Facibus Reviews

Zern Liew wrote a good article on Principles vs Rules. Zern is one of my mentor authors (along with Lisa Messenger he wrote Cubicle Commando). Lisa and Zern reassured me that it is actually a good thing to be an intrapreneur - I’d always thought of myself as a bit of a pain in the behind who had too many crazy ideas.

Zern writes:

Principles are: bought-into, believed-in, understood innately, interpreted individually (inclusive of individuality), lived, makes sense to the individual, congruent with individual and organisational goals.

Principles take effort and time to distil and uncover. Up-front effort is required from each individual understanding each principle and thus to buy-in or reject them. Buy-in means integrating a principle into the core of an individual’s being. It is about shared understanding, goals, and vision.

Principles lead to self-regulated, consistent and authentic behaviour. The individual is allowed to be truly themselves and to following in their own way the principles they have integrated; it is about “we are in this together working towards a shared ideal.� Principles are empowering and freeing.

Rules are: Enforced (by threats or rewards), imposed, centralised interpretation, followed/towed (mechanically), not necessarily understood (and if so, only cognitively), usually does not make sense to individuals (excludes any individuality), often has no obvious bearing on individual or organisational goals.

Rules require little effort to devise and put in place. It is in essence answering the questions: “What do we want them to do?� and �How can we make them do it?� There is a clear “us� vs “them�, or “boss� vs “unworthy workers� mentality.

Rules require lots of top-down behavioural monitoring and enforced behavioural modification. It does not matter whether individuals get what the rules are for; as long as they get the consequences for breaking them.

Rules lead to policy-dictated, unthinking and fake clone behaviours. Rules are limiting and diminish our humanity.

Guess which is ultimately more efficient, the principle- or the rule-based organisation?

SMS Management and Technology (SMSMT or just SMS) is a principle-based organisation. We live by three principles: Enhance Reputation, Maintain Unity and Add Value. Everything derives from these three principles, and if it is inconsistent with them, then it isn’t done. What it means is this - it takes more effort to bring principles to life, and it is the personal responsibility of every member of the organisation to do this - it is hard work - but ultimately more rewarding. Sure, there are good ways and bad ways to be an intrapreneur within SMS as there are within every organisation. But it works for me.

I can see that it is ultimately also more sustainable - when people buy into the principles, they buy into them all the way.

In a wider sense, going on what Zern says above, rules are observed (more or less grudgingly) but principles can be followed and lived. I know which I’d rather follow.

The way of principles is not easy, especially if you are unfortunate enough to work in a rules-based organisation. The rules can be dehumanising. My recommendation is that if you work in a large organisation, and you are feeling stifled because things aren’t working the way you think they should, follow Zern’s blog, and read Cubicle Commando.