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
Watch out for the unfocused and unproductive "theoretical should."
A "theoretical should" occurs when people assume that others or themselves should be able to do something when they don't actually know whether they can (as in "Sally should be able to do X, Y, Z"). Remember that to really accomplish things you need believable Responsible Parties who have a track record of success in the relevant area.
A similar problem occurs when people discuss how to solve a problem by saying something vague and depersonalized like "We should do X, Y, Z." It is important to identify who these people are by name rather than with a vague "we," and to recognize that it is their responsibility to determine what should be done.
It is especially pointless for a group of people who are not responsible to say things like "We should . . ." to each other. Instead, those people should be speaking to the Responsible Party about what should be done.
Work Principle
- Manage as Someone Operating a Machine to Achieve a Goal
- Hold yourself and your people accountable and appreciate them for holding you accountable.
- Watch out for the unfocused and unproductive "theoretical should."
- Hold yourself and your people accountable and appreciate them for holding you accountable.
Any person or organization can adopt Principles to better achieve their goals.
Learn what Principles are and how they are applied at Principles.com
