Page 374 - Ray Dalio - Principles

of ownership, a drive for excellence, and the willingness to do the
good but difficult things, we look for highly capable people who
deeply want all of those things.

b. Make finding the right people systematic and scientific. The process for
choosing people should be systematically built out and evidence-
based. You need to have a people-hiring machine in which the
goals are clearly stated so that the outcomes can be compared with
them and the machine (the design and the people) producing the
outcomes can evolve to improve.

Organizations typically hire people by having job candidates’
resumes reviewed by semi-random people based on semi-random
criteria, which leads them to invite in candidates to have semi-

random groups of people ask the candidates semi-random
questions and then make their choices of whom to offer jobs based
on the consensus of how they liked them. You need to make sure
that each one of those steps is done more systematically and
purposefully. For example, you should think through what
questions are asked and how the different answers candidates give
differentiate them in the ways that you are seeking to differentiate
them. You should also save all of those answers so you can learn
about how indicative they might be of subsequent behaviors and
performance. I do not mean that the human dimension or art of the
hiring process should be eliminated—the personal values and
esprit de corps part of a relationship are critically important and
can’t be fully measured by data. Sometimes the twinkle in the eye
and the facial expressions are telling. However, even for those
areas where people’s subjective interpretations are important, you
can still use data and a scientific approach to be more objective—
for example, you can capture data to assess the track records of
those making the interpretations.

c. Hear the click: Find the right fit between the role and the person.Remember
that your goal is to put the right people in the right design. First

understand the responsibilities of the role and the qualities needed
to fulfill them, then ascertain whether an individual has them.
When you’re doing this well, there should almost be an audible
“click” as the person you’re hiring fits into his or her role.

d. Look for people who sparkle, not just “any ol’ one of those.” Too many
people get hired because they are just “one of those.” If you’re
looking for a plumber you might be inclined to fill the job with the
first experienced plumber you interview, without ascertaining