Page 298 - Ray Dalio - Principles

1 Trust in Radical Truth

and Radical

Transparency

Understanding what is true is essential for success, and being
radically transparent about everything, including mistakes and
weaknesses, helps create the understanding that leads to
improvements. That’s not just a theory; we have put this into
practice at Bridgewater for over forty years, so we know how
it works. But like most things in life, being radically truthful

and transparent has cons as well as pros, which I will describe
as accurately as possible in this chapter.

Being radically truthful and transparent with your
colleagues and expecting your colleagues to be the same with
you ensures that important issues are apparent instead of
hidden. It also enforces good behavior and good thinking,
because when you have to explain yourself, everyone can

openly assess the merits of your logic. If you are handling
things well, radical transparency will make that clear, and if
you are handling things badly, radical transparency will make
that clear as well, so it helps to maintain high standards.

Radical truth and radical transparency are fundamental to
having a real idea meritocracy. The more people can see what
is happening—the good, the bad, and the ugly—the more

effective they are at deciding the appropriate ways of handling
things. This approach is also invaluable for training: Learning
is compounded and accelerated when everyone has the
opportunity to hear what everyone else is thinking. As a
leader, you will get the feedback essential for your learning

and for the continual improvement of the organization’s