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
Have integrity and demand it from others.
Integrity comes from the Latin word integritas, meaning "one" or "whole." People who are one way on the inside and another way on the outside--i.e., not "whole"--lack integrity; they have "duality" instead. While presenting your view as something other than it is can sometimes be easier in the moment (because you can avoid conflict, or embarrassment, or achieve some other short-term goal), the secondand third-order effects of having integrity and avoiding duality are immense. People who are one way on the inside and another on the outside become conflicted and often lose touch with their own values. It's difficult for them to be happy and almost impossible for them to be their best.
Aligning what you say with what you think and what you think with what you feel will make you much happier and much more successful. Thinking solely about what's accurate instead of how it is perceived pushes you to focus on the most important things. It helps you sort through people and places because you'll be drawn to people and places that are open and honest. It's also fairer to those around you: Making judgments about people so that they are tried and sentenced in your head, without asking for their perspective, is both unethical and unproductive. Having nothing to hide relieves stress and builds trust.
RECENT USER EXCHANGES
A headhunter liked my honesty and asked me to apply. His team later found an old blog I’d written about failure and alcohol abuse and asked me to take it down so I’d still look “honest.” As Ray Dalio says, “Having nothing to hide relieves stress and builds trust.” I withdrew. I won’t hide my past.
Wonderful! You don’t have anything to fear. Frankly, you should be very proud of having struggled well. Failing and then having the character to struggle well to them succeed is what heroism is. Being open is a great way of sorting oneself because right people will appreciate you while the wrong ones won’t.
I get the subliminal part—I wasn’t explicit earlier, and the message was misunderstood. Practicing what you preach is hard when you’re trying not to offend or chasing short‑term gain. Integrity makes you whole, and it’s never too late to correct a mistake. Thanks for this—I needed it today.
Wonderful!
If leaders must sometimes set aside personal morality to serve organizational interests, as Machiavelli suggests, how does that tension fit within the principle you described?
A person with integrity would make that principle clear and operate that way whereas Lacking integrity would be acting one way and saying something else.
Incredibly simple. Profoundly powerful. I’ve shared your book with so many colleagues—it’s my book of the year.
You’re welcome! I hope you will pass them along to help others.
I agree with this completely, but the reality is that it’s increasingly difficult in today’s marketplace. Integrity is routinely pushed aside—especially in government—in favor of profit and winning at any cost. Many companies perform integrity publicly, while behind closed doors ethics are compromised, bargained away, or simply ignored.
Don’t give it up. Hold on to it and display it. You will find the some people wil like you for it and others won’t so that it’s
Work Principle
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
