Is there a connection between philosophy and successful entrepreneurs? The writer of this article seems to think so.
He points out that many of the successful entrepreneurs he can think of have all had backgrounds in philosophy. While of course, not every entrepreneur has to have a philosophy degree, he gives 5 reasons why he thinks philosophy training creates successful entrepreneurs.
My favorite is his second point:
- Philosophers are deeply analytical. Rather than run their businesses on pure gut instinct, they look for evidence. By applying their analytical powers, they are able to reduce business risk.
This makes me think of a movie called Moneyball. It’s based on the true story of the Oakland Athletics 2002 season where their GM, Billy Beane, restructured their entire system for getting and trading players. Instead of focusing on “who’s swing looked the prettiest” or “who’s too old to be good,” he got down to the basic numbers. Who got on base?
After much work and fighting against those around him, he created a team that went further than anybody could have imagined, and in turn, changed the way that the entire league signs and trades players.
This to me seems like an example of how philosophical thinking can greatly impact a business. Instead of just making decisions based on “gut-instincts,” you strip away all of the unnecessary and get to what’s important.
However, most philosophical thinkers tend to think heavily in the abstract, so stripping it down to the basics can be great, but in business, you have to make sure that you are still looking at facts. Philosophical thinkers can be great at thinking of new ideas and changing the way things work, but they have to be careful not to take abstract ideas too far, or they may destroy what’s real.
A very short and to the point article, but a great read nonetheless.