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miq33l's review against another edition
5.0
Ray Dalio started and build a company which now is the largest investment fund in the world, or something such. Importantly, he build it from the bottom up. In this book he lists a number of working principles that helped him achieve the success.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Its brief, written in clear language without any hyperbole characteristic for self-help books. I believe that there is something useful in the principles for anyone willing to read it and question it as Dalio suggests.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Its brief, written in clear language without any hyperbole characteristic for self-help books. I believe that there is something useful in the principles for anyone willing to read it and question it as Dalio suggests.
opson's review against another edition
5.0
Bokrecension av Ray Dalios Principles
Ray Dalio är en framgångsrik investerare, filantrop, och skapare av en av världens största hedgefonder, Bridgewater Associates. Han har skrivit boken Principles, där grundidén är att de problem och situationer människor möter kommer som resultat av bakomliggande mönster. Genom att observera och reflektera kring dessa mönster går det att skapa principer av varierande komplexitet så man i framtiden kan agera klokare. Tanken är att känna igen att en situation är ”en av dessa”, och därefter applicera relevant princip/underprincip. I hans bok menar Ray att en av de mest användbara indikatorerna för behovet av reflektion är uppmärksammandet av smärtsamma upplevelser. Genom att reflektera kring varför smärtan uppkom och hur man i framtiden kan agera för att undvika den, går det att skapa principer för att leva ett bättre liv.
Boken består av två delar. Den första delen behandlar Rays principer med tillhörande resonemang för beslutsfattande i privatlivet. Den andra delen behandlar de principer han under fyrtio år formulerat för sitt företag. Företaget har en unik kultur av att villkorslöst främja att de bästa idéerna ska segra, en idémeritokrati. Ray menar att kraven för att uppnå detta är genom att ha ett radikalt fokus på sanning, öppenhet, samt vad han kallar believability-weighted decision making, där de med en historik av att ha fattat bra beslut inom ett område därmed också har ökad trovärdighet. Ett företag är en symbios av anställda och den kultur som råder, och Ray menar att för att lyckas med idémeritokrati är det inte bara uppmuntrat, utan nödvändigt att alla som anser sig ha välgrundad kritik lyfter denna, oavsett om det är mot en person högre i företagshierarkin, eller mot ett projekt, så företaget kan prestera optimalt. De principer han skapat är dels baserade för att lyckas välja rätt personer och skapa rätt kultur till företaget, men även principer att applicera när problem uppkommer, så idémeritokrati kan frodas.
Jag anser denna bok vara en game-changer. I en idémeritokrati är ingen exkluderad kritik, och inte heller bör någon vilja vara exkluderad kritik. Det är endast från uppmärksammandet av ens brister man har möjligheten att motverka dem. Välgrundad kritik uttrycks tyvärr för sällan. Ray menar att detta beror på att de flesta människor blir instinktivt känslomässigt defensiva när de får kritik, då deras självbild attackeras. Istället menar han att vi bör agera från ett högre medvetande och vara tacksam för kritiken, då den ger oss möjlighet att växa som person och bättre och snabbare nå vår kapacitet. Ray menar att detta perspektivskifte tar tid att integrera, men efter det gjorts är det svårt att återgå, då det också hade inneburit minskad personlig utveckling.
Personligen hade jag önskat att fler människor kunde leva efter en idémeritokratisk ideologi. Ingen är bättre än att inte kunna lyssna på välgrundad kritik, och alla har, och kommer alltid ha något att lära och utvecklas inom. Människor tenderar också att ha svårt att självutvärdera sig, så att triangulera omgivningens synpunkter är en fantastisk källa för självutveckling.
Principles av Ray Dalio är en bok jag starkt rekommenderar för alla som är intresserade av självutveckling och ledarskap.
Boken förser många guldkorn men nedan är några utdrag jag fann vara extra mycket av värde:
“To be effective you must not let your need to be right be more important than your need to find out what’s true. If you are too proud of what you know or of how good you are at something you will learn less, make inferior decisions, and fall short of your potential.”
==========
“When you encounter problems, your objective is to specifically identify the root causes of those problems—the specific people or designs that caused them—and to see if these people or designs have a pattern of causing problems.”
