Listen free for 30 days
-
Principles
- Life and Work
- Narrated by: Ray Dalio, Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Categories: Business & Careers, Career Success
People who bought this also bought...
-
Mastering the Market Cycle
- Getting the Odds on Your Side
- By: Howard Marks
- Narrated by: Howard Marks, LJ Ganser
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Understand and take advantage of the fluctuations of markets and come out ahead by learning when and where to invest your money. Economies, companies and markets operate in accordance with patterns which are influenced by naturally occurring events combined with human psychology and behaviour. The wisest investors learn to appreciate these rhythms and identify the best opportunities to take actions which will transform their finances for the better.
-
-
Great rational perspective
- By Anonymous User on 16-12-18
-
The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.
- By: Benjamin Graham
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest investment advisor of the 20th century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" - which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies - has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.
-
-
A great book ruined by poor performance
- By GT89 on 25-05-18
-
Your Next Five Moves
- Master the Art of Business Strategy
- By: Patrick Bet-David
- Narrated by: Patrick Bet-David
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David translates this skill into a valuable methodology that applies to high performers at all levels of business. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost your fire, or are looking for innovative strategies to take your business to the next level, Your Next Five Moves has the answers.
-
-
Not worth the time or money
- By Mr Mikkel on 16-09-20
-
One Up On Wall Street
- By: Peter Lynch
- Narrated by: Peter Lynch
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Lynch, one of the most successful investors of all time, shows you how to use what you already know to make money in the market. You'll discover why smart money is not so smart - and why you may be a better stock picker than the pros, how to follow your hunches and back them up with facts, how to disregard reports on the economy and pick your own time to buy and sell, and how to determine which types of stocks are right for you. Lynch is the former manager of the $9 billion Fidelity Magellan Fund, where he earned investors a $190,000 return on a $10,000 investment.
-
-
Some good ideas!
- By Gavin on 17-11-09
-
Trading Beyond the Matrix
- The Red Pill for Traders and Investors
- By: Van Tharp
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the unique arena of professional trading coaches and consultants, Van K. Tharp is an internationally recognized expert at helping others become the best traders they can be. In Trading Beyond the Matrix: The Red Pill for Traders and Investors, Tharp leads listeners to dramatically improve their trading results and financial life by looking within. He takes the listener by the hand through the steps of self-transformation, from incorporating "Tharp Think" - ideas drawn from his modeling work with great traders.
-
-
Good content if you can stand the narration
- By Duncan Jones on 16-10-20
-
Never Split the Difference
- Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It
- By: Chris Voss, Tahl Raz
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a kidnapping negotiator brought him face-to-face with bank robbers, gang leaders and terrorists. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most - when people’s lives were at stake.
-
-
Full of stories but difficult to make practical
- By Anonymous User on 15-12-19
-
Mastering the Market Cycle
- Getting the Odds on Your Side
- By: Howard Marks
- Narrated by: Howard Marks, LJ Ganser
- Length: 9 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Understand and take advantage of the fluctuations of markets and come out ahead by learning when and where to invest your money. Economies, companies and markets operate in accordance with patterns which are influenced by naturally occurring events combined with human psychology and behaviour. The wisest investors learn to appreciate these rhythms and identify the best opportunities to take actions which will transform their finances for the better.
-
-
Great rational perspective
- By Anonymous User on 16-12-18
-
The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.
- By: Benjamin Graham
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 17 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The greatest investment advisor of the 20th century, Benjamin Graham taught and inspired people worldwide. Graham's philosophy of "value investing" - which shields investors from substantial error and teaches them to develop long-term strategies - has made The Intelligent Investor the stock market bible ever since its original publication in 1949.
-
-
A great book ruined by poor performance
- By GT89 on 25-05-18
-
Your Next Five Moves
- Master the Art of Business Strategy
- By: Patrick Bet-David
- Narrated by: Patrick Bet-David
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David translates this skill into a valuable methodology that applies to high performers at all levels of business. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost your fire, or are looking for innovative strategies to take your business to the next level, Your Next Five Moves has the answers.
-
-
Not worth the time or money
- By Mr Mikkel on 16-09-20
-
One Up On Wall Street
- By: Peter Lynch
- Narrated by: Peter Lynch
- Length: 2 hrs and 11 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Peter Lynch, one of the most successful investors of all time, shows you how to use what you already know to make money in the market. You'll discover why smart money is not so smart - and why you may be a better stock picker than the pros, how to follow your hunches and back them up with facts, how to disregard reports on the economy and pick your own time to buy and sell, and how to determine which types of stocks are right for you. Lynch is the former manager of the $9 billion Fidelity Magellan Fund, where he earned investors a $190,000 return on a $10,000 investment.
-
-
Some good ideas!
