There is a major shift underway in the philosophy of business — a shift in how we think about it — and that shift in thought is producing a fundamental change in how companies behave.

For the whole of the twentieth century, business purpose was narrowly defined. Milton Friedman’s famous New York Times essay captured the prevailing orthodoxy: the sole purpose of business was to maximize profits for shareholders. CEO performance was judged against quarterly earnings targets; stock prices were the ultimate scoreboard. In corporations, the culture was “inside-out”: value was believed to originate within the firm — in design studios, production lines, and distribution networks — and then to be pushed out into the market.

Today, that philosophy is being reversed. We are entering an “outside-in” era in which value is defined, created, and judged not inside the company, but in the lived experiences of customers. Profit remains important, but it is now a by-product of value creation, not the purpose of the firm.

This is not a tweak to corporate strategy. It is a civilizational shift — a move toward more human-centered commerce and greater well-being for people everywhere.

From Profit Maximization to Value Creation

In the emerging era, the singular focus is on value for customers — and value is subjective. It exists only in the mind of the customer, shaped by perceptions, preferences, and personal circumstances. It is created through experience, and that experience belongs to the customer, not the company.

This shift forces a radical change in behavior. No longer can companies decide in isolation what to make, how to package it, and what price to charge. Customers are in direct conversation with producers through digital platforms, real-time feedback, and personalized interfaces. They will only buy what they believe improves their lives from their own point of view.

The result? The balance of power in the marketplace has flipped. The customer calls the shots. Firms must adapt or disappear.

Better Life Experiences for Customers

Value-creating companies measure their success by the quality of the life experiences they enable for customers:

• More fulfillment and enjoyment
• Greater convenience and comfort
• Enhanced knowledge and productivity
• A richer sense of personal achievement

The aim is not just to deliver a product or service, but to contribute meaningfully to the customer’s quality of life. Under the old “inside-out” model, businesses decided what was valuable. In the new “outside-in” model, the customer decides — and companies win only by aligning their services to that decision.

Greater Fulfillment for Individuals Inside Firms

This new system is also better for the individuals who create value within firms. In place of rigid management hierarchies, the most respected roles are those closest to the customer. Frontline colleagues become the primary sensors of opportunity.

Knowledge flows quickly from customer interactions to everyone in the firm, without waiting for management approval. Teams respond in real time. People feel connected to purpose, not just to process. When customers are treasured, so are the individuals who serve them.

Entrepreneurship Unleashed

The essence of value creation is entrepreneurship — the organized and purposeful pursuit of new ways to improve customers’ lives. It is not confined to startups. It is a discipline for every business, at every scale.

Entrepreneurship thrives on sensing unmet needs, experimenting with new solutions, and rapidly innovating, adding iterative improvement based on feedback. It is the antidote to bureaucracy, which defends the status quo, demands compliance, and slows innovation.

Firms that master entrepreneurship at scale outperform precisely because they dismantle bureaucratic barriers and put creative problem-solving in the hands of those closest to customers.

New Organizational Forms — and the End of the “Employee”

The hierarchical power structures of the industrial era were designed for control: rules, approvals, budgets, and job descriptions enforced obedience. Workers were contracted for their time, not for the value they created.

Those structures are now being dismantled. Flat, networked organizations built around autonomous teams are replacing them. Flexibility, speed, and adaptability are the new organizing principles.

The very word “employee” — with its connotations of subordination — is giving way to “colleague,” “partner,” or “team member.” Individuals choose to join purposeful groups and align with shared missions. Authority flows from contribution, not position.

The End of Management

Management, in its traditional form, was the operating system of hierarchy: transmitting orders downward, enforcing compliance, and limiting discretion. In the new networked, self-organizing firm, those functions are obsolete.

When authority resides at the point of customer contact, “managers” in the old sense are no longer needed. Coordination happens through shared purpose, open communication, and rapid feedback — not through supervision.

A New Aesthetic of Business

In The Technological Republic, Palantir CEO Alex Karp calls this a “new aesthetic.” It is a culture that embraces virtue and value, innovation and integrity, creativity and commitment. It is a business world that thrives on exploration, experimentation, and opportunity in an environment of uncertainty.

This aesthetic elevates everyone. It invites all of us — not just a handful of executives — to act freely, create boldly, and contribute meaningfully. It is a new and worthy civilizational direction.

The emerging era of value creation is not just a new way to run companies. It is a better way for humanity to create, exchange, and share prosperity.

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Our course in the philosophy and practice of Value Creation is here.