Please forgive me for being straight-forward, but "Be humble" is not a principle, objectively. It is an appeal, regardless of the meaning the word has for you. So this is not to say that it is "unimportant"! It is very important, of course. Just as Openness, respect, empathy, which are not principles or either.
Again: This is not to say that those things do not matter. But in order to make them into principles, these things would have to be framed differently.
Hi there! No problem, I really appreciate your feedback.
What I'm struggling with is that in the context of this article, my principles are behavioural commitments. They are actionable, guide decision-making and can be applied consistently - the three characteristics of principles.
So in that sense "be humble" is a principle because it defines a way of showing up in our work. It's not just a value, but also a practice. Just like "be a learner" or "be critical".
Incidentally, if "be humble" is not a principle, then that rational would apply to most of the other principles. In that case I think only "Own the Problem and the Solution" would be a valid principle?
Hi Erik, thanks for responding, and I appreciate that you took my (Niels') comments positively.
I think you expressed the solution to our "disagreement" already: the "principles" you expressed in your article are "personal commitments". Which is great. But that's not what principles are about: Principles are a means to agree on behavioral standards within a social group. But your points are more like "expressions of what matters to you". Which is good and valuable - but you cannot expect others (!) to care about precisely the same things and commit to the same things as you do. Because that would be the opposite of acknowledging "diversity."
So what I would recommend (if I may) is to consider that principles are "behavioral stuff that groups can agree upon, regardless of their different motives, preferences and characters." We wrote about this here, for example: https://betacodex.org/principles
Perhaps the misunderstanding is that while 'my' principles can be read as things that are important to me, I also view them as objective guidelines, exactly like the way you put it: "behavioural stuff that groups can agree upon, regardless of their different motives, preferences and characters."
So I will literally agree with my teams that "being humble" should be one of our principles to guide us in how we achieve our goals.
My focus is on root or first principles, at the risk indeed that they become less clear. clearer principles, like "team autonomy", sound much more like a commandment instead of a principle. To me that is.
While most people viscerally understand what "being humble" means, "team autonomy" is much more open to interpretation. That makes it less suitable as a principle.
Hi Erik. Niels again. Well, I think we are being confronted with a problem of logic here. If you say: "Being humble matters to me, so it is a personal principle to me" and then say "My personal principles are universal ones", then that is likely not humble at all, is it? It reminds me of that story of a man from Sparta saying "All Spartans are liars." :-)
I cannot convince you that your "principles" in the article aren't "universal principles". But I can give you a quote from Jos de Blok from Buurtzorg: "We do not have shared values. We are too diverse for that."
Did you ever consider the 12 principles of the BetaCodex?
https://betacodex.org/principles
They might be worth thinking about.
By the way: Not sure if something like "5. Be Humble" is a principle. It sounds more like an appeal, doesn't it?
Thanks, that is really interesting!
For me being humble is definitely a Principle, in the tradition of Confucianism and Stoicism. I think it leads to openness, respect and empathy.
Thanks for interacting!
Please forgive me for being straight-forward, but "Be humble" is not a principle, objectively. It is an appeal, regardless of the meaning the word has for you. So this is not to say that it is "unimportant"! It is very important, of course. Just as Openness, respect, empathy, which are not principles or either.
Again: This is not to say that those things do not matter. But in order to make them into principles, these things would have to be framed differently.
Hi there! No problem, I really appreciate your feedback.
What I'm struggling with is that in the context of this article, my principles are behavioural commitments. They are actionable, guide decision-making and can be applied consistently - the three characteristics of principles.
So in that sense "be humble" is a principle because it defines a way of showing up in our work. It's not just a value, but also a practice. Just like "be a learner" or "be critical".
Incidentally, if "be humble" is not a principle, then that rational would apply to most of the other principles. In that case I think only "Own the Problem and the Solution" would be a valid principle?
Hi Erik, thanks for responding, and I appreciate that you took my (Niels') comments positively.
I think you expressed the solution to our "disagreement" already: the "principles" you expressed in your article are "personal commitments". Which is great. But that's not what principles are about: Principles are a means to agree on behavioral standards within a social group. But your points are more like "expressions of what matters to you". Which is good and valuable - but you cannot expect others (!) to care about precisely the same things and commit to the same things as you do. Because that would be the opposite of acknowledging "diversity."
So what I would recommend (if I may) is to consider that principles are "behavioral stuff that groups can agree upon, regardless of their different motives, preferences and characters." We wrote about this here, for example: https://betacodex.org/principles
Have a great Friday and weekend!
Hi Niels,
Perhaps the misunderstanding is that while 'my' principles can be read as things that are important to me, I also view them as objective guidelines, exactly like the way you put it: "behavioural stuff that groups can agree upon, regardless of their different motives, preferences and characters."
So I will literally agree with my teams that "being humble" should be one of our principles to guide us in how we achieve our goals.
My focus is on root or first principles, at the risk indeed that they become less clear. clearer principles, like "team autonomy", sound much more like a commandment instead of a principle. To me that is.
While most people viscerally understand what "being humble" means, "team autonomy" is much more open to interpretation. That makes it less suitable as a principle.
Hi Erik. Niels again. Well, I think we are being confronted with a problem of logic here. If you say: "Being humble matters to me, so it is a personal principle to me" and then say "My personal principles are universal ones", then that is likely not humble at all, is it? It reminds me of that story of a man from Sparta saying "All Spartans are liars." :-)
I cannot convince you that your "principles" in the article aren't "universal principles". But I can give you a quote from Jos de Blok from Buurtzorg: "We do not have shared values. We are too diverse for that."
Have a great week!