S11-Ep12: Why Principle Beats Process: Inside the Koch Leadership Framework

Guest: Steve Daley, Koch Industries President of Market-Based Management

What does it take to build a resilient, innovation-driven culture—without relying on rigid rules or micromanagement?

In this episode, Steve Daley shares how Koch Industries reimagines work through Principle-Based Management. Hosted by Maureen Metcalf, this conversation dives into how Koch empowers employees by trusting them with responsibility, rewarding contribution, and fostering leadership at every level.

Here's what Steve and Maureen cover:

• Why Koch abandoned traditional job descriptions;
• Why even Charles Koch receives a formal performance review; and
• Why leaders are expected to not be bureaucrats!

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- How Missing Ethics Makes a Mess of Organizations with Greg Moran

- Addressing Values Conflicts with John Heiser

- Non-Traditional Leadership Models for Our New Era with Nathan Eva & Nicole Ferry

 

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re onTikTok, Threads, and Twitter, too!

 

RESOURCES:  

The website about Koch’s principles-based system is https://principlebasedmanagement.com/en.

 

Chase Koch’s blog is on Medium at https://chasekoch.medium.com/.

 

Charles Koch’s book is Believe in People: Bottom-Up Solutions for a Top-Down World. It’s on Amazon at https://amzn.to/43PgKBa.

 

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

 

Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI, or check out the Kindle version at https://amzn.to/44buVz8. The audiobook version is now available at  https://amzn.to/4dTCleZ.

 

Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 

 

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Executive Producer: Dan Mushalko

Graphics Editor: Stacia Rogan

Booking Producer: Jenna Reik

Theme Music by Pavel Bekirov from Pixabay.

CONNECT WITH US: 

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 

 

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About Our Guest:  

Steve Daley is president of Market-Based Management, LLC, which provides training and development services to Koch companies.

Mr. Daley joined Koch in 2005. He was director of the MBM® Capability prior to his current role.

In the United States, he has worked as a consultant to USAID and as a research fellow for the Mercatus Center. He has had several opportunities to present his work on microfinance to congressional audiences.

Mr. Daley has a Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University and has worked in both the business and policy fields. He was raised in Australia where he was a partner in a tax and business strategy firm for more than five years.