==========
“5-Step Process: 1) having clear goals, 2) identifying the problems preventing the goals from being achieved, 3) diagnosing what parts of the machine (i.e., which people or which designs) are not working well, 4) designing changes, and 5) doing what is needed. This is the fastest and most efficient way that an organization improves.”
==========
“Recognize that to gain the perspective that comes from seeing things through another’s eyes, you must suspend judgment for a time—only by empathizing can you properly evaluate another point of view.”
==========
“The courage that’s needed the most isn’t the kind that drives you to prevail over others, but the kind that allows you to be true to your truest self, no matter what other people want you to be.”
==========
“Know that the most constant struggle is between feeling and thinking.”
==========
“Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”
==========
“Wisdom is the ability to see both sides and weigh them appropriately.”
==========
“c. Think about accuracy, not implications.”
==========
“a. In the end, accuracy and kindness are the same thing. What might seem kind but isn’t accurate is harmful to the person and often to others in the organization as well.”
==========
“c. Beware of group-think: The fact that no one seems concerned doesn’t mean nothing is wrong.”
==========
“There is no greater failure than to fail to escalate a responsibility you cannot handle. Make sure your people are proactive; demand that they speak up when they can’t meet agreed-upon deliverables or deadlines. Such communication is essential to get in sync both on the case at hand and on what the person handling it is like.”
==========
“At a high level, we look for people who think independently, argue open-mindedly and assertively, and above all else value the intense pursuit of truth and excellence, and through it, the rapid improvement of themselves and the organization. Because we treat work as more than just what we do to make a living, we look at every potential hire not just as an employee but as someone we’d want share our lives with. We insist that the people we work with are considerate and have a high sense of personal accountability to do the difficult, right things. We look for people with generous natures and high standards of fairness. Most important, they must be able to put their egos aside and assess themselves candidly.”
==========
“10.9 Don’t treat everyone the same—treat them appropriately. It’s often said that it is neither fair nor appropriate to treat people differently. But in order to treat people appropriately you must treat them differently. That is because people and their circumstances are different. If you were a tailor you wouldn’t give all of your customers the same size suit. It is, however, important to treat people according to the same set of rules.”
==========
“This traditional relationship between “leaders” and “followers” is the opposite of what I believe is needed to be most effective, and being maximally effective is the most important thing a “leader” must do. It is more practical to be honest about one’s uncertainties, mistakes, and weaknesses than to pretend they don’t exist. It is also more important to have good challengers than good followers. Thoughtful discussion and disagreement is practical because it stress-tests leaders and brings what they are missing to their attention. One thing that leaders should not do, in my opinion, is be manipulative. Sometimes leaders will use emotions to motivate people to do things that they would not do after reflecting clearly. When dealing with intelligent people in an idea meritocracy, it is essential that one always appeal to their reason rather than their base emotions. The most effective leaders work to 1) open-mindedly seek out the best answers and 2) bring others along as part of that discovery process. That is how learning and getting in sync occurs. A truly great leader is appropriately uncertain but well equipped to deal with that uncertainty through open-minded exploration. All else being equal, I think the kind of leader who looks and acts like a skilled ninja will beat the kind of leader who looks and acts like a muscular action hero every time.”
==========
“In picking people for long-term relationships, values are most important, abilities come next, and skills are the least important.”
==========
“Besides being rewarding themselves, meaningful relationships enable the radical truth and transparency that allow us to hold each other accountable for producing excellence.”
==========
“a. 1+1=3. Two people who collaborate well will be about three times as effective as each of them operating independently, because each will see what the other might miss—plus they can leverage each other’s strengths while holding each other accountable to higher standards.”
==========
“b. 3 to 5 is more than 20. Three to five smart, conceptual people seeking the right answers in an open-minded way will generally lead to the best answers. It may be tempting to convene a larger group, but having too many people collaborate is counterproductive, even if the members of the larger group are smart and talented. The symbiotic advantages of adding people to a group grow incrementally (2+1=4.25) up to a point; beyond that, adding people actually subtracts from effectiveness. That is because 1) the marginal benefits diminish as the group gets larger (two or three people might be able to cover most of the important perspectives, so adding more people doesn’t bring much more) and 2) larger group interactions are less efficient than smaller ones.”
