Page 379 - Ray Dalio - Principles

e. Don’t assume that a person who has been successful elsewhere will be successful
in the job you’re giving them. No matter how good you are at hiring,
some of your hires won’t work out. Know how the people you’re
considering operate and visualize how that will produce successful
results. Knowing what they did is valuable only insofar as it helps
you figure out what they are like.

f. Make sure your people have character and are capable. The person who is
capable but doesn’t have good character is generally destructive,
because he or she has the cleverness to do you harm and will
certainly erode the culture. In my opinion, most organizations
overvalue the abilities piece and undervalue the character piece
because of a shortsighted focus on getting the job done. In doing

so, they lose the power of the great relationships that will take
them through both good and bad times.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you should
compromise capabilities for character. The person with good
character and poor abilities also creates problems. While likable,
he or she won’t get the job done and is painfully difficult to fire
because doing so feels like shooting the loyal dog you can’t afford
to keep anymore—but he must go. Ultimately, what you need in
the people you work with are excellent character and excellent
capabilities, which is why it’s so hard to find great people.

8.5 Don’t hire people just to fit the first

job they will do; hire people you

want to share your life with.

Turnover is costly and inefficient because of the time it takes for
people to get to know each other and the organization. Both the
people you work with and the company itself will evolve in ways
you can’t anticipate. So hire the kind of people you want to share a

long-term mission with. You will always have uses for great
people.

a. Look for people who have lots of great questions. Smart people are the
ones who ask the most thoughtful questions, as opposed to
thinking they have all the answers. Great questions are a much
better indicator of future success than great answers.