Principles are ways of successfully dealing with reality to get what you want out of life.
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, cites principles as his key to success.
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Over forty years later, Bridgewater has grown into the largest hedge fund in the world and the fifth most important private company in the United States (according to Fortune magazine), and Dalio himself has been named to TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way Dalio discovered unique principles that have led to his and Bridgewater’s unique success. It is these principles, and not anything special about Dalio, that he believes are the reason behind whatever success he has had. He is now at a stage in his life that he wants to pass these principles along to others for them to judge for themselves and to do whatever they want with them.
Work Principle
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.
Work Principle
- Hire Right, Because the Penalties for Hiring Wrong Are Huge
- Pay attention to people's track records.
- Make sure your people have character and are capable.
- Pay attention to people's track records.
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
