Welcome to the weekend.

This week marks a significant milestone: the 10th anniversary of my book Profit & Purpose: How Social Innovation Is Transforming Business for Good.

I fondly recall the book launch party at my favorite bookstore, followed by an unforgettable afterparty. We managed to fit 80+ people into my apartment, with a line stretching down the hall. It was certainly a night to remember. If you're curious, you can find some photos from the event on my Instagram.

While the book itself was a labor of love and not a commercial blockbuster, it's been remarkable to witness how its core ideas have evolved over the past decade. What was once considered fringe thinking has now become mainstream.

Consider these developments: 1) The Business Roundtable redefined the purpose of corporations to serve all stakeholders. 2) Blackrock, the world's largest asset manager, now emphasizes the importance of companies pursuing positive social and environmental impact alongside profitability.

The concept that profit and purpose can coexist has gained broad acceptance. The idea that business can be a force for good in the world is now taken seriously. I believe this trend will only strengthen with each passing generation.

Interestingly, I started this newsletter as a way to market the book. It's since grown to over 200,000 subscribers and has arguably been more impactful than the book itself. It just goes to show that success often comes in unexpected forms.

Thank you all for being part of this journey. Here's to continued progress in transforming business for good.

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Prime Numbers

14,855,000 — Basketball legend Michael Jordan has struggled to sell his massive Chicago-area estate since 2012, slashing the price from $29 million to $14.85 million, where it has remained for nearly a decade despite inflation and high property taxes.

14 — Shipping rates from Asia to Europe have plummeted, with the Shanghai-Rotterdam route falling 14% in one week, as demand peaks early due to longer travel routes avoiding the Red Sea, while transpacific rates saw a smaller 3% decrease.

1.23 — In October 2023, Americans wrote an average of 1.23 checks per month, a dramatic decrease from 2000 when they wrote about five checks per month (60 per year).

3D Printed Guns

A silent revolution in firearms is unfolding through 3D printing technology, with the FGC-9 at its forefront. This semiautomatic weapon, designed to bypass gun laws, can be assembled using a commercial 3D printer and basic metalworking skills. Unlike earlier homemade firearms, the FGC-9 requires no regulated parts, making it virtually untraceable. Its rapid spread to at least 15 countries, embraced by various groups from insurgents to drug traffickers, has alarmed law enforcement worldwide. The gun's creation, rooted in online communities continuously refining designs, represents a significant shift in how firearms are acquired and distributed globally, challenging traditional notions of gun control and regulation. New York Times (2 minutes)

Elite Athletes v. Grandmasters

In the high-stakes arena of decision-making, elite athletes and chess grandmasters represent two extremes of our cognitive capabilities. For the athlete, success hinges on split-second choices driven by the lightning-fast, intuitive System 1 thinking — a process so rapid that conscious thought can actually hinder performance. Conversely, the chess grandmaster excels through the deliberate, analytical approach of System 2, meticulously calculating moves and potential outcomes. This stark contrast, illuminated by the groundbreaking work of psychologists Kahneman and Tversky, reveals the intricate dance between our instinctive and reflective mental processes, each vital in its own domain. Big Think (6 minutes)

Underground Nuclear

Underground nuclear reactors are emerging as an innovative approach to nuclear power generation, offering enhanced safety and security benefits. By placing reactors deep underground, the earth itself acts as a natural shield against accidents, extreme weather and potential attacks. This design also provides cost and environmental advantages, with a smaller surface footprint and reduced need for expensive containment structures. However, significant challenges exist in construction, design and emergency response for these subterranean facilities. Companies like Deep Fission are pioneering concepts such as mile-deep reactors in narrow boreholes, but regulatory hurdles and complex engineering requirements must be overcome before widespread adoption becomes feasible. Despite these obstacles, underground nuclear reactors represent a promising direction for safer, more secure nuclear energy production. RSiS (5 minutes)

Model Collapse

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) faces a critical challenge called "model collapse," where training on synthetic data leads to increasing errors and eventual gibberish output. This occurs because AI-generated content contains subtle flaws that become amplified in subsequent generations, affecting all types of generative AI. With AI content rapidly spreading online, even models not intentionally trained on synthetic data may inadvertently ingest it, exacerbating the problem. Developers are urgently seeking solutions, including better AI detection tools and human oversight of training data, but the scale of the issue and need for vast amounts of high-quality training data make finding a comprehensive solution challenging. Big Think (9 minutes)

Wisdom Work

The modern workplace is experiencing two significant demographic shifts: an aging workforce and younger managers rising to senior positions. Rather than creating generational conflict, these changes present an opportunity to embrace "wisdom work" as the new "knowledge work." Chip Conley argues that with five generations now in the workplace, companies can benefit from intergenerational wisdom sharing. Benefits include improved employee retention, more productive age-diverse teams, better understanding of worker needs, and the elevation of wisdom's value. To harness these benefits, organizations can implement wisdom-management practices such as distilling team lessons, making wise employees more accessible, developing "mentern" programs for reciprocal mentorship and sharing intergenerational process knowledge. By valuing human wisdom alongside artificial intelligence, companies can create a balanced and effective workplace that leverages the strengths of all generations. Harvard Business Review (13 minutes)

High Schoolers Should Do Less

In the relentless pursuit of academic excellence, high school students are drowning in a sea of expectations. Valedictorian titles have lost their meaning as schools crown dozens, even hundreds, in a single graduating class. This educational arms race pushes teenagers to cram their schedules with honors classes, extracurriculars and endless commitments, leaving no time for genuine learning or reflection. The pressure cooker environment not only fails to prepare students for college but also takes a severe toll on their mental health. By allowing students to do less and focus more, we might just help them achieve something far more valuable than perfect grades: the ability to think critically and learn deeply. New York Times (7 minutes)

Follow Your Natural Drift

Life's most fulfilling path often lies in following your natural drift — the subtle force that guides you toward authentic interests and opportunities. Charlie Munger, the billionaire investor, emphasized this principle as key to his success. Like birds thriving by embracing their unique traits, humans flourish when they align actions with innate passions. This approach involves moving beyond comfort zones, pursuing curiosity and resisting societal pressures. Munger argues that true achievement comes from relentless engagement with one's interests, continuously practicing a multidisciplinary approach to learning and growth. By obeying our nature's drift, we unlock our potential for success, happiness, and a life rich with purpose and meaning. Postantly (8 minutes)

Should We Work Together?

Hi! I’m Kyle. This newsletter is my passion project. When I’m not writing, I run a law firm that helps startups move fast without breaking things. Most founders want a trusted legal partner, but they hate surprise legal bills. At Westaway, we take care of your startup’s legal needs for a flat, monthly fee so you can control your costs and focus on scaling your business. If you’re interested, let’s jump on a call to see if you’re a good fit for the firm. Click here to schedule a one-on-one call with me.

Founder Fridays

Check out my other email Founder Fridays — a Friday morning briefing helping startup founders and operators scale smarter.

Weekend Wisdom

Business is a powerful force for good when it is built around purpose. Increasingly, business leaders are recognizing that they must think beyond next quarter's results and consider the long-term impact of their decisions on employees, communities, and the planet. -Marc Benioff