- By Gavin on 17-11-09
-
Trading Beyond the Matrix
- The Red Pill for Traders and Investors
- By: Van Tharp
- Narrated by: Michael Butler Murray
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the unique arena of professional trading coaches and consultants, Van K. Tharp is an internationally recognized expert at helping others become the best traders they can be. In Trading Beyond the Matrix: The Red Pill for Traders and Investors, Tharp leads listeners to dramatically improve their trading results and financial life by looking within. He takes the listener by the hand through the steps of self-transformation, from incorporating "Tharp Think" - ideas drawn from his modeling work with great traders.
-
-
Good content if you can stand the narration
- By Duncan Jones on 16-10-20
-
Never Split the Difference
- Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It
- By: Chris Voss, Tahl Raz
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a kidnapping negotiator brought him face-to-face with bank robbers, gang leaders and terrorists. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most - when people’s lives were at stake.
-
-
Full of stories but difficult to make practical
- By Anonymous User on 15-12-19
-
Unshakeable
- Your Financial Freedom Playbook
- By: Tony Robbins
- Narrated by: Tony Robbins, Jeremy Bobb
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After interviewing 50 of the world's greatest financial minds and penning the number-one New York Times best seller Money: Master the Game, Tony Robbins returns with a step-by-step playbook, taking you on a journey to transform your financial life and accelerate your path to financial freedom. No matter your salary, your stage of life, or when you started, this book will provide the tools to help you achieve your financial goals more rapidly than you ever thought possible.
-
-
Good... but Heavy US Bias
- By Hani El-Qasem on 22-08-17
-
Zero to One
- By: Peter Thiel, Blake Masters
- Narrated by: Blake Masters
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What valuable company is nobody building? The next Bill Gates will not build an operating system. The next Larry Page or Sergey Brin won't make a search engine. If you are copying these guys, you aren't learning from them. It's easier to copy a model than to make something new: doing what we already know how to do takes the world from 1 to 10, adding more of something familiar. Every new creation goes from zero to one. This book is about how to get there.
-
-
Reality of starting a business
- By Ahmad on 27-04-16
-
Influence
- The Psychology of Persuasion
- By: Robert B. Cialdini
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Influence, the classic book on persuasion, explains the psychology of why people say yes - and how to apply these understandings. Dr. Robert Cialdini is the seminal expert in the rapidly expanding field of influence and persuasion. His 35 years of rigorous, evidence-based research, along with a three-year program of study on what moves people to change behavior, has resulted in this highly acclaimed book. You'll learn the six universal principles, how to use them to become a skilled persuader - and how to defend yourself against them.
-
-
Top reading
- By Mr. A. B. on 11-11-17
-
The Richest Man in Babylon
- By: George S. Clason
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A modern day classic, The Richest Man in Babylon dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. These famous "Babylonian parables" offer an understanding of - and solution to - a lifetime's worth of personal financial problems, and hold the secrets to acquiring money, keeping money, and earning more money.
-
-
Absolutely amazing universal truths!
- By Botty on 19-07-18
-
Mastery
- By: Robert Greene
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Around the globe, people are facing the same problem - that we are born as individuals but are forced to conform to the rules of society if we want to succeed. To see our uniqueness expressed in our achievements, we must first learn the rules - and then how to change them completely. Told through Robert Greene's signature blend of historical anecdote and psychological insight and drawing on interviews with world leaders, Mastery provides a practical guide to greatness - and how to start living by your own rules.
-
-
Mastery through case studies, but not a "how to".
- By D. Panchal on 26-09-19
-
The Black Swan, Second Edition: The Impact of the Highly Improbable: With a new section: "On Robustness and Fragility"
- Incerto, Book 2
- By: Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. Elegant, startling, and universal in its applications, The Black Swan will change the way you look at the world.
-
-
Excellent
- By Mr D Owers on 24-06-19
-
The Compound Effect
- Multiply Your Success One Simple Step at a Time
- By: Darren Hardy
- Narrated by: Darren Hardy
- Length: 4 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Compound Effect contains the essence of what every super achiever needs to know, practice, and master to obtain extraordinary success. Inside you will hear strategies on how to win-every time; eradicating the bad habits that are derailing your progress; painlessly installing the few key disciplines required for major breakthroughs; the real, lasting keys to gaining and sustaining motivation; capturing the elusive, awesome force of momentum; and the acceleration secrets of superachievers.
-
-
Wow.....
- By Narissa Bailey on 06-05-19
-
The Hard Thing About Hard Things
- Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers
- By: Ben Horowitz
- Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben Horowitz, cofounder of Andreessen Horowitz and one of Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, offers essential advice on building and running a startup--practical wisdom for managing the toughest problems business school doesn’t cover, based on his popular ben’s blog. While many people talk about how great it is to start a business, very few are honest about how difficult it is to run one.
-
-
Disappointing
- By Julia Bonner on 22-08-19
-
Deep Work
- Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- By: Cal Newport
- Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
- Length: 7 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Popular blogger Cal Newport reveals the new key to achieving success and true meaning in professional life: the ability to master distraction. Many modern knowledge workers now spend most of their brain power battling distraction and interruption, whether because of the incessant pinging of devices, noisy open-plan offices or the difficulty of deciding what deserves their attention the most. When Cal Newport coined the term deep work on his popular blog, Study Hacks, in 2012, he found the concept quickly hit a nerve.
