PBM 101: How to use Principle Based Management™ to solve any problem

  1. Insights

PBM 101: How to use Principle Based Management™ to solve any problem

In this Principle Based Management 101 series, we’re unpacking mental models, ideas, and tools you can use to level up your work.

This article was previously published by Stand Together Foundation.

***

Principle Based Management™ provides a holistic approach to making decisions, solving problems, and creating value for individuals in your community, team members in your organization, and society at large. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​It is rooted in proven principles that have fueled the ongoing success of Stand Together and our partners. In this Principle Based Management 101 series, we’re unpacking mental models, ideas, and tools that you can use to reach the next level in your work.

It is not uncommon for nonprofit leaders and passionate changemakers to get lost in the weeds of day-to-day demands such that they lack clarity on the problems to solve and priorities needed to solve them. This is a perfect moment to use the Five Dimensions of Principle Based Management™ as a diagnostic guide.

Use the following questions to consider a project, program, problem, or opportunity from the perspective of each of the Five Dimensions, and then prioritize how you address specific problems or opportunities related to your situation. This type of analysis can also be used before you start a project, as well as while the project is running and after it is completed.

Important note: Some aspects of this process might be more meaningful for your situation (and your analysis) than others. Similarly, there are likely additional questions that would help illuminate certain unique aspects of the situation. You should develop or modify these questions as needed. They are meant to help you be intellectually honest about what is going well, what could be going better, and how your individual contribution impacts the situation.

Vision

graphic

 

Virtue & Talents

graphic

 

Knowledge Processes

graphic

 

Decision Rights

graphic

 

Incentives

graphic

 

Some Helpful Tips as You Get Started

  • Consider which principles, mental models, and/or Guiding Principles help explain the problem or address the root cause(s)?
  • Determine which aspects of each Principle Based Management dimension could be improved to best address the root cause(s) and resolve the problem.
  • Prioritize the issues to solve at this point in time based on what is critical to your long-term success.
  • After you’ve identified the root cause(s), what’s the next step you need to take to make progress?

***

Learn more about Principle Based Management and how it can help you transform your results.
© 2024 Stand Together. All rights reserved. Stand Together and the Stand Together logo are trademarks and service marks of Stand Together. Terms like “we,” “our,” and “us,” as well as “Stand Together,” and “the Stand Together community,” are used here for the sake of convenience. While the individuals and organizations to which those terms may refer share and work toward a common vision—including, but not limited to, Stand Together Foundation, Stand Together, Charles Koch Foundation, Stand Together Trust, Stand Together Fellowships, and Americans for Prosperity—each engages only in those activities that are consistent with its nonprofit status.