Page 425 - Ray Dalio - Principles

Do not exclude any relevant people from the drill-down:
Besides losing the benefit of their ideas, you’ll disenfranchise
them from the game plan and reduce their sense of ownership.

At the same time, remember that people tend to be more
defensive than self-critical. It is your job as a manager to get at
truth and excellence, not to make people happy. For example,
the correct path might be to fire some people and replace them
with better people, or put them in jobs they might not want.
Everyone’s objective must be to get at the best answers, not
the answers that will make the most people happy.

You may find that multiple problems identified in Step 1
share the same root cause. Because you are doing a drill-down
in a quick session, your root cause diagnoses may only be
provisional—essentially alerts about things to watch out for.

When Step 2 is completed, take a break to reflect; then
come up with a plan.

Step 3: Create a Plan. Step away from the group and develop a
plan that addresses the root causes. Plans are like movie

scripts, where you visualize who will do what through time to
achieve the goals. They are developed by iterating through
multiple possibilities, weighing the likelihood of goal
achievement versus costs and risks. They should have specific
tasks, outcomes, Responsible Parties, tracking metrics, and

timelines. Allow the key people involved to discuss the plan
thoroughly. Not everyone needs to agree on the plan but the
Responsible Parties and other key people must be in sync.

Step 4: Execute the Plan. Execute the agreed-upon plan and
transparently track its progress. At least monthly, report on the
planned and actual progress to date and the expectations for
the coming period, and hold people publicly accountable for

delivering their outcomes successfully and on time. Make
adjustments to the plan as required to reflect reality.

12.5 Understand that diagnosis is

foundational to both progress

and quality relationships.