==========
“To me, great partnerships come from sharing common values and interests, having similar approaches to pursuing them, and being reasonable with, and having consideration for, each other. At the same time, partners must be willing to hold each other to high standards and work through their disagreements. The main test of a great partnership is not whether the partners ever disagree—people in all healthy relationships disagree—but whether they can bring their disagreements to the surface and get through them well.”
==========
Ray Dalio är en framgångsrik investerare, filantrop, och skapare av en av världens största hedgefonder, Bridgewater Associates. Han har skrivit boken Principles, där grundidén är att de problem och situationer människor möter kommer som resultat av bakomliggande mönster. Genom att observera och reflektera kring dessa mönster går det att skapa principer av varierande komplexitet så man i framtiden kan agera klokare. Tanken är att känna igen att en situation är ”en av dessa”, och därefter applicera relevant princip/underprincip. I hans bok menar Ray att en av de mest användbara indikatorerna för behovet av reflektion är uppmärksammandet av smärtsamma upplevelser. Genom att reflektera kring varför smärtan uppkom och hur man i framtiden kan agera för att undvika den, går det att skapa principer för att leva ett bättre liv.
Boken består av två delar. Den första delen behandlar Rays principer med tillhörande resonemang för beslutsfattande i privatlivet. Den andra delen behandlar de principer han under fyrtio år formulerat för sitt företag. Företaget har en unik kultur av att villkorslöst främja att de bästa idéerna ska segra, en idémeritokrati. Ray menar att kraven för att uppnå detta är genom att ha ett radikalt fokus på sanning, öppenhet, samt vad han kallar believability-weighted decision making, där de med en historik av att ha fattat bra beslut inom ett område därmed också har ökad trovärdighet. Ett företag är en symbios av anställda och den kultur som råder, och Ray menar att för att lyckas med idémeritokrati är det inte bara uppmuntrat, utan nödvändigt att alla som anser sig ha välgrundad kritik lyfter denna, oavsett om det är mot en person högre i företagshierarkin, eller mot ett projekt, så företaget kan prestera optimalt. De principer han skapat är dels baserade för att lyckas välja rätt personer och skapa rätt kultur till företaget, men även principer att applicera när problem uppkommer, så idémeritokrati kan frodas.
Jag anser denna bok vara en game-changer. I en idémeritokrati är ingen exkluderad kritik, och inte heller bör någon vilja vara exkluderad kritik. Det är endast från uppmärksammandet av ens brister man har möjligheten att motverka dem. Välgrundad kritik uttrycks tyvärr för sällan. Ray menar att detta beror på att de flesta människor blir instinktivt känslomässigt defensiva när de får kritik, då deras självbild attackeras. Istället menar han att vi bör agera från ett högre medvetande och vara tacksam för kritiken, då den ger oss möjlighet att växa som person och bättre och snabbare nå vår kapacitet. Ray menar att detta perspektivskifte tar tid att integrera, men efter det gjorts är det svårt att återgå, då det också hade inneburit minskad personlig utveckling.
Personligen hade jag önskat att fler människor kunde leva efter en idémeritokratisk ideologi. Ingen är bättre än att inte kunna lyssna på välgrundad kritik, och alla har, och kommer alltid ha något att lära och utvecklas inom. Människor tenderar också att ha svårt att självutvärdera sig, så att triangulera omgivningens synpunkter är en fantastisk källa för självutveckling.
Principles av Ray Dalio är en bok jag starkt rekommenderar för alla som är intresserade av självutveckling och ledarskap.
Boken förser många guldkorn men nedan är några utdrag jag fann vara extra mycket av värde:
“To be effective you must not let your need to be right be more important than your need to find out what’s true. If you are too proud of what you know or of how good you are at something you will learn less, make inferior decisions, and fall short of your potential.”
==========
“When you encounter problems, your objective is to specifically identify the root causes of those problems—the specific people or designs that caused them—and to see if these people or designs have a pattern of causing problems.”
