/ar/1
Thank you,

Chris Oestereich
The Right-Brained PM