Rules matter
Principles and rules we come up with must be meaningful and justified. Breaking them is serious and can have consequences, however challenging the rules is encouraged if done for the right reasons.
We stick to the rules we make, until we decide to change them
The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.1
This holds true for our engineering culture as well. Tolerating behavior that is clearly in violation of the way we want to work and treat each other will inevitably damage our culture and ultimately the joy of working at celebrate.
What brought us here won't get us there
It should be noted that the main reason for the Romans becoming masters of the world was that, having fought successively against all peoples, they always gave up their own practices as soon as they found better ones.2
In an ever-changing environment like ours, it is crucial to adapt to new circumstances. What was a good rule to follow for the past years may not be relevant or even harmful for our future. We must be willing to challenge existing rules and abandon them in favor of something new, and that is not at all as simple as it sounds. We constantly need to balance stability and disruption - if we change our rules too easily and too quickly, we will lose direction and with that also motivation. Without that, we will not make progress on the things that matter. On the other hand, if we stick to established practices for too long and do not innovate in the way we work, we will lose our competitive advantages.
1. https://blog.culturewise.com/the-culture-of-any-organization-is-shaped-by-the-worst-behavior-the-leader-is-willing-to-tolerate ↩
2. Barry O'Reilly, Unlearn: Let Go of Past Success to Achieve Extraordinary Results, O'Reilly, 2018, 11 ↩