Do you manage based on values or on a world view?

An article in Atlantic, Dec. 2011 at 67, proposed this distinction: “[I]deological differences stem more from differences in people’s beliefs about how the world works than from differences in their basic values”

It is hard for me to distinguish the two views in the context of a legal department.

Basic values would seem to be highly determinative in a person’s model of how things work. Consider one situation. If you believe everyone is created equal (a basic value), wouldn’t it affect how you see promotions, success in life, fairness? If you think that powerful wealthy people generally get their way (that’s the way of the world), isn’t it likely that your basic values lean toward discipline, striving and self-improvement? Not necessarily, because you could believe the essentially life is unfair or mean.

A general counsel could believe, deep down and fundamentally, that everyone has a right to make the most of their skills and talents but act more on the belief that success in a corporation depends on who you know, timing, and luck.