Jeff De Cagna is chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, and editor-at-large of SmartBlog Insights. Widely recognized as an association community thought leader, Jeff is the executive producer of the Principled Innovation Blog and Podcast, and also posts on Twitter as @pinnovation.

If you have feedback on SmartBlog Insights, Jeff can be reached at jeff@principledinnovation.com.

On my recent trip to London, I picked up a copy of the UK edition of Wired Magazine at Heathrow Airport. The cover story is a superb article about Google, written by the magazine’s editor, David Rowan, and based on interviews he conducted with Google executives, including CEO Eric Schmidt and co-founder Sergey Brin.

After years of studying Google, what I find remarkable about this article is the clarity with which the company’s most senior leaders articulate the core beliefs that guide how they think about their work. As an association volunteer or staff leader, you should ask whether your organization’s point of view on its profession or industry, as well as the association’s role within it, is as well-developed and robust as these “Google rules.”

· Google doesn’t need to control everything: Asked about the possibility that Google is losing ground to Twitter in the area of real-time search, Eric Schmidt bristles:

“I disagree with the premise of the question. We do not operate under the Microsoft rules – that Microsoft has to control everything. Twitter is a very important emergent social phenomenon. It’s very successful. And we think that’s good, because it means people are spending more and more time online. I don’t see the negative.”

Associations are still after control in an environment in which little, if any, actually exists, even for Google. But instead of worrying about how to assert control over Twitter, Google takes a broader view, recognizing the strategic value of an unconventional competitor’s success to the entire system of players on the Web, including (and especially) customers.

How would your association’s work be different if less control were treated as an asset rather than a liability?

· Google doesn’t plan its way to success: Every association leader should read carefully this terrific quote from Eric Schmidt, and reflect on its deeper implications for their organizations:

“We don’t have a big picture. We don’t have a five-year plan, we don’t have a two-year plan, we don’t have a one-year plan. We have a mission and a strategy, and the mission is… you know, [to organise] all the world’s information. And the strategy is to do it through innovation. It doesn’t bother us if something doesn’t work. Because we understand that something else will work.”

As a company, Google pursues its mission and strategy with a mindset of discovery, and a confidence in its ability to learn from failure. Given the enormity of the company’s mission, and its nearly limitless ambition to solve big problems, no other approach really makes sense. Associations that want to continue as impact players in their industries and professions should think seriously about whether they are able to embrace this way of doing business.

How would your association’s work be different if strategic success were viewed as a journey, rather than a destination?

· Google doesn’t need to be evil: Without question, the three most misunderstood words ever uttered by and about Google are “don’t be evil.” In the Wired UK article, Eric Schmidt offers this perspective on the often-misinterpreted phrase:

“…Google is disrupting existing interest groups…And they will throw “Don’t be evil” at you. “The ‘Don’t be evil’ is a signpost for us about how we should make values-based decisions,” he replies, “and we use as our primary goal the benefit to end users. That’s who we serve.”

Google was founded on core principles, and so it isn’t at all surprising to hear the CEO talk about making decisions on the basis of values that are important to the company and its leaders, and focused on the needs of its customers. Unfortunately, not all associations make decisions in the same way, sometimes allowing the expedient choice to overrule the wise one.

How would your association’s work be different if strategic decision-making were guided by a set of core beliefs, principles or values?

Google is an unconventional company, and I have always believed associations can learn a great deal from its unique ways of thinking and doing. My challenge to association leaders is to reflect on these rules and questions, and have serious conversations about them within your organizations. Be sure to read the entire Google article in Wired UK … it is well worth your time. And please join the discussion of this topic by posting a comment.

Editor-at-Large note: This is my first post to SmartBlog Insights, and I am especially grateful to my SmartBrief colleagues, J.P. Moery and Jessica Strelitz, for inviting me to serve as editor-at-large. This role means more to me than a picture and bio on the sidebar. By serving in this capacity, I accept a measure of responsibility for all of the words that are published here, and I urge you to contact me with your feedback on how we’re doing. You can reach me at jeff@principledinnovation.com. I look forward to hearing from you!

Oh, and one more thing: In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that I own a small number of shares in Google, emphasis on the phrase “small number.”