It’s an interesting question. Rules or principles?
For many of us the cultural default – the environment where we grew up or currently work in – is rules.
They are easier to state. And police. They can feel safer because the boundaries are known.
But do they serve us well?
In today’s world rules are becoming more and more obsolete. The environment is changing fast and any list of do’s and don’ts can’t keep up.
Rules only look back.
They also give us a box-like false sense of security. If I do this then…
Principles, on the other hand, require us to stand up and take responsibility for making decisions. Affirming what will guide us in moving forward and taking action.
In a healthy ecosystem, principles win. Every time. And the people who inhabit that system are far more fully formed. They also have the capacity for mutual working.
Human beings, not human doings.