Page 303 - Ray Dalio - Principles

Next to being dishonest, it is the worst thing you can do in our
community.

Managers should not talk about people who work for them
if they are not in the room. If someone is not present at a

meeting where something relevant to them is discussed, we
always make sure to send them a recording of the meeting and
other relevant information.

b. Don’t let loyalty to people stand in the way of truth and the well-being of the
organization. In some companies, employees hide their
employer’s mistakes, and employers do the same in return.
This is unhealthy and stands in the way of improvement

because it prevents people from bringing their mistakes and
weaknesses to the surface, encourages deception, and
eliminates subordinates’ right of appeal.

The same thing applies to the idea of personal loyalty. I
have regularly seen people kept in jobs that they don’t deserve
because of their personal relationship to the boss, and this
leads to unscrupulous managers trading on personal loyalties

to build fiefdoms for themselves. Judging one person by a
different set of rules than another is an insidious form of
corruption that undermines the meritocracy.

I believe in a healthier form of loyalty founded on openly
exploring what is true. Explicit, principled thinking and radical
transparency are the best antidotes for self-dealing. When
everyone is held to the same principles and decision making is

done publicly, it is difficult for people to pursue their own
interests at the expense of the organization’s. In such an
environment, those who face their challenges have the most
admirable character; when mistakes and weaknesses are
hidden, unhealthy character is rewarded instead.

1.3 Create an environment in which

everyone has the right to

understand what makes sense

and no one has the right to hold a