Joe draws a sharp distinction between principles and values. Values tend to be generic moral statements — “we value honesty” — that don’t differentiate or drive decisions, since you’d almost never choose dishonesty anyway. Principles, by contrast, immediately tell you what to do. They’re designed to create action and clarify decision-making so you don’t have to stop and think about big decisions.
The difference can also be framed as: values are about what not to do (morality), while principles are about what to do (action). A value like “honesty” gives you no decision-making guidance. A principle like “connection connection” tells Joe exactly what to do when tired, negative, or facing a business problem — connect with himself and the people around him. A principle like the MIT engineer’s “go to the part you know least about first” immediately tells you where to start on any complex problem.
“A principle immediately tells you what to do. A value tells you what not to do. That’s another way to look at it.”
“Unless I am choosing to be dishonest — which is not a choice that I would make almost ever — then there’s no choice that I’m gonna make based on that value.”
Related Concepts
- Principles automate decision-making
- Operating principles automate eighty percent of decisions
- Unconscious principles already run your life
- Principles make decisions for you