The world is complex but out of that complexity our brains can identify patterns.
This is how, and why, rules are born. Rules simplify and protect our world to help us accomplish more by ignoring the noise.
But the noise doesn’t go away. It simply becomes the exception created by the rule. Those who don’t understand or agree with the rule learn to hide in the noise. And so we create more rules to make the noise quieter. Of course, no amount of rules will ever create a world without exceptions.
This is where values come in. Values help us make decisions when rules are conflicting, unclear, or nonexistent. Where rules simplify the world, values simplify the world of rules.
Rules are important but can accomplish just so much. Values are the magical ingredient to harmonize even the noise.
The Ethical Leader 