Founder mindset: be a philosopher of entrepreneurship

The world is loud. Social media campaigns, podcasts full of opinions, radio phone-ins and hosts deliberately triggering arguments, a storm of noise that never ends. And then there’s Gary Neville. All pull at your attention, demand your energy, and dare you to stay calm. Most people are ruled by this storm. Their emotions shift with every new event. They react before they think. They let the world set their rhythm. Enjoy the silence? I wish.

The distracting sounds all around us can contribute to uneasiness if we allow them to and certainly disrupt and invade any tranquillity for reflective thinking. Even pleasant sounds can pull us away from the personal growth and well-being that is available when we get quiet and turn within. Silence serves as a reminder that in quiet moments of personal space, there is great opportunity for insight. 

The soft voice of our true inner nature speaks from the heart, not the head. To hear this voice entails a process of moving inward. First, we turn away from the outer noise. We then move past the inner noise of the critical, thinking mind. Finally, we arrive at the spaciousness of the heart, where we listen with the whole body and not just our ears  to inspire meditative listening.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. Silence isn't empty; it's full of answers. Silence is golden unless you have kids. Then silence is suspicious. As Thomas Edison said, the best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.

Many startup founders make a lot of noise and parade their frenzy. Others live differently. The more successful founders do it differently, they work in silence and let their success make the noise. They learn the discipline of being unmoved by chaos. Not because they are indifferent or cold, but because they understand that peace cannot depend on control, only on mastery of the self. They practice the lessons and philosophy of the Stoics.

Many of the everyday fundamentals of our Western lifestyles come from the Ancient Greeks – democracy, drama, all-action blockbuster war epics, and lying around thinking about stuff, or philosophising as it’s known. All activities in the Eastern Mediterranean 2,500 years ago, and all still popular today in our house  – as well as other aspects of their culture including souvlaki, ouzo, lashings of taramasalata and a big, chunky feta salad.

Greek dancing and plate smashing are optional and mostly accidental for me, but my affection for all-things Greek stems from the fact that I met my future wife as a student whilst on holiday in Corfu back in the halcyon summer of 1984. It was a Greek holiday romance which blossomed to the sun-drenched sounds of bouzouki, fuelled by dolmades and lashings of Ionian wine.

The rendezvous back in England survived the irrepressible deities etched on the cheap pottery bought as presents too -

– but every time we have Greek food - yesterday Moussaka – memories of that first, ever-lasting encounter, and the Greek influence on our way of life with their pioneering attitudes, once again come into my thoughts. There is no doubt Greek philosophy can help us understand more about ourselves as individuals, and as entrepreneurs,

A quote from Plato struck a chord with me when thinking about this blog as being very relevant to startup thinking: The beginning is the most important part of your work. Plato encourages us to get our hands dirty and see what transpires. Even if we fail, at least we know the outcome. Never starting doesn’t teach us anything. Whilst Greek philosophers have a reputation for free thinking, look again, as in reality, they were realistic and pragmatic. They understood that things often go the opposite of the way that we want them to, so it’s all about thinking things through and reflecting. Doing so will make you a more successful, thoughtful and self-assured entrepreneur.

They all had some lessons for our entrepreneurial endeavours. Socrates, for example, insisted on thinking for ourselves. Too often, he warned, humans sleepwalk through life, simply going along with the crowd. Socrates believed in talking problems through, that being in conversation helps you work issues out by inspecting or analysing another person’s point.

Pythagoras would have something to say about today’s data revolution, although he was great at maths he had no desire to employ it practically. Pythagoras loved the number three because it had a beginning, middle, and end. But three had some stiff competition in ten, which Pythagoras thought was the ideal number. So good was the number ten that Pythagorans would never gather in groups of more than ten.

As an entrepreneur, adopting some of these philosophical approaches can provide a sense of perspective and enable the right state of mind. At its heart it’s about thinking, which is in your power to control and ditching the rest as noise. So, let’s look at the traits of Plato and others, and how we can benefit from their philosophical outlook on life for our startups.

They loved debate An important trait that all philosophers have is the ability to follow an argument all the way to the end. As an entrepreneur, it’s an essential skill, healthy discussion becomes more important when your business starts to grow. Debate is often the key to finding the most effective course of action from a range of options. Encouraging your team to share a different point of view is healthy. Remember, you’re not trying to win arguments (be right), rather, you’re trying to find the best path forward (get it right), so embracing other perspectives is powerful.

