The Context of Principles
We read about the seemingly simple strategy to "cross sell" and the expensive fallout that followed.  Good ideas, creative strategies, gone bad seems to permeate the world of leaders. In a rush to stay innovative, grow, meet regulatory demands, and stay profitable, leaders are throwing some things out of the way that are actually foundational, such as explicit principles.

Having facilitated many a vision process with leaders and groups, I always build in the dialogue and clear definitions of "principles". Some may view this as an exercise. But this is your saving grace to avoid strategy A from becoming next months headline.

As a leader your messages will be amplified in the minds of your teams. It's the nature of authority. They might even be pulled out of proportion unless they are positioned squarely in the center of  clear principles. Principles become tacit in the organizational culture. If not clearly committed to, stated, and used as a backdrop for your change initiatives, what employees "think" are principles from profit making strategies, or leader behavior will rule.  Keeping the context of guiding principles in the forefront is a priority and challenge leaders cannot afford to eschew.