Classical

Philosophies and
their Implications
on Business
 SOCRATES
The Gad-Fly at the Marketplace

“The unexamined life is not

worth living”

(469-339 BCE)
What Entrepreneurs
can Learn from
Socrates
Socratic Method
a systematic process for
examining the ideas, questions, and
answers that form the basis of human
belief. It involves recognizing that all
new understanding is linked to prior
understandiing, that thought itself
is a continous thread woven
throughout lives rather than
isolated sets of questions
and answers
Socratic Method
A way of thinking that allows
indivisuals to define their own
purpose for learning and explore this
purpose through open-minded
questioning of what they hold to be
true
The Socratic Method and
Entrepreneurial Learning
1. The Socratic Method Provides Focus
Through Clarity of Purpose

“To examine [their] values,

principles, and beliefs”
-Reich

“Whay are we here? Why do

we exist as an organization?”
1. The Socratic Method Provides Focus
Through Clarity of Purpose

“To examine [their] values,

principles, and beliefs”
-Reich

Founders who define values, goals, and

concepts for their company sets a clear
direction for the organization
2. Use the Socratic Mindset to Develop and
Reinforce an Entrepreneurial Mindset

“Socratic method is better used to

demonstrate complexity, difficulty, and
uncertainty than at eliciting facts about
the world”
- Reich
2. Use the Socratic Mindset to Develop and
Reinforce an Entrepreneurial Mindset

The Socratic priciples of defining

current beliefs, developing a question
and setting up experiments to
discover new insights are the core
buildings blocks to entrepreneurial
learning
Dare to Disagree
 Does your organinzation
encourage independent thinkers and
people who follow their own
conscience?
Does it allow people to give
critical feedback to managers?
Does it create good opportunities
for good people to blow the whistle
on bad behavior?

Dare to Disagree
 Philosophies of
Socrates and their
Implications on
Business