Page 381 - Ray Dalio - Principles

d. Focus more on making the pie bigger than on exactly how to slice it so that you
or anyone else gets the biggest piece. The best negotiations are the ones
with someone in which I say, “You should take more,” and they
argue back, “No you should take more!” People who operate this
way with each other make the relationship better and the pie
bigger—and both benefit in the long run.

8.7 Remember that in great

partnerships, consideration and

generosity are more important than

money.

Someone who doesn’t have much can be more generous giving a
little than a rich person giving a lot. Some people respond to the
generosity while others respond to the money. You want the first
type with you, and you always want to treat them generously.

When I had nothing, I was as generous as I could be with
people who appreciated my generosity more than the higher levels
of compensation others could afford to give them. For that reason,
they stayed with me. I never forgot that, and I made a point of
making them rich when I had the opportunity to do so. And they
in turn were generous to me in their own way when I needed their
generosity most. We both got something much more valuable than
money—and we got the money too.

Remember that the only purpose of money is to get you what
you want, so think hard about what you value and put it above
money. How much would you sell a good relationship for? There’s
not enough money in the world to get you to part with a valued
relationship.

a. Be generous and expect generosity from others. If you’re not generous
with others and others aren’t generous with you, you won’t have a
quality relationship.

8.8 Great people are hard to find so
make sure you think about how to

keep them.