Hello there, we’ve been expecting you. Thank you for joining us at Casa Cinco.

Did a friend send us your way? Sounds like they know you. Subscribe here.

This week we’re talking about ironic beauty, purpose vs. profits, and the dangers of indecision. Happy reading!

Remember - Casa Cinco is about connection. You know about us, now we want to know about you. If you haven’t done so already, please tell us about you here.

Andy

HAPPENING AT CASA CINCO

Based in London? Join our Book Club by replying to this email with your name and suggestions for a better way to call this (Book Club sounds… conventional).

Before we lose you - we will not all be reading the same book but sharing the book we’re each reading. So read on and join us for drinks to tell us all about Churchill’s life, meditation, or the Millennial infatuation with scams. Whatever it is you’re into. We will kick off the week of March 25th.

Details for events happening in March and April will come soon. Based outside London or have an idea in mind? Reply to this email and let’s have a chat.

FOR INSPIRATION

Edward Burtynsky's Extraction / Abstraction exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in London serves as a brutal and (ironically) beautiful reminder of the impact of human activity on the environment. Through his large-scale photographs, Burtynsky presents a reality of which we're aware but seldom witness - the detrimental effects of mining, waste management, large-scale farming, and manufacturing on our planet.

While the photographs are beautiful in the abstract, their subjects are repellent in a figurative sense (see image descriptions above). Without generalizing that all these industries handle their operations in an equally negative manner, and without denying how millions have been lifted out of poverty through their existence, the question remains: How can we do things in a different, better way moving forward?

FOR CONVERSATION

Today’s conversation is based on one of the unpopular opinions you shared (not sure what this is? That’s because you haven’t told us about you).

‘Good’ in this context qualifies the quality of the profits, not the volume. ‘Good profits’ in that they resulted from adding value to the world, not extracting from it. Profits that resulted from a purpose.

This opinion may be considered unpopular given the goal of a business is often reduced to a binary choice between purpose and profits. To be fair, this is largely because we cannot (yet) systematically measure many of the positive and negative externalities that result from having or lacking purpose, respectively. What we can measure, under traditional accounting methods, is financial profits - a standardized, yet limited and malleable, assessment of value.

Don’t get me wrong - I concede that prioritizing purpose over profits remains a long-term, principled investment. It will not show up in your bottom line the next quarter. But, in 5-10 years? Hopefully we’ll be having a different discussion.

We’ll definitely be publishing a thought-piece on this one, and I hope we get to explore the topic in-person soon. In the meantime, what do you think?

Note: One of the most convincing bodies of work I’ve read on purpose-first companies comes from Alex Edmans’ “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver both Purpose and Profits”. Not feeling like reading? See his TED Talk below.

FOR ACTION

Pondering on decisions delays execution. Should I work in A, or work in B? Most of the time, we know what we want to do (or have to do). If you don’t, in the words of the legendary PG, just guess.

In most cases, you will have compiled all the information you need to act - just not the courage. Waiting for longer or asking for more advice or writing another pros and cons list will not suddenly provide you with mental clarity or permission. Counterintuitively, it will only cloud your judgement further.

Have a bias for action and decide quickly. The most dangerous place to be in is indecision.

Want more of Casa Cinco? Founding Member subscription coming soon. Get access to:

• 15% discount on all Casa Cinco events

• Invite-only events

• Early access to Casa Cinco applications (coming fall 2024)

• Casa Cinco WhatsApp group

• And more…

We’ll talk soon. Thank you for joining us at Casa Cinco

Not sure Casa Cinco is for you? Have advice on how we could improve? Schedule a quick chat with Andy.