Page 226 - Ray Dalio - Principles

To observe how well you do this in your own life, pay attention to
your conversations. We tend to move between levels when we talk.

a. Use the terms “above the line” and “below the line” to establish which level a
conversation is on. An above-the-line conversation addresses the main
points and a below-the-line conversation focuses on the sub-points.
When a line of reasoning is jumbled and confusing, it’s often
because the speaker has gotten caught up in below-the-line details
without connecting them back to the major points. An above-the-line
discourse should progress in an orderly and accurate way to its
conclusion, only going below the line when it’s necessary to
illustrate something about one of the major points.

b. Remember that decisions need to be made at the appropriate level, but they should
also be consistent across levels. For instance, if you want to have a healthy
life, you shouldn’t have twelve sausage links and a beer every day
for breakfast. In other words, you need to constantly connect and
reconcile the data you’re gathering at different levels in order to
draw a complete picture of what’s going on. Like synthesizing in
general, some people are naturally better at this than others, but
anyone can learn to do this to one degree or another. To do it well,
it’s necessary to: