Page 107 - Ray Dalio - Principles

Consider Muhammad Yunus, for example. A great
philanthropist, he has devoted his life to helping others. He
received the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering the ideas of

microcredit and microfinance and has won the Congressional
Gold Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Gandhi
Peace Prize, and more. Yet he tested low on “Concern for
Others.” Geoffrey Canada, who has devoted most of his adult
life to taking care of all the disadvantaged children in a
hundred-square-block area of New York’s Harlem, also tested
low on “Concern for Others.” Bill Gates, who is devoting most

of his wealth and energy to saving and improving lives, tested
low as well. Obviously Yunus, Canada, and Gates care deeply
about other people, yet the personality tests they took rated
them low. Why was that? In speaking with them and reviewing
the questions that led to these ratings, it became clear: When
faced with a choice between achieving their goal or pleasing

(or not disappointing) others, they would choose achieving
their goal every time.

Through this investigative process, I learned that there are
distinctly different types of shapers. The most important
difference lies in whether their shaping comes in the form of
inventing, managing, or both. For example, while Einstein
shaped by inventing, he didn’t have to manage, and while Jack

Welch (who ran GE) and Lou Gerstner (who ran IBM) were
great managers/leaders of people, they didn’t have to be as
inventive. The rarest cases were people like Jobs, Musk,
Gates, and Bezos, who were inventive visionaries and
managed big organizations to build those visions out.

There are a lot of people who look like shapers, in that they

came up with a great idea and got it to the point where they
could sell it for a lot of money, but did not shape consistently.
Silicon Valley has many of these types; perhaps they should be
called “inventors.” I also saw that there were wonderful
leaders of organizations who weren’t classic shapers, in that
they didn’t come up with the original visions and build them
out; rather, they entered existing organizations and led them
well. Only true shapers consistently move from one success to

another and sustain success over decades, and those are the
people I want to bring to Bridgewater.