Socrates

Principles are our summary of their public statements.

• Evaluate by Results and Sphere

  Management

  Judge a skill or faculty by the specific area it covers and the actual results it produces rather than its appearance.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Republic  (opens in a new tab)

• Acknowledge Misuse of Talent

  Management

  If the best people seem useless, it is often because the organization or society does not know how to utilize their specific skills correctly.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Republic  (opens in a new tab)

• Imitate Higher Standards

  Leadership

  A leader becomes orderly and effective by constantly looking toward and imitating immutable principles of justice and reason.

  Supporting quotes

  • “O my friend, I said, do not attack the multitude: they will change their minds, if, not in an aggressive spirit, but gently and with the view of soothing them and removing their dislike of over-education, you show them your philosophers as they really are”

    “They will begin by taking the State and the manners of men, from which, as from a tablet, they will rub out the picture, and leave a clean surface.”

  1 more supporting quote is in the member records.

• Move Beyond Basic Hypotheses

  Strategy

  True mastery involves moving from taking assumptions for granted to investigating the higher principles that justify those assumptions.

  Supporting quotes

  • “The many, as we say, are seen but not known, and the ideas are known but not seen.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Use Hypotheses as Stepping Stones

  Strategy

  Treat assumptions and initial data not as final truths, but as temporary platforms to reach a higher level of strategic understanding.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Republic  (opens in a new tab)

• The Duty of the Skilled

  Leadership

  Those who have attained higher knowledge or success must return to help others, ensuring the benefit of the entire community rather than just themselves.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Republic  (opens in a new tab)

• Institutional support drives innovation

  Leadership

  Difficult fields of study only advance when they are patronized by leadership and given honor, attracting talented students and continuous search.

  3 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

  Source The Republic  (opens in a new tab)

• Delay critical theory until maturity

  Hiring

  Introducing advanced critical thinking too early can lead to lawlessness and cynicism; wait until a person is steadfast and orderly.

  Supporting quotes

  • “the capacity for such knowledge is the great criterion of dialectical talent: the comprehensive mind is always the dialectical.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.

• Balance Passion with Reason

  Mindset

  Ambition and spirit are useful, but without the grounding influence of philosophy and reflection, they lead to arrogance and secret avarice.

  Supporting quotes

  • “And what is honoured is cultivated, and that which has no honour is neglected.”

  2 more supporting quotes are in the member records.