Page 281 - Ray Dalio - Principles

made the bad times better than the good ones in some
important ways.

Think about some of your toughest experiences in life. I bet
it is as true for you as it has been for me that going through

them with people you cared about, who cared about you, and
who were working as hard as you were for the same mission,
was incredibly rewarding. As hard as they were, we look back
on some of these challenging times as our finest moments. For
most people, being part of a great community on a shared
mission is even more rewarding than money. Numerous

studies have shown there is little to no correlation between
one’s happiness and the amount of money one accumulates,
yet there is a strong correlation between one’s happiness and
the quality of one’s relationships.

I laid this out in a memo to Bridgewater in 1996:

Bridgewater is not about plodding along at some kind of
moderate standard, it is about working like hell to achieve
a standard that is extraordinarily high, and then getting

the satisfaction that comes along with that sort of super-
achievement.

Our overriding objective is excellence, or more
precisely, constant improvement, a superb and constantly
improving company in all respects.

Conflict in the pursuit of excellence is a terrific thing.

There should be no hierarchy based on age or seniority.
Power should lie in the reasoning, not the position, of the
individual. The best ideas win no matter who they come
from.

Criticism (by oneself and by others) is an essential
ingredient in the improvement process, yet, if handled
incorrectly, can be destructive. It should be handled

objectively. There should be no hierarchy in the giving or
receiving of criticism.

Teamwork and team spirit are essential, including
intolerance of substandard performance. This is referring
to 1) one’s recognition of the responsibilities one has to
help the team achieve its common goals and 2) the