Page 356 - Ray Dalio - Principles

6.2 Make sure people don’t confuse

the right to complain, give advice,

and openly debate with the right

to make decisions.

Everyone does not report to everyone. Responsibilities and
authorities are assigned to individuals based on assessments of
their ability to handle them. People are given the authority that
they need to achieve outcomes and are held accountable for

their ability to produce them.

At the same time, they are going to be stress-tested from
both directions—i.e., by those they report to and by those who
report to them. The challenging and probing that we encourage
is not meant to second-guess their every decision but to
improve the quality of their work over time. The ultimate goal
of independent thinking and open debate is to provide the

decision maker with alternative perspectives. It doesn’t mean
that decision-making authority is transitioned to those who are
probing them.

a. When challenging a decision and/or a decision maker, consider the broader
context. It’s important to view individual decisions in the
broadest possible context. For example, if the Responsible

Party being challenged has a vision, and the decision being
disputed involves a small detail of that overall vision, the
decision needs to be debated and evaluated within the context
of that larger vision.

6.3 Don’t leave important conflicts

unresolved.

While it’s easier to avoid confrontations in the short run, the

consequences of doing so can be massively destructive in the
long term. It’s critical that conflicts actually get resolved—not
through superficial compromise, but through seeking the
important, accurate conclusions. In most cases, this process
should be made transparent to relevant others (and sometimes