Principles before methods

There are a lot of easy ways to put things in the wrong order. For example, if you start working on tactics before you unpack the overall strategy, you’re likely to have a bad time. Similarly, Josh Kaufman shares a quote in “The Personal MBA” from Ralph Waldo Emerson that compares methods and principles:

“As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”

I see principles and methods being very similar to strategies and tactics. If a principle is your fundamental belief about something, it makes perfect sense to sort it out before you get into specific methods. Like the rush to tactics, though, it’s easy to jump to methods and get to work because the strategies and principles don’t show immediate results.

Move the dirt

It reminds me a bit of when I was moving dirt in my backyard a few years ago. I had two options:

• Get out there with a shovel and wheelbarrow and get to work.
• Research, call, and schedule a time for a guy with a bobcat to come out and do it for me.

The first option shows immediate results but with a subpar outcome, like jumping straight to tactics.

The second option will take more time, and show no results for a day or two, but ultimately led to a faster and better outcome.

Keeping a high level view on principles before methods may seem slower, but will actually open up a world of possibilities. It’s like how our website development process, which can feel a bit constraining at times, is actually the key to wider creativity and better outcomes.

Keep the first things first, and then rest will fall into place much more smoothly.