They were comfortable with the uncomfortable As an entrepreneur, you have to make decisions on issues that aren’t always conveniently black and white, you have to get comfortable working in an environment of uncertainty and unknowns. If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster. Ambiguity is nothing new. Embracing it teaches you to manage uncertainty and stay calm.

You’ll likely spend a lot of your time operating in the unknown, so you’ll need to be able to tolerate ambiguity. Next time you find yourself at a fork in the road, think about making a decision with 51% confidence, simply look at the balance of outcomes and make a judgement call. While it’s not ideal, it’s far better than procrastinating and waiting for easy solutions that never present themselves.

They see the big picture in the smallest details If you can’t see the big picture, you can end up going randomly anywhere, wasting time and energy. It’s easy to get side-tracked by details and suddenly find yourself floundering in the long grass. Taking a more philosophical approach helps you envision how smaller decisions fit into bigger ones, playing back your thinking. One way to ensure that you’re always on the right track is to step back, reflect and go back to your vision and big picture, and your broader horizon, and consider how minor tweaks might affect your future expansion plans.

They keep their emotions in check Your passion makes the difference as an entrepreneur to what you do, but never confuse enthusiasm with capability. In philosophy, you detach from your emotions and make decisions with logic. As an entrepreneur, that’s a valuable lesson, since it’s easy to fall in love with a new idea, and overlook obvious flaws.

They dissect complex problems Einstein said, If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and five minutes thinking about solutions. This highlights a skill that philosophers mastered: the ability to break down complex problems into simpler ones. As an entrepreneur, you’ll have to solve complex problems early and often. You’ll have a leg up if you can break the big stuff down into digestible pieces, rather than trying to solve it all at once.

The philosophy of Stoicism has become an influence on entrepreneurial thinking. It focuses on four core principles:

• Make the best use of your time

• Be the master of your emotions

• Walk the path of virtue

• Develop self-mastery

The key is stripping back the excess, keeping things simple and straight forward, it’s vital we focus on the signals and not the noise. Stoicism reminds us that amidst this maelstrom, we need to be mindful, fully present and aware, exercise self-control rather than being lost to emotion and random thoughts. It can build the resilience and state of mind required to rebound from knockbacks, so lets look at the four tenets of Stoicism and how they impact an entrepreneur.

Make the best use of time Some periods of time are snatched from us, some are stolen and some simply seep away. Yet the most shameful loss is the loss due to carelessness – Seneca. Seneca reminds us to not waste our time because time is precious. In other words, be clear with your intentions for the day and be firm on getting goals complete. Design your week in a way that makes sense for you.

Be the master of your emotions The Stoics teach us that unpredictable things happen that we can’t control, but we can control how we respond. Responding (as opposed to reacting) requires you to be in control of your emotions, thoughts, and daily habits.

Entrepreneurs often have to figure out a way to make something possible within all the things that are impossible, and can’t waste time complaining or blaming because of deadlines to meet - we have too much on our plate to worry about that.

Take time to think before responding to pressure and avoiding immediate reaction is a difficult style to develop, but invaluable. If you’re frustrated with a business situation that is seemingly running away from you, close your laptop and go outside, calming your emotions will help you to think more clearly.

Walk the path of virtue As a startup entrepreneur, there will be plenty of ethical dilemmas requiring you to make difficult choices. Take a moment to think through the possible ways you could respond, and consequences. Cross out the negative responses and circle the positive ones. These are your virtuous reactions.

Develop self-mastery The Greeks famously called this form of self-discipline askesis. Seneca writes It is precisely in these days that we need to discipline our spirit, for the spirit gives the strongest proof of its resolve by not being attracted or distracted by pleasures which lead to self-indulgence.

Founders need to achieve goals within specific time periods, they want to see results. That’s not to say you can’t have any self-indulgence, but taking a more thoughtful approach adopting some of the lessons from Greek philosophers has merit. Instead of the usual headlong rush into getting stuff done, take a deep breath, open your mind and speak the future into being.

As an entrepreneur, if you believe, as the Greeks did, that man is at the mercy of the Gods, then you write tragedy. The end is inevitable from the start. However, with a more positive mindset, if you believe that man can solve his own problems and is at nobody's mercy, then as an entrepreneur you can write melodrama and romance.

Which takes me back to Corfu, August 1984. In the middle of a relentless hot sunny day, I was relaxing under a cafe awning quaffing ouzo with souvlaki and kolokythokeftedes, the Mediterranean Sea breeze blowing gently. I started a flirtatious chat which has become a lifetime conversation with a girl from Oldham. Later, we danced around the local Vassilopoulos supermarket, before getting on a ferry to the mainland, but that’s for another blog.