“The best example of the power of simplicity is capitalism. The central genius of capitalism is that all of its complexities, all of the differences between companies, all the challenges, decisions, successes, failures, can be boiled down to one number; profits. That simplification allows capitalism to work. The underlying complexity still exists in business, but creating a clear and simple measure of progress makes capitalism possible. ...Profits tell management when they are doing something right and when they need to do something different. That one simplification, the idea of profit, sits atop the engine of capitalism and largely steers it, albeit sometimes in the wrong direction. You can debate the morality of viewing profits as the top priority in business, but you can't argue that it doesn't work. At most, you can argue that some companies take it too far. But that is the risk of any tool. A hammer is only good if you stop pounding after the nail is all the way in. Keep pounding and you break the wood.”
