We Before Me is the first core principle of Heart of Leaders—because it's the most important. Take a look at nearly any instance of organizational or team dysfunction, and you'll discover selfishness. Whether in the form of competition for resources, recognition or promotions or the ego-driven need to take responsibility for team wins, selfishness is at the root of organizational dysfunction. Humans succeed the most when collaborating, so it makes sense to think of cooperation as a tool. So how do we compete against other companies or even other nations? By out-cooperating them.