==========
“5-Step Process: 1) having clear goals, 2) identifying the problems preventing the goals from being achieved, 3) diagnosing what parts of the machine (i.e., which people or which designs) are not working well, 4) designing changes, and 5) doing what is needed. This is the fastest and most efficient way that an organization improves.”
==========
“Recognize that to gain the perspective that comes from seeing things through another’s eyes, you must suspend judgment for a time—only by empathizing can you properly evaluate another point of view.”
==========
“The courage that’s needed the most isn’t the kind that drives you to prevail over others, but the kind that allows you to be true to your truest self, no matter what other people want you to be.”
==========
“Know that the most constant struggle is between feeling and thinking.”
==========
“Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.”
==========
“Wisdom is the ability to see both sides and weigh them appropriately.”
==========
“c. Think about accuracy, not implications.”
==========
“a. In the end, accuracy and kindness are the same thing. What might seem kind but isn’t accurate is harmful to the person and often to others in the organization as well.”
==========
“c. Beware of group-think: The fact that no one seems concerned doesn’t mean nothing is wrong.”
==========
“There is no greater failure than to fail to escalate a responsibility you cannot handle. Make sure your people are proactive; demand that they speak up when they can’t meet agreed-upon deliverables or deadlines. Such communication is essential to get in sync both on the case at hand and on what the person handling it is like.”
==========
“At a high level, we look for people who think independently, argue open-mindedly and assertively, and above all else value the intense pursuit of truth and excellence, and through it, the rapid improvement of themselves and the organization. Because we treat work as more than just what we do to make a living, we look at every potential hire not just as an employee but as someone we’d want share our lives with. We insist that the people we work with are considerate and have a high sense of personal accountability to do the difficult, right things. We look for people with generous natures and high standards of fairness. Most important, they must be able to put their egos aside and assess themselves candidly.”
==========
“10.9 Don’t treat everyone the same—treat them appropriately. It’s often said that it is neither fair nor appropriate to treat people differently. But in order to treat people appropriately you must treat them differently. That is because people and their circumstances are different. If you were a tailor you wouldn’t give all of your customers the same size suit. It is, however, important to treat people according to the same set of rules.”
==========
“This traditional relationship between “leaders” and “followers” is the opposite of what I believe is needed to be most effective, and being maximally effective is the most important thing a “leader” must do. It is more practical to be honest about one’s uncertainties, mistakes, and weaknesses than to pretend they don’t exist. It is also more important to have good challengers than good followers. Thoughtful discussion and disagreement is practical because it stress-tests leaders and brings what they are missing to their attention. One thing that leaders should not do, in my opinion, is be manipulative. Sometimes leaders will use emotions to motivate people to do things that they would not do after reflecting clearly. When dealing with intelligent people in an idea meritocracy, it is essential that one always appeal to their reason rather than their base emotions. The most effective leaders work to 1) open-mindedly seek out the best answers and 2) bring others along as part of that discovery process. That is how learning and getting in sync occurs. A truly great leader is appropriately uncertain but well equipped to deal with that uncertainty through open-minded exploration. All else being equal, I think the kind of leader who looks and acts like a skilled ninja will beat the kind of leader who looks and acts like a muscular action hero every time.”
==========
“In picking people for long-term relationships, values are most important, abilities come next, and skills are the least important.”
==========
“Besides being rewarding themselves, meaningful relationships enable the radical truth and transparency that allow us to hold each other accountable for producing excellence.”
==========
“a. 1+1=3. Two people who collaborate well will be about three times as effective as each of them operating independently, because each will see what the other might miss—plus they can leverage each other’s strengths while holding each other accountable to higher standards.”
==========
“b. 3 to 5 is more than 20. Three to five smart, conceptual people seeking the right answers in an open-minded way will generally lead to the best answers. It may be tempting to convene a larger group, but having too many people collaborate is counterproductive, even if the members of the larger group are smart and talented. The symbiotic advantages of adding people to a group grow incrementally (2+1=4.25) up to a point; beyond that, adding people actually subtracts from effectiveness. That is because 1) the marginal benefits diminish as the group gets larger (two or three people might be able to cover most of the important perspectives, so adding more people doesn’t bring much more) and 2) larger group interactions are less efficient than smaller ones.”
