Betterness: Economics for Humans (Kindle Single)

But eudaimonia wasn’t an easy, comfortable, materially rich life, but one that was authentically, meaningfully rich: rich with relationships, ideas, emotion, health and vigor, recognition and contribution, passion and fulfillment, and great accomplishment and enduring achievement, exactly what “business,” “output,” and “product” seem so achingly de

“Where and when do we do it?” That is the fourth and final foundational question every organization must ask. Objectives and imperatives both answer it, but in very different ways. Objectives are specific: they concern the present’s circumstances. Imperatives transcend specific circumstances and apply everywhere. Objectives are transient: they are

Consider what Kuhn famously argued: that a paradigm shift happens when we encounter anomalies that can’t be explained by the paradigm responsible for progress thereto. So here’s our anomaly: that industrial-age wealth hasn’t neatly powered lives lived meaningfully well; that near-term profit, gross product, and hyperconsumption haven’t produced a f

What are you going to ensure people can do today that’s meaningful in human terms? How will you honor people’s sovereignty and self-determination?

If you want to enjoy a generative advantage and master the art of poeisis—bringing forth human potential—then I’d like to humbly suggest that your challenge isn’t antagonistic, but protagonistic.

“We will make you better. Here is how we intend to enhance your human potential through the act of exchange: here is what you will excel at.”

Your biggest threat today isn’t external; it’s internal. If you want to go into betterness, if you want to compete in twenty-first-century terms, if you want to take a quantum leap into the future of commerce, well, then it’s not rivals that must be bettered. You yourself must be bettered.

Ask yourself: What kind of products won’t we offer? What products and services will we discourage people from consuming?

When a person is wealthy relationally in social capital, environmentally in natural capital, managerially in organizational capital, personally in human capital, emotionally in emotional capital, and intellectually in intellectual capital, he or she might be said to be authentically, broadly, and deeply rich.

The world today is being swept by tectonic shifts in both supply and demand. On the demand side, what constituencies want is radical—and rapid—change. On the supply side, the productive possibilities and the untapped paths for real wealth creation available to people, entrepreneurs, and organizations are undergoing equally transformative change.