Page 314 - Ray Dalio - Principles

many people would do anything in their power to help our
community/company and wouldn’t want to work anywhere
else. This is invaluable.

As Bridgewater grew, my ability to have quality personal

contact with everyone faded, but this wasn’t a problem
because the broader community embraced this way of being
with each other. This didn’t just happen; we did a lot to help it
along. For example, we put into place a policy that we would
pay for half of practically any activities that people want to do
together up to a set cap (we now support more than a hundred

clubs and athletic and common-interest groups); we paid for
food and drink for those who hosted potluck dinners at their
houses; and we bought a house that employees can use for
events and celebrations. We have Christmas, Halloween,
Fourth of July, and other parties that often include family
members. Eventually, others who valued this kind of
relationship took responsibility for it and it spread to become a

cultural norm so that I could just sit back and watch beauty
happen.

What about the person who doesn’t give a damn about all
of this meaningful relationship stuff, who just wants to go into
work, do a good job, and receive fair compensation? Is that
okay? Sure it is, and it’s common for a significant percentage
of employees. Not everyone feels the same or is expected to

feel the same about the community. It’s totally okay to opt out.
We have all sorts of people and respect whatever they want to
do on their own time, as long as they abide by the law and are
considerate. But these are not the folks who will provide the
community with the skeletal strength of commitment that is

essential for it to be extraordinary over very long periods of
time.

No matter how much one tries to create a culture of
meaningful relationships, the organization is bound to have
some bad (intentionally harmful) people in it. Being there isn’t
good for them or the company so it’s best to find out who they
are and remove them. We have found that the higher the

percentage of people who really care about the organization,
the fewer the number of bad people there are, because the
people who really care protect the community against them.