Why the best managers are often philosophical

“Life cannot wait until the sciences may have explained the universe scientifically. We cannot put off living until we are ready. The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness: it is always urgent, ‘here and now’ without any possible postponement. Life is fired at us point blank” - Jose Ortegay Gasset.

With everything seeming to be always-on urgent, would you think those who studied philosophy would fit in? If business is about – ‘creating and capturing value’ what is the value of often studying abstract ideas and concepts? Is it that those with a philosophical orientation have taught themselves how to think, and to ‘learn how to learn’?

Business thinking can be like drinking from a shallow well; it may soon run dry. Strange how some of the most successful people in business never really made it their formal study. Often, they dropped out of university or studied something completely different.

Academics would argue that -- philosophy is the study of a variety of fundamental questions about the nature of ourselves and the world we live in. Making the case that a study of philosophy requires an emphasis on clarity, precision, and careful, rigorous arguments.

Palantir Technologies case

One of the world’s most successful tech companies, Palantir Technologies has a market capitalisation, or net worth of approximately $197.95 billion and recently grew by 36 percent year- on-year.

Both its main investor and CEO studied philosophy. Though one could argue this is a flaw in inductive logic, it seems having a solid foundation in philosophy helped both Peter Thiel, with a BA in philosophy from Stanford and CEO Alex Karp, who has a doctorate in philosophy from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.

Palantir is an American publicly traded company, specialising in software platforms for big data analytics, servicing both corporates and the intelligence communities.

“Palantir delivers mission-critical outcomes for the West's most important institutions” is their slightly ominous description, making one wonder what they really do?

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, founded by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, and Alex Karp in 2003, the company initially struggled to find investors.

According to Karp, Sequoia Capital chairman Michael Moritz doodled through an entire meeting, and a Kleiner Perkins executive lectured the founders about the inevitable failure of their company.

The only early investments were $2 million from the US Central Intelligence Agency's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel, and $30 million from Thiel himself and his venture capital firm, Founders Fund.

Foundation in analysis, not fluff

So, what is the value of studying philosophy, either self-taught, or more formally? A grounding is philosophy allows one to dissect arguments, identify underlying assumptions, and evaluate evidence. All essential for making sound business decisions.

At the end of the day, it helps to be able to think logically and systematically, crucial for developing sound business strategies and solutions. And, most importantly, something that is not too common - is the ability to question the status quo, established norms and practices in business.

Understanding how innovation usually pops up from the most unexpected places and a willingness to challenge the conventions favour those with a philosophical bent.

In problem solving, it helps to be able to reduce issues to the fundamental truths – asking, at the most basic level, what do we know to be true? Then work up from there, avoiding the temptation to always work by analogy, which may risk simply being a ‘cut and paste’ approach.

However, putting on a ‘thinking by analogy hat’ can’t be discounted. It is always helpful to draw comparisons and connections between seemingly unrelated things to gain insights. It is useful to notice similarities and apply knowledge from one domain to another.

Value in dropping out, or stopping studies?

Ever the philosophical contrarian thinker in 2011, Peter Thiel launched the Thiel Fellowship, a programme that offers support to young innovators under 22 – but only if they ditch college to pursue their own entrepreneurial projects. “Knowledge that is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind,” notes the fellowship, quoting Plato.

“Thiel Fellowship is a two-year programme for young people who want to build new things. Thiel Fellows skip or stop out of college to receive a $100,000 grant and support from the Thiel Foundation’s network of founders, investors, and scientists.”

“College can be good for learning about what’s been done before, but it can also discourage you from doing something new. Each of our fellows charts a unique course; together they have proven that young people can succeed by thinking for themselves instead of following a traditional track and competing on old career tracks,” states the Thiel Fellowship website.

Business success is all about being open to possibility and awareness. Seeing what others may have missed, avoiding being single minded doctrinaire. In a word: philosophical.

Eric Hoffer put it this way: “When we believe ourselves in possession of the only truth, we are likely to be indifferent to common everyday truths.”

David [email protected] is a director at aCatalyst Consulting.