Virtue

“With great power comes great responsibility” – Voltaire

In recent years, we have seen the crackdown of powers left unchecked in the Valley. While the founders were found guilty, the venture capitalists are partly responsible, for they reinforced these behaviors in these individuals. However, I get it: we prioritize the wrong things at times. In the short term, the idea, the story, and the people behind it are greatly appealing. However, in the long term, I think virtue becomes much more correlated with value.

Being Virtuous

I believe being virtuous requires a high level of self-awareness. To be more self-aware, founders would benefit by asking themselves: Why am I doing this? Is it for money? For fame?

I think tying one’s company to their ego is quite risky. While one may find financial success, as is often the case, it may come at a steep price – oftentimes, not worth the cost. The ego is highly malleable and subject to wants and needs, which are neverending.

I am not saying to set aside your ego, for it is an important drive in dealing with societal forces. However, beyond the ego, I believe one can find cores that are steadfast and much stronger. It takes a bit of work to get at these and even more work to instill virtue.

Value

So, then, how could virtue be correlated with value? Well, let us assume the economy is a closed system (this may very well be fact, but that’s beside the point). Then, any loss should have an opposite gain – whether it be lesser, equal, or greater. Moral fallout such as the likes of Theranos and FTX has resulted in billions of dollars lost, not including opportunity cost. Taking the case of Theranos, if Holmes had admitted that her device could not work, we could have saved so much time (hers and employees) and money wasted on keeping the facade going. I argue you could say this for any case of moral fallout. History is laden with scandals. Take a look, and you decide.  

Conclusion

Virtue is hard to come by and even harder to maintain. The darker periods in history are associated with a lack of virtue, and the good times are a result of virtue. Respect virtue, and you will find abundance.