The latest issue of AR Magazine features a lengthy profile of Ray Dalio’s mega-successful Bridgewater Associates, with much space devoted to the “culture” of the firm, as defined by Principles, a handbook of sorts written by Dalio, which we shared last May. In sum, the firm requires its employees, 30 percent of whom leave within two years of being hired, to “trust in truth” and to “pursue the truth” relentlessly, in everything they do. Criticism is “both welcomed and encouraged” and rather than “depersonalizing mistakes” or saying “we didn’t handle this well,” the staff are told to “connect specific mistakes to specific people.” It’s an environment unlike any other hedge fund and those who’ve experienced the program firsthand seem to be divided into two camps, at least among those interviewed by AR**: Dalio and the Bridgewater officials (senior staff are referred to as “culture carriers”) who think it’s great and former employees who describe the place as “cultlike,” “sinister,” “eerie” and something out of George Orwell’s 1984. Here’s what one former exec had to say:
My fundamental belief is that Bridgewater is a cult. It’s isolated, it has a charismatic leader and it has its own dogma.” It was so stressful, he recalls, that one employee couldn’t sleep all night and then, in the morning, threw up before meetings with Dalio. (The incident could not be confirmed.)
Another likened being an employee at Bridgewater to being an abused puppy.
“It hits your confidence level after a while,” he said. Dalio’s “model is flawed because it denies human nature,” this former employee says, adding that the people who succeed at Bridgewater “are not afraid to get in your face. They believe you should have no emotion in anything you do. For many, because we’re all human beings, it’s a hard thing to get used to.” Says another: “What [Dalio] doesn’t understand is that if you kick a dog enough…[the dog] curls up and just whimpers. And he kicks pretty hard.”
Company meetings where most of the “in your face” conversations happen seem to be the biggest source of stress for those not comfortable with being on the receiving or giving end of a “let me tell you why your ideas suck” speech. One of the first passages that appears in Principles is a discussion of the dynamic between hyenas and wildebeest in the animal kingdom. It reads:
…when a pack of hyenas takes down a young wildebeest, is that good or evil? At face value, that might not be “good” because it seems cruel, and the poor wildebeest suffers and dies. Some people might even say that the hyenas are evil. Yet this type of apparently “cruel” behavior exists throughout the animal kingdom. Like death itself it is integral to the enormously complex and efficient system that has worked for as long as there has been life. It is good for both the hyenas who are operating in their self-interest and the interest of the greater system, including those of the wildebeest, because killing and eating the wildebeest fosters evolution (i.e., the natural process of improvement). In fact, if you changed anything about the way that dynamic works, the overall outcome would be worse.
And while everyone is supposedly encouraged to be a hyena toward others during truth-seeking sessions (Bridgewater prides itself on being “flat” environment, without a hierarchy), it was decided not too long ago that, actually, some hyena’s opinions are less important than others. How is such a thing determined? Glad you asked.
The firm recently introduced a “believability matrix” to determine whose opinions matter.
Yes.
Ray Dalio’s Radical Truth [AR Magazine]
**The third group is Bridgewater’s investors, who don’t care either way.
Throwing up is for amateurs too.
–CS
Believability Matrix Fact #1: The most believable quadrant in the Believability Matrix is the Charlie Sheen quadrant.
Dear Bess,
You appear to have used the tag “god” to describe Mr. Dalio. Please remember to use the shift key next time.
Sounds like a fun place to work…
Sounds like a fun place to work…
I must say that even I am impressed by Dalio.
“culture carriers” used to be called STD’s….
Overreaction. I worked there for years and it wasn’t that bad. shittacockinballs Sorry about that, don’t know why that keeps happening mid-sentence.
Overreaction. I worked there for years and it wasn’t that bad. shittacockinballs Sorry about that, don’t know why that keeps happening mid-sentence.
Ray, call me.
Ray, I like kicking dogs too.
Call me first
Bunch of freaks! They can keep their money and their philosophical bullshit. I AM GOD!!!
My subscribers know about fifth dimension derivatives and don’t require a silly “believability matrix.”
- MW
Who is crazier– Dalio or Gundlach?
bulimic size 00 amateurs.
Raymond Dalio is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known in my life.
+1
I like how they define the hyena/wildebeest ecology as “efficient”. Assuming this came via Fama?
I like how they define the hyena/wildebeest ecology as “efficient”. Assuming this came via Fama?
I have no issues
When the ATF burns down a cult, is that good or evil? At face value, that might not be “good” because it seems cruel, and the poor cultists suffer and dies. Some people might even say that the ATF is evil. Yet this type of apparently “cruel” behavior exists throughout the federal government. Like death itself it is integral to the enormously complex and efficient system that has worked for as long as there has been life. It is good for both the agents who are operating in their self-interest and the interest of the greater system, including those of the cult followers, because burning down the cult gets rid of crazy motherfuckers (i.e., the natural process of social improvement). In fact, if you changed anything about the way that dynamic works, the overall outcome would be worse.
goD? How would that make it better?
Dalio successfully manages billions of dollars and has done so for quite a while. I’m sure he knows perfectly well if he makes a mistake, millions of people will suffer the consequences. So he obviously chooses his employees very carefully. He has a solid track record, whatever it is that he’s doing, believe it or not, it’s working. You say you don’t like the guy and the methods he figured out over time? BIG DEAL!
@Joe
I was looking for an ATM machine to get some cash.
I worked for a brief time at BA. On the surface, the principles have merit in many ways and transparency can add value to a firm. The problem is the execution. In execution, the process of learning from one’s mistakes becomes a free for all that is often executed to the pettiest level and with a power charge. The process can work well in an environment where there is respect and courtesy. When an “associate” gets off on the power of being a hyena – as it appears Mr. Dalio does – the process disintegrates into a feeding frenzy. Absence of emotion means absence of innovation, imagination, and brilliance. This is a company of technicians and technicians can be very successful, but not much fun to be around.
I worked for a brief time at BA. On the surface, the principles have merit in many ways and transparency can add value to a firm. The problem is the execution. In execution, the process of learning from one’s mistakes becomes a free for all that is often executed to the pettiest level and with a power charge. The process can work well in an environment where there is respect and courtesy. When an “associate” gets off on the power of being a hyena – as it appears Mr. Dalio does – the process disintegrates into a feeding frenzy. Absence of emotion means absence of innovation, imagination, and brilliance. This is a company of technicians and technicians can be very successful, but not much fun to be around.
I don’t come down to where you work and slap the dick out of your mouth.
just like the self esteem crap they tried in schools, those same kids can take the truth, they are wrong, they don’t know what to do. They curl up and vomit because they can not take they are wrong. Ray has the answer, make your choice, live by it or die by it, but you can not sit and tell everyone you are perfect if you are full of shit.