Successful leadership in any organization of any size from a family to a national government (and certainly a business) requires an understanding of, and adherence to, principles. So it is useful to understand a little bit about what principles are (and are not) and what they do for us so that we can do the things necessary to increase our likelihood of success.
Principles are based upon natural laws so, like the law of gravity for example, they always are in operation and cannot be violated. If we try to do so, we will find ourselves falling over a cliff (so to speak) and wondering how it happened and what’s going on just before we go splat at the bottom. Sometimes the effects are not as immediate as they are when we step off a cliff but the results are just as certain and just as deadly to the success of our businesses. This is really important: Your opinion doesn’t matter! Natural laws don’t care about your belief or your opinion! They operate with or without your consent!
That being said it is important to also realize that you cannot change them by company policy changes, legislative or court decree, or any other means. They are not relative or situational. They always apply in every situation. In fact, that’s one of the tests to help you determine which things are principles, based upon natural law, and which things are not.
Another important point is, while they are always in operation, sometimes they effects don’t show up immediately. It may take some time but they always show up eventually. A widely cited example of this is Enron. They were cooking the books for a long time before the thing started to unravel but the point is that eventually it all fell apart. This is always the case, sooner or later, when principles are violated – without exception.
So where does that leave us? It’s very simple. Our job as business leaders is to learn and then act upon principles consistently. We must understand them and use them as our guide in all we do. While no one is perfect and consistency is sometimes difficult, the closer we can come to it the better things will work for us and for our business. Simple things like “people like to be treated with respect” which applies to our interactions with employees, customers, suppliers, and everyone else we work with and “honestly is the best policy” pay great dividends that will make us much more successful in the long term.
It is critical that we take the time to learn more about principles so we can incorporate them in our businesses and our daily lives. A good place to start is to study a book like “Principle-Centered Leadership” by Stephen R. Covey then put the principles you learn there into action in your business.
Cevin's Corner 