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What does first principles mean?

What is first principles thinking? What's an example?

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Top answer
Agrim
Coach
edited on Aug 03, 2021
#1 Awarded Coach | BCG Dubai Project Leader | Master Casing in only 3 Hours | 10y in Consulting | Free Intro Call

First Principles is a form of problem solving where you take your end objective and work backwards with a fundamental logic to solve the problem. Its an effective way to break down a complex problem into smaller & simpler components.

Here is a common example:

  • Grow a company:
  • This can be done either organically or inorganically
  • If you choose inorganic then the idea will be to evaluate M&A targets
  • If you choose organic then the idea will be to grow revenue
  • Revenue growth can happen by selling more of the same product or same product with higher price
  • If you want to sell more of the same product - you can sell it to your existing customers or new customers
  • If you want to sell to new customers they can either be in the same geography or a new geography
  • etc. etc.
  • keeping chopping at it till you reach the end of the tree
Anonymous B
edited on Aug 03, 2021

first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. It is something that is axiomatic. 

An example of a first principle (in consulting) is that more profit = better. 

12
on May 31, 2024
#1 rated McKinsey Coach

I wish more people would be asking about this. 

Especially these days, it's the biggest thing you can do to distinguish your performance from that of others. 

I see Agrim provided a good answer already, but if you want to do deeper into this, I recently launched a masterclass on this. More about it here:

Masterclass: First Principle Structuring

Best,
Cristian

Ian
Coach
on Aug 03, 2021
Top US BCG / MBB Coach - 5,000 sessions |Tech, Platinion, Big 4 | 9/9 personal interviews passed | 95% candidate success

Hi there,

Can you provide us a bit of context here? Where are you seeing this being referenced?

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