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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I'm not getting many critics on the reviews. Yes, you can disagree with many things he says, you can find them not really news. The point is that he's just sharing his point of view from his experience. It's not a magic potion but just an opinion of a very smart individual, it's up to you to absorb it in the best way possible.
I've personally found it very interesting, Mr. Dalio gives very interesting opinions and thoughts about organisational behaviour, macro-economics, and ethics, definitely worth reading!
I've personally found it very interesting, Mr. Dalio gives very interesting opinions and thoughts about organisational behaviour, macro-economics, and ethics, definitely worth reading!
A pithy waste of time.
The advice is equivalent to "Be Rational". Even Mark Manson was more useful than this.
The advice is equivalent to "Be Rational". Even Mark Manson was more useful than this.
I think this might be the best book I’ve read in all of 2017. Lots of practical thoughts on life and how those apply to work. So many good takeaways that I don’t even know where to start in implementing. I think this could easily be a book that I go through several times, and focus on pieces of it at a time.
Also fantastic advice for running a business. And it was cool to see how all those things were based on how we should live our lives.
Also fantastic advice for running a business. And it was cool to see how all those things were based on how we should live our lives.
Although this might rankle a few and make a few more raise their eyebrows in consternation, I personally felt "Principles" to be over rated, over hyped and over indulged. While there can be no doubt about either the stature or standing of Ray Dalio and his stupendous achievement with Bridgewater, it is this very stature and standing that influences the perception of people towards the book and sways public opinion towards a more positive acceptance.
Dalio seeks to provide a complete insight into the 'principles' followed with a religious fervour within Bridgewater that has not only made the company one of the best hedge funds ever to have plied its financial wares (not to mention a whopping Top 5 Ranking among corporates in the USA), but has also created an allure regarding the work culture and management ethos that has been the talk of every town. These corporate practices collectively termed "Principles" by Ray Dalio have been sensationalised to the point of being transformed into a set of cliques. With a view to setting matters straight, Dalio elucidates the actual principles that transformed Bridgewater from a non-decrepit structure operating from a basement into a towering behemoth boasting an employee strength in excess of 1500 and managing assets north of many billions of dollars.
An ’idea-meritocracy’ set up having as its edifices the tenets of radical transparency and non-hierarchical vision sharing forms the core and crux of Dalio’s “Principles”. These are also some of the concepts that have caught the eyes and attention of a whole horde of social scientists and psychologists further embellishing the aura of Bridgewater. While there is definitely a good deal of introspection and insight that can be gleaned out of a reading of ‘Principles’, this quasi memoir – in my humble opinion – is neither ground breaking not seminal. In fact frequent references to ‘firing’ and dismissing employees who are seemingly ‘unsuitable’ for their jobs has shades of the revolting practices of Jack Welch a.k.a ‘Neutron Jack’ the autocrat par excellence of formerly General Electric fame. Also frequent references to himself and his authoring the principles and setting the tone at Bridgewater makes Dalio sound like an incorrigible egotist.
Principles – Can be safely ignored!
Dalio seeks to provide a complete insight into the 'principles' followed with a religious fervour within Bridgewater that has not only made the company one of the best hedge funds ever to have plied its financial wares (not to mention a whopping Top 5 Ranking among corporates in the USA), but has also created an allure regarding the work culture and management ethos that has been the talk of every town. These corporate practices collectively termed "Principles" by Ray Dalio have been sensationalised to the point of being transformed into a set of cliques. With a view to setting matters straight, Dalio elucidates the actual principles that transformed Bridgewater from a non-decrepit structure operating from a basement into a towering behemoth boasting an employee strength in excess of 1500 and managing assets north of many billions of dollars.
An ’idea-meritocracy’ set up having as its edifices the tenets of radical transparency and non-hierarchical vision sharing forms the core and crux of Dalio’s “Principles”. These are also some of the concepts that have caught the eyes and attention of a whole horde of social scientists and psychologists further embellishing the aura of Bridgewater. While there is definitely a good deal of introspection and insight that can be gleaned out of a reading of ‘Principles’, this quasi memoir – in my humble opinion – is neither ground breaking not seminal. In fact frequent references to ‘firing’ and dismissing employees who are seemingly ‘unsuitable’ for their jobs has shades of the revolting practices of Jack Welch a.k.a ‘Neutron Jack’ the autocrat par excellence of formerly General Electric fame. Also frequent references to himself and his authoring the principles and setting the tone at Bridgewater makes Dalio sound like an incorrigible egotist.
Principles – Can be safely ignored!
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Dalio has had a fascinating life and this book is full of wisdom and surprising ideas. It could do with more concrete examples of how to follow the principles. I wouldn't recommend reading the whole thing though; read the principles and drill down into the ones you're interested in, and use the book as a reference.
The Book in 3 Sentences
1. Be radically open-minded and transparent to identify problems, bring these problems up honestly with your peers, and adapt to new circumstances.
2. Set clear goals, identify problems preventing you from achieving your goals, design a plan to resolve these problems, and push through your plan by establishing good work habits.
3. Perceive yourself and others objectively, and from a higher level, to eliminate your own biases and acknowledge when you are not the most versed person on a subject (including in arguments/discussions) — seek out more "believable" people.
Impressions
The book has a lot of useful information about the importance of rational thinking, but I feel like Dalio under-emphasizes the importance of weighing your emotions in your decision-making. That is, a recurring theme throughout the book was that suppressing your "lower-level", emotional thinking is the best practice in any given situation. While I can agree that letting your emotions run unchecked can be harmful, I think that a fundamental component of human nature — that even distinguishes us from other species (which Dalio doesn't seem to recognize, as he deems emotional responses "animalistic") — is our capacity to consider our emotions adequately when weighing decisions, as well as empathizing with others to produce the most satisfying outcome.
