First Principles Reasoning

Employ First Principles Reasoning

First principles reasoning starts by identifying the facts and assumptions on which a problem rests. Break the situation into its core pieces, examine what you have taken for granted, and build a solution from what you can support.

When I wanted to leave my job, I knew I was unhappy, but doubts kept me going back and forth. “What if a new job doesn’t pan out? What if I get a bad reference? What if my boss gets angry when I give him my resignation?”

I separated my goal from those fears. I wanted a job I could be happy in. Finding another position, posting my resume while still employed, resigning, and securing a reference were problems to address, rather than reasons to assume I could not leave.

One assumption was that my boss would be angry and refuse to give me a reference. When I spoke to him, that did not happen. I resigned professionally, received an excellent reference, and was in a more satisfying position by the end of the year. I had let an imagined reaction stand in for information about the actual situation.

The practical steps are:

• Define the goal as specifically as you can.
• List the obstacles, distinguishing known constraints from feared possibilities.
• Examine the assumptions behind each obstacle and test those you can.
• Develop a solution that fits the facts of your situation.

In my case, a direct conversation with my boss helped resolve an uncertainty I had been treating as a certainty. Someone else’s career-change story could suggest questions, but it could not tell me how my own boss would respond.