Aristotle

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Eliminate waste in design

  Product

  Every part of a product or organization should serve a specific purpose, as nature itself avoids creating anything without a function.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Wikiquote: Aristotle  (opens in a new tab)

• Define the Ultimate Mark

  Strategy

  A leader must identify a single supreme goal to ensure all actions are purposeful and not futile, much like an archer needs a definite target.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It is impossible for the same attribute at once to belong and not to belong to the same thing and in the same relation”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Build on First Principles

  Learning

  Effective learning and action require a foundation of moral training or basic principles that one can easily apply without needing constant formal reasons.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It is impossible for the same attribute at once to belong and not to belong to the same thing and in the same relation”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Start with a Rough Outline

  Strategy

  Begin complex projects with a rough sketch and use time as a partner to fill in the details and refine the work later.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Wikiquote: Aristotle  (opens in a new tab)

• Master the Art of Analogy

  Creativity

  Developing an eye for resemblances through metaphors is a unique skill that allows one to communicate complex ideas creatively.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Thus every action must be due to one or other of seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reasoning, anger, or appetite.”

    “It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Avoid Youthful Extremes

  Leadership

  Recognize that passion and high expectations can lead to excess; strive for moderation rather than acting solely on vehemence.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Thus every action must be due to one or other of seven causes: chance, nature, compulsion, habit, reasoning, anger, or appetite.”

    “It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Define by function not form

  Product

  A product or service should be defined by the value it creates or the reality it imitates, rather than the technical tools used to build it.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Commonly people attach the 'making' to the metre and say 'elegiac-makers', 'hexameter-makers,' giving them a common class-name by their metre, as if it was not their imitation that makes them 'makers”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Structure Is the Foundation

  Product

  A project can succeed with a strong underlying plot even if the details are weak, but beautiful details cannot save a broken structure.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Aristotle on the art of poetry  (opens in a new tab)

• Prioritize Unity Over Subject

  Focus

  Focusing on a single person or topic does not guarantee unity; every part must be logically connected to form a single, inseparable action.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Aristotle on the art of poetry  (opens in a new tab)

• Maintain Internal Consistency

  Product

  Ensure that every action or feature of a product follows logically from its established identity, even if that identity is complex.

  Supporting quotes

  • “the Denouement also should arise out of the plot itself, arid not depend on a stage-artifice”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Master every phase of delivery

  Product

  It is not enough to have a great opening or premise; the final resolution and delivery must be handled with equal skill to avoid failure.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source Aristotle on the art of poetry  (opens in a new tab)

• Build on Real Power Balances

  Strategy

  A stable organization must reflect the actual strength and interests of its stakeholders rather than an abstract ideal.

  Supporting quotes

  • “Democracy, he explains, is the government not of the many but of the poor; oligarchy a government not of the few but of the rich.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Solve for portability and trust

  Strategy

  The invention of money solved the problem of transporting bulky goods and the inefficiency of weighing metals. Standardized currency acts as a 'stamp' of value to facilitate smoother trade.

  Supporting quotes

  • “wealth is very often supposed to consist in the quantity of money which any one possesses, as this is the medium by which all trade is conducted”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Prevent resource depletion

  Strategy

  Laws and systems must ensure that essential resources, like land or capital, do not become so concentrated that the organization cannot survive a crisis.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It seems to me indeed, if nothing else, yet something very troublesome to keep upon proper terms with them; for if you are remiss in your discipline they grow insolent, and think themselves upon an equality with their masters”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Mandate accountability for life-terms

  Leadership

  Even the most virtuous individuals should be held answerable for their conduct, especially when holding positions of power for life, as the mind ages like the body.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It seems to me indeed, if nothing else, yet something very troublesome to keep upon proper terms with them; for if you are remiss in your discipline they grow insolent, and think themselves upon an equality with their masters”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Seek Objective Counsel

  Mindset

  Individuals are often incapable of forming a proper judgment about their own affairs due to self-partiality, so they should consult peers.

  Supporting quotes

  • “two men of worth are certainly better than one”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Prioritize Happiness Over Necessity

  Mindset

  A successful community or business is not established just for basic survival but for the higher purpose of achieving excellence and happiness.

  Supporting quotes

  • “If, then, the mind is a more valuable part of man than the body, every one would wish to have those things more regarded in his city which tend to the advantage of these”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Practicality Over Idealism

  Strategy

  Focus on systems and goals that the majority of people can actually attain rather than impossible standards of perfection.

  Supporting quotes

  • “It is therefore the greatest happiness which the citizens can enjoy to possess a moderate and convenient fortune”

    “The middle state is therefore best, as being least liable to those seditions and insurrections which disturb the community”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Scale dictates specialization

  Management

  Large organizations should assign one person to one task for maximum focus, while small organizations must have individuals handle multiple roles.

  Supporting quotes

  • “in small states it is necessary that a few of the citizens should execute many employments; for their numbers are so small it will not be convenient to have many of them in office at the same time”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Watch the bold and successful

  Hiring

  Individuals with both high ability and high courage are the most likely to challenge existing authority when they feel undervalued.

  Supporting quotes

  • “even a man's friends will do this if they despise him; for from the confidence he places in them, they think that they shall not be found out.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.