In the short run, it’s easy to abandon what we believe. Deep down, we assume that once things go back to normal, so will we.
Organizations end up with bullies, predators and bad actors for only one reason: In this moment, it’s easier to keep them. There’s some sort of urgency that makes asking them to leave too difficult right now, so we put it off for a little while. When we make a “just this once” exception, we’ve already made a decision about what’s truly important.
And the same goes for those moments when we’re inclined to be, just for a moment, a bully, a predator or a bad actor as well. Few people decide to be selfish for the long haul.
What makes it a principle is that we do it now, even though (especially though) it’s hard.