Additionally, some of his ideology pertaining to understanding how others should cooperate in a work environment didn't fully resonate me, especially his approach to using baseball cards to list personality "statistics" about his employees at Bridgewater. To me, this seems to act as a limiting factor for anyone subjected to it, as I imagine one might box themselves in and subconsciously conform to the statistics they're assigned on their own card, rather than try to actively improve their weaknesses — which is a truism that Dalio himself frequently advocates for. Nonetheless, I found the rest of his advice to be relevant, especially the importance of seeking out "believable" people for topics beyond your scope, and viewing yourself from an objective perspective to accurately diagnose your strengths and weaknesses (and aim to remediate them).
Impact on Me
Reading this book made reevaluate how I view myself — whether it's from a biased, egotistical point of view, or one from which I can identify my own downfalls objectively. I found Dalio's emphasis on having this perspective to be especially pertinent in the context of having "thoughtful disagreements" instead of arguments. While arguments can easily devolve into mindless battles over who is right or wrong, they should really be active discussions in which both parties have a genuine desire to come to the correct conclusion. I also thought about how often I genuinely seek help from more knowledgeable people, rather than selfishly believing that I alone can find the answers to all of my questions.
Top Quotes
People who change their minds because they learned something are winners, whereas those who stubbornly refuse to learn are the losers.
I just want to be right—I don’t care if the right answer comes from me.
If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits, and if you’re not pushing your limits, you’re not maximizing your potential.
1. Be radically open-minded and transparent to identify problems, bring these problems up honestly with your peers, and adapt to new circumstances.
2. Set clear goals, identify problems preventing you from achieving your goals, design a plan to resolve these problems, and push through your plan by establishing good work habits.
3. Perceive yourself and others objectively, and from a higher level, to eliminate your own biases and acknowledge when you are not the most versed person on a subject (including in arguments/discussions) — seek out more "believable" people.
Impressions
The book has a lot of useful information about the importance of rational thinking, but I feel like Dalio under-emphasizes the importance of weighing your emotions in your decision-making. That is, a recurring theme throughout the book was that suppressing your "lower-level", emotional thinking is the best practice in any given situation. While I can agree that letting your emotions run unchecked can be harmful, I think that a fundamental component of human nature — that even distinguishes us from other species (which Dalio doesn't seem to recognize, as he deems emotional responses "animalistic") — is our capacity to consider our emotions adequately when weighing decisions, as well as empathizing with others to produce the most satisfying outcome.
Additionally, some of his ideology pertaining to understanding how others should cooperate in a work environment didn't fully resonate me, especially his approach to using baseball cards to list personality "statistics" about his employees at Bridgewater. To me, this seems to act as a limiting factor for anyone subjected to it, as I imagine one might box themselves in and subconsciously conform to the statistics they're assigned on their own card, rather than try to actively improve their weaknesses — which is a truism that Dalio himself frequently advocates for. Nonetheless, I found the rest of his advice to be relevant, especially the importance of seeking out "believable" people for topics beyond your scope, and viewing yourself from an objective perspective to accurately diagnose your strengths and weaknesses (and aim to remediate them).
Impact on Me
Reading this book made reevaluate how I view myself — whether it's from a biased, egotistical point of view, or one from which I can identify my own downfalls objectively. I found Dalio's emphasis on having this perspective to be especially pertinent in the context of having "thoughtful disagreements" instead of arguments. While arguments can easily devolve into mindless battles over who is right or wrong, they should really be active discussions in which both parties have a genuine desire to come to the correct conclusion. I also thought about how often I genuinely seek help from more knowledgeable people, rather than selfishly believing that I alone can find the answers to all of my questions.
Top Quotes
People who change their minds because they learned something are winners, whereas those who stubbornly refuse to learn are the losers.
I just want to be right—I don’t care if the right answer comes from me.
If you’re not failing, you’re not pushing your limits, and if you’re not pushing your limits, you’re not maximizing your potential.
The book is very good, but extremely and unecessarily long if you ask me. However, he has a lot of wisdom, some, conventional knowledge that is good to go back to and see it in black and white, and a few very good life tips that if taken seriously, could really benefit you.
Great content. The first 30% I did no like so much but from then on it is full of pearls that sometimes seem obvious but somehow you never thought about them... Meritocracy & radical transparency FTW!
I have been ruminating on this book for a while. I was torn between 4 and 5 stars. On the up-side. The book is very helpful and builds the ideas around an idea meritocracy very well. The principles are thoughtful and well laid out. While I am not sure about many of them, I can appreciate the reasoning that got them there. And at the same time, the author is very open in saying that these are his and should not just be co-opted for the sake of them being written in a book. I found the book transparent and honest. The most helpful part which I have not fully looked into are the tools that the author mentioned making publicly available and the exhortation to actually put these things into practice or even reading the book is a waste.
The only slight detractors from the book is what I would classify as a lack of polish. There is a good deal of repetition in the anecdotes. I also "read" the audio version of the book and there were a few chapters just read by someone else, and yet the "voice" didn't change. It may seem like a small thing but it is slightly jarring.
That being said, the principles are helpful and I might feel the need to bump this to 5 stars after a re-read which I fully anticipate happening.
The only slight detractors from the book is what I would classify as a lack of polish. There is a good deal of repetition in the anecdotes. I also "read" the audio version of the book and there were a few chapters just read by someone else, and yet the "voice" didn't change. It may seem like a small thing but it is slightly jarring.
That being said, the principles are helpful and I might feel the need to bump this to 5 stars after a re-read which I fully anticipate happening.