Guiding Principles

1. Guiding Principles
Guiding your Leader’ship’ to its harbor
Sumaya Shakir

2. What are Guiding Principles?
 Guiding Principles are nothing but core values or principles or ideologies that
an organization stands for.
 They guide an organization, the team and every individual in an organization
as to what the company represents.
 They are not impacted by changes in the organization like changes in goals,
strategies, type of work or top management.
 They create a company culture where everyone understands what's
important.

3. Team Guiding Principles
 Own It
 Focus on the goal
 Exceed Customer Expectations
 Be a leader
 Participate and contribute
 Pursue excellence
 Work as a team
 Treat everyone with courtesy and respect
 Share knowledge
 Keep it simple
 Listen and communicate
 Have fun

4. HP’s Rules of Garage

5. Google’s Philosophy
1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10.Great just isn’t good enough.
https://www.google.com/intl/en-US/about/company/philosophy/

6. The GE Way

7. Apple’s Philosophies
 We believe that we're on the face of the Earth to make great products.
 We believe in the simple, not the complex.
 We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies
behind the products we make.
 We participate only in markets where we can make a significant
contribution.
 We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really
focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.
 We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups,
which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.
 We don't settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the
company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when we're wrong and
the courage to change.

8. Amazon’s ‘Amazonion’ Principles
 Customer Obsession Leaders start with the customer and work backwards. They work vigorously to earn and keep customer
trust. Although leaders pay attention to competitors, they obsess over customers.
 Ownership Leaders are owners. They think long term and don’t sacrifice long-term value for short-term results.
 Invent and Simplify Leaders expect and require innovation and invention from their teams and always find ways to simplify.
 Are Right, A Lot Leaders are right a lot. They have strong business judgment and good instincts.
 Hire and Develop the Best Leaders raise the performance bar with every hire and promotion. They recognize exceptional
talent, and willingly move them throughout the organization. Leaders develop leaders and take seriously their role in
coaching others.
 Insist on the Highest Standards Leaders have relentlessly high standards - many people may think these standards are
unreasonably high. Leaders are continually raising the bar and driving their teams to deliver high quality products, services
and processes.
 Bias for Action Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We
value calculated risk taking.
 Frugality We try not to spend money on things that don’t matter to customers. Frugality breeds resourcefulness, self-
sufficiency, and invention.
 Vocally Self Critical Leaders do not believe their or their team’s body odor smells of perfume. Leaders come forward with
problems or information, even when doing so is awkward or embarrassing. Leaders benchmark themselves and their teams
against the best.
 Earn Trust of Others Leaders are sincerely open-minded, genuinely listen, and are willing to examine their strongest
convictions with humility.
 Dive Deep Leaders operate at all levels, stay connected to the details, and audit frequently. No task is beneath them.
 Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit Leaders are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even
when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the
sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.
 Deliver Results Leaders focus on the key inputs for their business and deliver them with the right quality and in a timely
fashion. Despite setbacks, they rise to the occasion and never settle.

9. Toyota’s Guiding Principles
 Honor the language and spirit of the law of every nation and undertake open and
fair business activities to be a good corporate citizen of the world.
 Respect the culture and customs of every nation and contribute to economic and
social development through corporate activities in their respective communities.
 Dedicate our business to providing clean and safe products and to enhancing the
quality of life everywhere through all of our activities.
 Create and develop advanced technologies and provide outstanding products and
services that fulfill the needs of customers worldwide.
 Foster a corporate culture that enhances both individual creativity and the value
of teamwork, while honoring mutual trust and respect between labor and
management.
 Pursue growth through harmony with the global community via innovative
management.
 Work with business partners in research and manufacture to achieve stable,
long-term growth and mutual benefits, while keeping ourselves open to new
partnerships.”

10. Personal Guiding Principles
What’s yours?

12. Resources
 Defining your organization’s guiding principles:
http://blogs.wsj.com/accelerators/2013/02/08/how-to-define-your-guiding-
principles/
 http://www.makeadentleadership.com/four-steps-to-creating-
principles.html
 Guiding Principles for personal success:
http://www.searchingforsuccess.com/20-guiding-principles-for-building-
personal-success/