My Operational Guiding Principles

The top 10 guiding principles that have helped steer my path, make decisions, and set the expectations of others that work with me achieve the vision and efforts necessary to accomplish that which we aim for.

1. Do the right thing..always, and…
2. Do no harm (clients, employees, business health, family, friends)
3. Actions align with your core strategies  – the way you and your team operate matters. Show the way.  If you value experiments, change, communication of what is important,  etc. then do it your self and expect your team to do the same.
4. ROI exists or why do it  – Improves the client experience and/or adds value to the business. Don’t do it just because you can.  There need to be real value.
5. Grit over intelligence – find people with a mental toughness, with perseverance and drive to be better, someone that can stay in the fight, ok with failure and bounces back quickly, someone with strength and character, and the passion for your shared long term goals or strategy.  Beats someone with just smarts everyday.
6. Transparency, integrity, vulnerability, and accountability exists – strong teams that seek mastery and purpose learn how to communicate and trust one another.  Can challenge each other, struggle with ideas, and credit others with better ideas.  They can share difficulties, allow help form others, and hold each other accountable.  Intermediate tension and competition to be better is healthy, as long as trust, integrity, and humility exists.
7. Simplicity – clear and easy to understand, use, and promote.  Keep it simple for sales…keep it simple for the customer.
8. You have the resources – choose how you use them/prioritize.  Resources are always limited. Choose. 
9. As a leader and contributor to society, family, and business…Make someone better along the way. No exception.
10. Get uncomfortable; otherwise you don’t grow. Embrace change. Take on a responsibility that stretches your thinking or capabilities. It maybe something that your initial reaction was “nope, not something I have experience with” or “oh hell no”. These are perfect times to challenge yourself, seek others advice, and step forward into space that will likely help you grow and others along the way.

I hope that you take the time to begin thinking about what guides you when it comes to operating a business, a team, or a group of folks aligned on a vision. These are things you lean on when things get complicated, overwhelming, or you are simply starting something new (a job, a project, or team relationship). It is equally important that you share these with people that work with you or depend on you and fully understand how you operate and what you might expect of others.

Start capturing them now. This will be an ever-evolving list and reflection. Just make sure they are principles that sit deeply within in you and they are exhibited in in your actions and thinking.