Page 455 - Ray Dalio - Principles

WORK PRINCIPLES: PUTTING IT

ALL TOGETHER

Since the relative importance of these three things varies by

person, it is up to you to determine the quantities and mix you
want. The important thing to realize is that they are mutually
supportive. If you want to accomplish your mission, you will
be better off having quality relationships with people
committed to that mission and financial resources to put
behind it. Similarly, if you want to have a great work

community, you will need a shared mission and financial
resources to support you, and if you want to make the most
money possible, you will need clear goals and tight
relationships to achieve them. In my life, I have been lucky to
have much more of all three of these than I could have ever
imagined. I have tried to convey the approach that worked for

me—an idea meritocracy in which meaningful work and
meaningful relationships are the goals and radical truth and
radical transparency are the ways of achieving them—so that
you can decide what, if any of it, is of use to you.

Recognizing that I gave you a pile of principles that could
be confusing, I want to make sure that the headline I’m trying
to get across comes through. It is that of all approaches to

40
decision making, an idea meritocracy is the best. It’s
almost too obvious to warrant saying, but I will anyway:
Knowing what you can and cannot expect from each person
and knowing what to do to make sure the best ideas win out
are the best way to make decisions. Idea-meritocratic decision
making is better than traditional autocratic or democratic
decision making in almost all cases.

That’s not just theory. While there is no such thing as utopia
just like there is no such thing as perfect, there is great—and
there isn’t much doubt that the results of this idea-meritocratic