Further clarity regarding 'Purpose' and 'Principles'?

gtdstudente

Registered
Purpose ('Constitution,' 'Mission,' 'Vision' etc.) = Ends = Deliberative
1. Legislative
2. Chairman
3. Head-of-Household


Principles (Values, Moral-Code, etc.) = Means = Execution
1. President
2. Officers (CEO, CFO. COO, etc. )
3. Family Members

What say GTD-you?
 
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Cpu_Modern

Registered
It's up to the people who own the company to decide how they want to conduct their business. "Why does your organization exist?" is not a question that is a Chairman's duty to give an answer to. Unless of course those people who afforded the organization said so.
 

gtdstudente

Registered
It's up to the people who own the company to decide how they want to conduct their business. "Why does your organization exist?" is not a question that is a Chairman's duty to give an answer to. Unless of course those people who afforded the organization said so.
True regarding those who hold/own the gold rule with limits for gold's growth since gold is unable to move itself and, as such, requires the collaboration/cooperation of others including the Chairman's buy-in.

Likewise, Chairman requires 'buy-in' from the 'Executives' on 'down' for real commitment/fulfillment . . . which has to be a higher reality (Purpose = "Why does your organization exist?") than the Chairman himself who must especially must adhere to . . . otherwise hypocrisy becomes one of the organization's 'culture(s)' sad survive within factor(s)?
 
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Cpu_Modern

Registered
It doesn't have to be necessarily so that middle management reacts with hypocrisy to personal deficiencies of the organization's chairman.
 

gtdstudente

Registered
It doesn't have to be necessarily so that middle management reacts with hypocrisy to personal deficiencies of the organization's chairman.
Perhaps more clearly, should have added the Executives flowing from/with the Chairman in 'Walking the Talk' without hypocrisy is required for a healthy organization stemming from good Purpose(s) and good Principle(s)?
 

Cpu_Modern

Registered
Again, not necessarily. There are examples of organizations surviving phases of bad leadership or not even surviving but doing good, principled work in the meantime.

I think "Vision" is much more important to make an organization great.

When you talk about an organization being "healthy" one has to realize that this universe is governed by entropy and thus decay is the "normal" way of how things are running.
 

gtdstudente

Registered
Again, not necessarily. There are examples of organizations surviving phases of bad leadership or not even surviving but doing good, principled work in the meantime.

I think "Vision" is much more important to make an organization great.

When you talk about an organization being "healthy" one has to realize that this universe is governed by entropy and thus decay is the "normal" way of how things are running.
Added 'Vision' to Purpose, thank you
 

Stefan Godo

GTD Connect
IMHO:
Purpose = WHAT do I want to achieve IN THE WORLD (Outside of the org) and WHY (we established the team and want to play this game, because...)
Principles = HOW does the org INTERACT WITH the outside world and its parts inside (these rules we will keep...)
 

mcogilvie

Registered
I am deeply committed to Enlightenment values, particularly as they manifest in science and in US history. I do not find corporate structure and “corporate values” useful at all with respect to my personal beliefs, vision, goals, and so on. In my experience, corporate mission statements are not to be taken at face value and are often ignored in practice.
 

Oogiem

Registered
Purpose ('Constitution,' 'Mission,' 'Vision' etc.) = Ends = Deliberative
To me the purpose is the Why. Your vision of what you life is for. Why you exist. For a company or a piece of hardware or software it's what service do you provide or problem do you solve for your customers.

Principles (Values, Moral-Code, etc.) = Means = Execution
Principles re the structure under which you perform actions. What are the things you will or won't do? What personality and functional traits do you admire? What things do you consider as overiding limits or conditions for all that you do?

Example:
Purpose:The purpose of the AnimalTrakker system is to provide software tools and data bases that aid in the management of livestock. AnimalTrakker supports farmers and ranchers in their quest to provide animals with a healthy and comfortable life while continuing to provide food, fiber and other products for human use. AnimalTrakker focuses on these species, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, donkeys and pigs. AnimalTrakker is designed to provide the data to help farmers maintain genetic diversity in rare breeds. AnimalTrakker focuses on supporting smaller farms so they can compete on an even footing with big agribusiness

Principles: AnimalTrakker is focused on maintaining individual privacy of the data. However the tools provided are made freely available to anyone without cost. Our software packages are open source and the code is transparent so that it can be independently audited. While AnimalTrakker supports regulatory rules and provides required documentation according to current US and Canadian standards for treatments and movements of animals the primary principle is to make sure that animals are protected in the face of foreign animal diseases, environmental disasters and to protect the livelihood of the farmers raising them.
 

DavidAllen

GTD Connect
Great conversation(s). How much of these decisions need to be made, or could be made, I think depends a lot on (1) who owns the enterprise and (2) the maturity (in age). Many startups become successful simply because of the "fire in the belly" of the founder(s). At times they only need to think about purpose, principles, and vision when they are confronted with challenges or opportunities that require that. E.g. asked to be acquired; want to acquire; merger possibility; etc. ad infinitum. Now, if the thinking about purpose, principles and vision happen proactively, it will certainly make it easier to navigate opportunities or challenges that might show up in surprising ways.
 
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