==========
“To me, great partnerships come from sharing common values and interests, having similar approaches to pursuing them, and being reasonable with, and having consideration for, each other. At the same time, partners must be willing to hold each other to high standards and work through their disagreements. The main test of a great partnership is not whether the partners ever disagree—people in all healthy relationships disagree—but whether they can bring their disagreements to the surface and get through them well.”
==========
skinnylatte's review against another edition
5.0
Ray Dalio is one of the world's foremost business thinkers. His unconventional management style (radical candor) is explained in this book, along with interesting anecdotes into how he got where he is.
mike20friars's review against another edition
5.0
Only read up to Work Principles as he just repeats the Life Principles in that section. Didn't think I would like it too much but found myself taking way too many notes to give anything less than 5 stars
jardena's review against another edition
4.0
From my blog...https://www.rosettatg.com/jars-jar/2018/2/27/principles-by-ray-dalio
Ray Dalio’s book Principles hit #1 on the NY Times bestseller list. What’s all the hype? Is there anything in here that you can use?
The book is multi-layered. He starts with a framework for building a principle-based organization. Then as the author layers on his own principles as examples, he includes some little gems of his own finding.
The core message is “build your list of operating principle as you go. Every time you make a decision, define the principle you based it on. Then create policies based on your principles. Share your principles with your organization.”
I found this to be a unique view. Backtracking your decisions into a set of principles. And then creating transparency to your thought process for others to align with. A sample of his principles are here: Sample Principles
The second layer is the principles themselves, which he divides into work and life principles. The principles themselves are not unique and hold little value as a standalone. The value is in applying them as a decision-making tool as an organization. Brilliant!
Mr. Dalio stresses the importance of coming us with your own principles, but he just can’t help but share his own in a way that kind of sounds like you should use his.
There are quite a few gems in the book. Here are some of my favorites:
Shapers: People with a vision who execute. “Shapers score low on ‘concern for others’ in behavioral tests, though they spend their time helping people. Why? Given a choice between achieving a goal or pleasing others, they choose the goal.”
I love the Shaper concept. However while Mr. Dalio frames Shapers as a select few, I feel that everyone can be a Shaper. Stay tuned for my upcoming blogtoon on becoming a Shaper.
Policy Makers vs Investors. “Policymakers come from environments that nurture consensus, not dissent, that train them to react to things that have already occurred, and that prepare them for negotiations, not placing bets. Because they don’t benefit from the constant feedback about the quality of their decisions that investors get, it’s not clear who the good and bad decision makers among them are. They also have to be politicians.”
Think about how this concept shows up in the corporate world. Do we value an idea that can get an agreement with an idea that will be effective?
Build and Evolve your Machine. Ray Dalio views his organization as a machine, and himself as the designer and operator of that machine. He constantly maintains, diagnoses and repairs his machine.
This is key thinking for dealing with problems. When something goes wrong there is no emotion or blame. It’s a problem with the machine, how can we tweak the machine so this doesn’t happen again. For example, if someone makes an error, Ray would ask “How did the machine allow an incompetent person in this role? Did we hire badly? Was the training inadequate? Are we lacking check and balances?”
Speak up, own it, or get out. This is an example of a principle very specific to Ray Dalio’s company. But it’s a great one. He says that “everyone has the right to understand what makes sense and no one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up.” Let me repeat that last part, “No one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up.”
You have a right to disagree but you don’t have a right to keep it to yourself. Wow. I love this. So much time is wasted complaining behind closed doors. I often ask people why they didn’t raise their concerns in the meeting. Most companies have a culture of “going along to get along” and are discouraged from dissent. A key to Ray Dalio’s success was encouraging dissent.
Have you read Principles? What points did you find most enlightening? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Ray Dalio’s book Principles hit #1 on the NY Times bestseller list. What’s all the hype? Is there anything in here that you can use?
The book is multi-layered. He starts with a framework for building a principle-based organization. Then as the author layers on his own principles as examples, he includes some little gems of his own finding.
The core message is “build your list of operating principle as you go. Every time you make a decision, define the principle you based it on. Then create policies based on your principles. Share your principles with your organization.”
