The second of the six questions that I believe every business needs to answer is “What principles will the leaders never compromise?” Many businesses develop a list of Core Values to try to reflect what is important to them. Core Values can shape company culture and influence decision making at all levels of the organization.
Rather than the generic term Core Values, I prefer the term Non-Negotiable Principles. What is needed is not a warm and fuzzy sense that the company has some desire to operate virtuously, but rather an unyielding commitment to principles that, when rightly understood, will help define what is unique about your business and will make many hard decisions easier.