Page 63 - Ray Dalio - Principles

Bob Prince joined Bridgewater in 1986 when he was still in
his twenties, and more than thirty years later we are still close
partners as co-chief investment officers. From the very start,

Bob and I “played great jazz together” whenever we’d go back
and forth on ideas. We still love doing that and will until one
of us dies. He is also a great teacher, both to clients and co-
workers. Over time, he became like my brother as well as one
of the most critical builders and pillars of Bridgewater.

Soon, Bridgewater began to look like a real company. We
outgrew the barn and moved into a small office in a strip mall;

there were twenty of us by the end of the 1980s. But even as
we grew, I never thought of anybody I worked with as an
employee. I had always wanted to have—and to be around
people who also wanted to have—a life full of meaningful
work and meaningful relationships, and to me a meaningful
relationship is one that’s open and honest in a way that lets
people be straight with each other. I never valued more

traditional, antiseptic relationships where people put on a
façade of politeness and don’t say what they really think.

I believe that all organizations basically have two types of
people: those who work to be part of a mission, and those who
work for a paycheck. I wanted to surround myself with people
who needed what I needed, which was to make sense of things
for myself. I spoke frankly, and I expected those around me to

speak frankly. I fought for what I thought was best, and I
wanted them to do so as well. When I thought someone did
something stupid, I said so and I expected them to tell me
when I did something stupid. Each of us would be better for it.
To me, that was what strong and productive relationships

looked like. Operating any other way would be unproductive
and unethical.

MORE BIG TWISTS AND TURNS IN

THE ECONOMY AND MARKETS

1987 and 1988 were filled with more of those big twists and
turns that helped shape me and my approach to life and