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
If it is your meeting to run, manage the conversation. If it is not your meeting to run, follow the lead of the person who is running the meeting.
There are many reasons why meetings go poorly, but frequently it is because of a lack of clarity about the topic or the level at which things are being discussed (e.g., the principle/machine level, the case-at-hand level, or the specific-fact level).
Work Principle
- Get and Stay in Sync
If it is your meeting to run, manage the conversation. If it is not your meeting to run, follow the lead of the person who is running the meeting.
- Make it clear who is directing the meeting and whom it is meant to serve.
- Be precise in what you're talking about to avoid confusion.
- Make clear what type of communication you are going to have in light of the objectives and priorities.
- Lead the discussion by being assertive and open-minded.
- Navigate between the different levels of the conversation.
- Watch out for "topic slip."
- Enforce the logic of conversations.
- Be careful not to lose personal responsibility via group decision making.
- Utilize the "two-minute rule" to avoid persistent interruptions.
- Watch out for assertive "fast talkers."
- Achieve completion in conversations.
- Leverage your communication.
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
