That coding guideline is the problem I have faced quite a bit. Working with teams of developers who don't appreciate the merits of encapsulation sometimes means adopting a different strategy. As a result, I've reluctantly concluded the sometimes one has no choice but to try a different way. Additionally, I've found myself violating encapsulation at times when it's innapropriate (I know some will disagree, but derived classes shouldn't be looking at their parent's privates).

It's been pointed out that this strategy is essentially "use strict 'encapsulation'" and frankly, I'm happy with that as it solves the problem I wanted solved. Plus, when you're ready to move into production, if it's done properly, you can remove the encapsulation and everything still works (or you can leave it in if performance is not a problem).