I found this to be a unique view. Backtracking your decisions into a set of principles. And then creating transparency to your thought process for others to align with. A sample of his principles are here: Sample Principles
The second layer is the principles themselves, which he divides into work and life principles. The principles themselves are not unique and hold little value as a standalone. The value is in applying them as a decision-making tool as an organization. Brilliant!
Mr. Dalio stresses the importance of coming us with your own principles, but he just can’t help but share his own in a way that kind of sounds like you should use his.
There are quite a few gems in the book. Here are some of my favorites:
Shapers: People with a vision who execute. “Shapers score low on ‘concern for others’ in behavioral tests, though they spend their time helping people. Why? Given a choice between achieving a goal or pleasing others, they choose the goal.”
I love the Shaper concept. However while Mr. Dalio frames Shapers as a select few, I feel that everyone can be a Shaper. Stay tuned for my upcoming blogtoon on becoming a Shaper.
Policy Makers vs Investors. “Policymakers come from environments that nurture consensus, not dissent, that train them to react to things that have already occurred, and that prepare them for negotiations, not placing bets. Because they don’t benefit from the constant feedback about the quality of their decisions that investors get, it’s not clear who the good and bad decision makers among them are. They also have to be politicians.”
Think about how this concept shows up in the corporate world. Do we value an idea that can get an agreement with an idea that will be effective?
Build and Evolve your Machine. Ray Dalio views his organization as a machine, and himself as the designer and operator of that machine. He constantly maintains, diagnoses and repairs his machine.
This is key thinking for dealing with problems. When something goes wrong there is no emotion or blame. It’s a problem with the machine, how can we tweak the machine so this doesn’t happen again. For example, if someone makes an error, Ray would ask “How did the machine allow an incompetent person in this role? Did we hire badly? Was the training inadequate? Are we lacking check and balances?”
Speak up, own it, or get out. This is an example of a principle very specific to Ray Dalio’s company. But it’s a great one. He says that “everyone has the right to understand what makes sense and no one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up.” Let me repeat that last part, “No one has the right to hold a critical opinion without speaking up.”
You have a right to disagree but you don’t have a right to keep it to yourself. Wow. I love this. So much time is wasted complaining behind closed doors. I often ask people why they didn’t raise their concerns in the meeting. Most companies have a culture of “going along to get along” and are discouraged from dissent. A key to Ray Dalio’s success was encouraging dissent.
Have you read Principles? What points did you find most enlightening? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!
algoliansuntiger's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting read on the systematic approach to (self) management, with an emphasis on openness and transparency.
amyhuang's review against another edition
3.0
DNF at 75% (last 25% is mostly reference material).
There were some useful tactical pieces here, including around what makes people believable and how to recognize when conversations veer "below the line." As a primer on how to be effective, it's good enough I considered buying it in print. But it frequently read like yet another hagiography of Steve Jobs/Elon Musk (with Dalio insisting, "not trying to compare myself to them, but here are all the ways I'm like them"), and Dalio himself comes off as kind of an asshole, so... mixed feelings.
There were some useful tactical pieces here, including around what makes people believable and how to recognize when conversations veer "below the line." As a primer on how to be effective, it's good enough I considered buying it in print. But it frequently read like yet another hagiography of Steve Jobs/Elon Musk (with Dalio insisting, "not trying to compare myself to them, but here are all the ways I'm like them"), and Dalio himself comes off as kind of an asshole, so... mixed feelings.
kimimotto's review against another edition
5.0
Finished the audible version of this book. Really found this helpful since it talks about actual systems and processes used in Bridgewater — ones that deal with how to manage team members correctly and effectively. What I like most about is that Ray actually wrote down the detailed steps - many of which I can apply. So far, managing team members has been the most challenging part of my duties, and this book pretty much covers solutions to these challenges.
Will be buying the kindle version so that I have a copy I can skim through when I encounter problems in dealing with team members.
Will be buying the kindle version so that I have a copy I can skim through when I encounter problems in dealing with team members.
thfishie's review against another edition
2.0
The book focuses on upper level management. If you’re not in that position, pass the book on to your management.