Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media, implores business owners (and everyone else) not to follow the money, but to ‘work on stuff that matters’ by following these three principles:

  1. Work on something that matters to you more than money
  2. Create more value than you capture
  3. Take the long view

I want to make clear that ‘work on stuff that matters’ does not mean focusing on non-profit work, causes, or any other form of ‘do-goodism.’ Non-profit projects often do matter a great deal, and people with tech skills can make important contributions, but it’s essential to get beyond that narrow box. I’m a strong believer in the social value of business done right. We need to build an economy in which the important things are paid for in self-sustaining ways rather than as charities to be funded out of the goodness of our hearts.

via Kottke