Ray Dalio on Leadership Quotes

"Manage as someone who’s designing and operating a machine to achieve a goal."

"An organization is the opposite of a mob."

"Create a culture in which it is okay to make mistakes and unacceptable not to learn from them."

"Radical transparency and radical truth are the foundations of a great organization."

"Look for people who have lots of great questions. They are the ones who will help you execute better."

"The habit of accountability is the cornerstone of any great organization."

"Innovation thrives in environments of radical transparency."

"Building a great culture requires the confidence to be honest with people about their performance."

"I have a passion for radical transparency because it eliminates the barriers to progress."

"To have an idea meritocracy, you need to do three things: put your honest thoughts on the table, have thoughtful disagreement, and abide by agreed-upon ways of getting past disagreement."

"In an idea meritocracy, the best ideas win, no matter where they come from."

"An idea meritocracy is the best system for making decisions because it results in the best ideas winning out."

"Remember that in great partnerships, consideration and generosity are more important than money for execution."

"If you can’t do it, find someone who can."

"Don't be a perfectionist, because perfectionists often spend too much time on little differences at the margins."

"I believe that the way you will be most successful is by having a group of independent thinkers who will disagree to find what's best."

"Radical transparency is the only way to ensure that people are seeing the same reality."

"Remember that in great partnerships, both people should be willing to do more for the other than they expect for themselves."

"Radical transparency is the best way to ensure that people are doing what they are supposed to do."

"Radical transparency creates a level of confidence that the best ideas will always win."

"I am passionate about the idea meritocracy. It is the most effective way to make decisions."

"If you don't have the confidence to be radically transparent, you will never have the trust of your team."

"Great people are hard to find, so make sure you think about how to keep them for long-term execution."

"I just want to be right—I don’t care if the right answer comes from me."

"Distinguish between you as the designer of your machine and you as a worker with your machine."

"To scale, you must systematize your principles so that others can apply them with the same consistency as you would."

"The best ideas come from an idea meritocracy where creativity is rewarded over hierarchy."

"An idea meritocracy is the best system for making great decisions."

"Hire right, because the penalties of hiring wrong are huge."

"The habit of radical transparency builds trust and efficiency within a group."

"If you can’t successfully do something, don’t think you can tell others how it should be done."

"History has shown that we shouldn't rely on governments to protect us financially."

"The most important thing is that you develop your own principles and ideally write them down."