Principles

by Ray Dalio

#1 New York Times Bestseller.

“Significant...The book is both instructive and surprisingly moving.” —The New York Times

Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

In Principles, Dalio shares what he’s learned over the course of his remarkable career. He argues that life, management, economics, and investing can all be systemized into rules and understood like machines. The book’s hundreds of practical lessons, which are built around his cornerstones of “radical truth” and “radical transparency,” include Dalio laying out the most effective ways for individuals and organizations to make decisions, approach challenges, and build strong teams. He also describes the innovative tools the firm uses to bring an idea meritocracy to life, such as creating “baseball cards” for all employees that distill their strengths and weaknesses, and employing computerized decision-making systems to make believability-weighted decisions. While the book brims with novel ideas for organizations and institutions, Principles also offers a clear, straightforward approach to decision-making that Dalio believes anyone can apply, no matter what they’re seeking to achieve.

Here, from a man who has been called both “the Steve Jobs of investing” and “the philosopher king of the financial universe” (CIO magazine), is a rare opportunity to gain proven advice unlike anything you’ll find in the conventional business press.

Our thoughts on Principles

The largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates, was founded by Ray Dalio. He reveals the underlying concepts that underpin both Bridgewater's and his success in Principles: Life and Work.

Principles is a guide to logical reasoning. The fundamental message is that the best approach to make decisions is to seek the truth, and that ego, emotion, and blind spots prohibit you from doing so. In order to overcome these flaws, Dalio outlines his key tactics, which include complete receptivity, absolute honesty and transparency, constructive disagreement, and credibility-centered decision making.

You'll discover in this book the five-step method for achieving your goals, how to overcome your ego in the process, and why you need other people to increase the likelihood that you're right.

Our favourite quote from Principles

Above all else, I want you to think for yourself, to decide 1) what you want, 2) what is true and 3) what to do about it.

35 recommendations for Principles

35 recommendation for Principles

Book Summary

Similar recommendations

Above all else, I want you to think for yourself, to decide 1) what you want, 2) what is true and 3) what to do about it.

— Ray Dalio, Principles