What does it mean to get to first principles?
A first principle is a foundational proposition that cannot be broken down or deduced further. Many philosophers and scientists have theorized about first principles, but I was inspired by a Lex Freedman podcast with Ryan Hall. He mentioned that the benefits of getting to first principles is that you can begin to understand the systems operating in the background and affect change at a deeper level.
Getting to first principles is the first step in the process. One of the ways that I know how to get there is to ask "why" over and over again. Many business professionals will talk about the "5 Why's" for solving a problem but don't link the answer to a principle that can be applied to the problem. Some times, it takes more than 5 why's to get to the fundamental reason.
If you have a surface level problem of any kind, begin by asking "why". When ask "why" at the next level until you arrive at a place where you can't break down the answer any more. After you have identified your core answer by asking "why" at multiple levels, develop a principle that can solve that problem can be applied at each subsequent level.
This may sound difficult, but the benefits of spending 10 to 15 minutes to go through this exercise can provide a high level of clarity. The reason why it provides a high level of clarity is because asking "why" allows you to first view the problem at multiple levels of analysis. Secondly, it helps you provide a glimpse into the underlying factors that caused a problem in the first place. This glimpse allows you to better understand the underlying system. The more you understand the underlying systems, the better you will get at reading a situation and making adjustments at a fundamental level.
To take this one step further, there are many complex problems that require more than one principle. This is why it's important to group your principles into a unified whole that can be fundamentally applied to a series of different situations. These fundamental principles can inform you of the practices you need to develop in order to solve surface level problems.