Our research has revealed that to different degrees, and on a personal and professional level, all human beings simultaneously practice three types of priorities: tactical, strategic and core.  The presence of such complexity suggests that not only do ethical judgments require the proper alignment of means and ends, but that the ends must align with fundamental core priorities that are part of our very make-up.

The three types of priorities may be described roughly as follows:

1.	Tactical Priorities: These priorities order the urgent tasks of the day.  We practice these priorities in relation to our immediate circumstances, which force us to make quick decisions in the present.
2.	Strategic Priorities: These priorities order those activities or initiatives that take more time to develop and require focus over an extended period of time.  We practice these priorities daily in relation to some life or business plan, or overarching vision of our personal and professional purpose.
3.	Core Priorities: These priorities order the fundamental elements of our lives individually and as members of organizations.  We practice there priorities in relation to those activities embedded in our individual hard-wiring and touch our very nature as human beings or organizations.  These priorities chiefly relate to ends, not purposes; they flow from personal or organizational necessity, not from deliberate choice or individual hopes and dreams.  For organizations, core priorities are foundational to creating unity within and amongst diverse cultures, particularly for multi-national firms.