First Principles

I had the opportunity recently to talk about this blog with a colleague of mine. He’s a trial lawyer I’ve known for several years and he’s been very successful. While we were talking I told him that I am looking for people who will challenge what I’m saying here, which he gladly did. (Life lesson: it can be dangerous to ask an experienced litigator to challenge your ideas).

Right off the bat, he asked me to describe what I’m trying to say in one pithy statement and I didn’t have an immediate answer.

After we said our goodbyes, I reflected on my inability to answer his direct question with an equally direct answer.

It’s the same question I’ve been struggling with over the last few posts. And here’s the answer:

Business should exist to make life less difficult for as many people as it can.

There are lots of moving pieces in this idea so it will take a bunch more exploration to put all everything in its place. But if somebody asks, that’s the point: making life less difficult.

Published by

Ben

I'm a 30-something lawyer working at a fast-growing tech startup. I read Milton (John and Friedman) for fun. And I'm out to change the world.

2 thoughts on “First Principles”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *