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
Recognize that having an effective idea meritocracy requires that you understand the merit of each person's ideas.
Having a hierarchy of merit is not only consistent with an idea meritocracy but essential for it. It's simply not possible for everyone to debate everything all the time and still get their work done. Treating all people equally is more likely to lead away from truth than toward it. But at the same time, all views should be considered in an openminded way, though placed in the proper context of the experiences and track records of the people expressing them.
Imagine if a group of us were getting a lesson in how to play baseball from Babe Ruth, and someone who'd never played the game kept interrupting him to debate how to swing the bat. Would it be helpful or harmful to the group's progress to ignore their different track records and experience? Of course it would be harmful and plain silly to treat their points of view equally, because they have different levels of believability. The most productive approach would be to allow Ruth to give his instructions uninterrupted and then take some time afterward to answer questions. But because I'm pretty extreme in believing that it is important to obtain understanding rather than accepting doctrine at face value, I would encourage the new batter not to accept what Ruth has to say as right just because he was the greatest slugger of all time. If I were that new batter, I wouldn't stop questioning Ruth until I was confident I had found the truth.
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How do you create an environment to have an effective idea meritocracy?
The first step is to deeply understand how an idea-meritocracy can work in practice (which is the main reason I described it in detail in the “Work Principles” part of my book Principles and it is the main reason that I will be passing along the tools/apps that pretty well assure that you will have an idea-meritocracy if you use them. Look hard at whether you want one of these or what version you want and then go get it. Go get it by making one of these (to the extent you have the power to do that) or by finding one that suits your liking.
The problem with meritocracy is: It favors people who already have the right knowledge and skills. Meanwhile, many others—who never had access to good education—end up feeling unmotivated because they know they can’t win in this system. They’re pushed into complacency so that those who already have the ‘right’ kind of knowledge can continue to hold academic power.
An idea meritocracy in which people know what they are strong and weak at and can see changes in themselves and their outcomes helps them develop people as well as leads to the best decision makers making the best decisions possible for the whole. Here’s your choice. Let’s imagine that you are seriously ill and are trying to decide what you should do. Would you prefer to follow the path 1) one doctor who happens to be in the position of power to make the decision and doesn’t operate in an idea-meritocratic way, 2) democratically take a vote of whoever is around without regard for their credentials or 3) triangulation among experts. I’d prefer the third choice which is what an idea-meritocracy is.
The concept of meritocracy is under assault. Some argue that teachers’ unions promote standardized teaching practices that reduce instructional flexibility. Others question whether teaching should adapt to individual learning styles or follow consistent methods. Funding concerns and policies like early tenure remain central topics in discussions about organizations such as the NEA
I agree that the concept of meritocracy is under assault. The question is what you and others will do about it. I suggest that you and others either change your organizations to make them work well or, typically more practically, move to organizations that work well.
Are there any companies that have an idea meritocracy?
Bridgewater was like that. I’ve now found many companies want to be that way. My job is to help them. My free app Principles in Action helps. It was give a rating of 4.9. You can get it for free at ???
Do you agree that it is harmful to think everyone's opinion is equally important because people can be different in credibility?
Absolutely! That is why I believe that measuring and scoring people’s credibilities (which I call their believabilities) is highly desirable. With such ratings we know how to weigh their opinions. Having a list of best people to go to for the best opinions (in different areas) is invaluable. So is having them debate key issues. It also helps people know where they are strong and weak which helps us to focus on their development and to measure their progress.
How do you keep from stifling creative fresh ideas when giving the floor to the incumbent expert?
We keep from stifling creative fresh ideas by encouraging non-hierarchical open debate about what’s best and by doing that time-efficiently and effectively via agreed upon protocols. I tried to lay it out how we do it in Principles. Maybe I will share with you some of our tapes of us doing it so you can see for yourself what it’s like.
I agree with the concept, but there needs to be a limit on how long each person can ask questions, especially when others are ready to move on. Without some way to measure or manage this, meetings risk turning into extended learning sessions for those least familiar with the topic.
Sure. But it’s not as complicated or difficult as you make it out to be. It’s like going to three great doctors and have them triangulate their thinking to try to be at the best opinion. Just do it and weigh their opinions. You can stop when you reach the point of diminishing returns and you don’t need the sort of data and tools that I developed to help me do it (though they help because they make clear what levels of believabilities people have via scores that are also used in believability weighted voting). Just do it!
Work Principle
- Believability Weight Your Decision Making
Recognize that having an effective idea meritocracy requires that you understand the merit of each person's ideas.
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
