Page 339 - Ray Dalio - Principles

b. 3 to 5 is more than 20. Three to five smart, conceptual people
seeking the right answers in an open-minded way will
generally lead to the best answers. It may be tempting to
convene a larger group, but having too many people collaborate

is counterproductive, even if the members of the larger group
are smart and talented. The symbiotic advantages of adding
people to a group grow incrementally (2+1=4.25) up to a point;
beyond that, adding people actually subtracts from
effectiveness. That is because 1) the marginal benefits diminish
as the group gets larger (two or three people might be able to
cover most of the important perspectives, so adding more
people doesn’t bring much more) and 2) larger group

interactions are less efficient than smaller ones. Of course,
what’s best in practice depends on the quality of the people and
the differences of the perspectives that they bring and how well
the group is managed.

4.6 When you have alignment, cherish

it.

While there is nobody in the world who will share your point of
view on everything, there are people who will share your most
important values and the ways in which you choose to live

them out. Make sure you end up with those people.

4.7 If you find you can’t reconcile

major differences—especially in

values—consider whether the

relationship is worth preserving.

There are all kinds of different people in the world, many of
whom value different kinds of things. If you find you can’t get
in sync with someone on shared values, you should consider
whether that person is worth keeping in your life. A lack of
common values will lead to a lot of pain and other harmful