Tactical Notes: When Teams Fail.

The cornerstone of high performing teams is safety: Safety to fail, safety to doubt, safety to speak your mind, safety to disagree, safety to make mistakes, safety to not have certainty.
That doesn’t mean you’re not accountable — you still have to own your mistakes. But safety is at the core, especially under radical uncertainty and if there is a lot of volatility.
[…]
Then you rank-order how decisions are made: 1/ by principles; 2/ by preferences; 3/ by politics; 4/ by power.

Erik Anderson, Founder & CEO of WestRiver Group

Bonus: you might be aligned on mission but not on principles. You might share values and mission, but are unclear on principles.

Values

Values are enduring beliefs or ideals shared by members of a culture or organization about what is good or desirable and what is not. They are broad and abstract, such as integrity, freedom, equality, or curiosity. Values influence attitudes and behavior, but they do not prescribe specific actions.

• Example: A venture firm might value transparency or resilience.
• Limitation: Values can conflict—e.g., speed vs. safety—and offer no resolution mechanism.

Mission

A mission articulates the organization’s or team’s purpose—why it exists and what it seeks to accomplish. It is directional and motivational.

• Example: “To empower dual-use technologies that strengthen national resilience across 24 countries.”
• Limitation: A mission provides why, not how or what to prioritize when values conflict or choices conflict.

Principles

Principles are rules or heuristics for action under uncertainty. They are context-sensitive, actionable, and serve as decision-guiding tools. They resolve the ambiguity that arises when values or goals compete.

• Example: “Default to trust in high-stakes, low-reversibility environments” or “Internalize externalities even at short-term cost.”
• Strength: Principles translate abstract values into behavioral rules and override personal preferences or political maneuvering when choices must be made.

Howard Marks echoes this in his memos: sound investment principles serve as decision anchors when macro predictions fail. Similarly, military doctrine like Auftragstaktik relies on principled intent, not rule-based orders, to guide decentralized action under ambiguity. Yes, there are exceptions. But they will have to pass a high bar. And they will usually sharpen your principles.

Why Principles Matter Most in Uncertainty

In radical uncertainty—as emphasized by Tuckett and Simon—outcomes are unknowable. And preferences are unstable. As Magnus Carlsen puts it: You can see the board and determine that you are in a favorable position and your position should be winning, but you still need to play well to win. Under such conditions, principles function as meta-rules that help maintain coherence and integrity in action across time, context, and team members.

So, Erik Anderson’s hierarchy is not just a philosophical statement—it’s a coordination architecture under volatility.