-
-
Useful insights into ring-fencing your focus.
- By Mark Lancaster on 23-05-17
-
The 10X Rule
- The Only Difference Between Success and Failure
- By: Grant Cardone
- Narrated by: Grant Cardone
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Extreme success, by definition, lies beyond the realm of normal action. If you want to achieve extreme success, you can’t operate like everybody else and settle for mediocrity. You need to remove luck and chance from your business equation, and lock in massive success. The 10X Rule shows you how!
-
-
Smug, unsubstantiated waffle
- By Raistrick on 07-06-17
-
Summary of Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
- By: Book Avenue
- Narrated by: Leanne Thompson
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Listen to the audio summary of Principles by Ray Dalio, and discover a blueprint for finding your own goals and paths to success.
-
-
Excellent discussion.
- By Lora on 22-07-18
-
Unknown Market Wizards
- The Best Traders You've Never Heard Of
- By: Jack D. Schwager
- Narrated by: DJ Holte
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Unknown Market Wizards continues in the three-decade tradition of the hugely popular Market Wizards series, interviewing exceptionally successful traders to learn how they achieved their extraordinary performance results. The twist in Unknown Market Wizards is that the featured traders are individuals trading their own accounts. They are unknown to the investment world. Despite their anonymity, these traders have achieved performance records that rival, if not surpass, the best professional managers.
-
-
Seriously???
- By Oleg on 28-11-20
Summary
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 40 years to create unique results in both life and business - and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded an investment firm, Bridgewater Associates, out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City. Forty years later Bridgewater has made more money for its clients than any other hedge fund in history and grown into the fifth most important private company in the United States, according to Fortune magazine. Dalio himself has been named to Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Along the way Dalio discovered a set of unique principles that have led to Bridgewater's exceptionally effective culture, which he describes as "an idea meritocracy that strives to achieve meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical transparency". It is these principles, and not anything special about Dalio - who grew up an ordinary kid in a middle-class Long Island neighborhood - that he believes are the reason behind his success.
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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about Principles
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 28-11-17
Your compass north guide on your life journey
I truly enjoyed this book and it was particularly beneficial being read by the author. Ray Dalio is a very successful person and it’s excellent for him to share, in full transparency, his Principles that shaped him and Bridgewater. This allows you to gain a very intimate insight on Rays compass north during all important and mundane decisions and can be used a guide for you as you develop your own principles.
Of course, this is the premise of the book that to achieve results it requires radical truth with radical transparency. Ray certainly delivers on this and I have begun to implement these within my career and life.
18 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Vlad
- 20-10-17
I personally didn't find it educational enough.
The book feels a lot like a linear autobiography. It talks about major events from the author’s past, including successes and failures the author has learnt from.
In the beginning, the book sounded to have been structured well and the author’s writing style seemed quite analytical. The author’s voice is clear and composed throughout. I really liked it when the author states he doesn’t wish to impose his beliefs on the listener and that the advice he’ll be sharing may not benefit everyone.
The author frequently speaks about how has helped companies run more efficiently. Most times, however, I struggled to extract value from his explanations unless he gave some sort of evaluation in the end.
The author also speaks a lot about his company Bridgewater, its challenges and achievements as well as constantly evolving culture and management. To me it sounded the author was more interested in describing, explaining and at times praising his business instead of looking to provide knowledge to the listener in a direct and understandable way.
Four hours in, the book appeared to have become an autobiography of Ray Dalio’s business and career. I decided to return it because the more I listened to it, the less I felt it benefited me.
I wouldn’t recommend the book to everyone but if you are into investing, finance and business management, you may really like the book.
48 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Thomas Sichel
- 30-09-17
A life changing boom
Thank you Ray Dalio for writing this! Business and life guidance from someone well read and most definitely experiences..
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- walduscycu
- 22-11-17
An absolute must read
The author is incredibly eloquent and down to earth person. Normal language is being used to explain complexity of company organisation etc.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 05-11-19
a future classic
Ray Dalio narrates a significant portion of the book and is much more engaging than the other narrator, but the content is excellent
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Iulian - Easy coaching? for men
- 15-10-19
I have to listen it again as it's so full of infos
It's a book full of information and from my perspective, it needs a lot of attention. I have to relisten.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- khwexi
- 02-11-17
Book of the year!
1.3 Don't let the fears of what others think of you stand in your way.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J
- 14-02-18
Mostly about Bridgewater
Not really a general self-help book, but has value if interested in the company.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 26-10-17
Great insights but very, very repetitive.
This book contained some really useful insights and offered a glimpse of how the world of financial services will someday look. That said, it was extremely repetitive and dragged on for about 9 hours longer than it needed to.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- MARK WATSON
- 22-11-17
An absolute gem!
This has to be there with the best book I have consumed in a very long time. So much so that I truly believe that any individual should listen to or read to add value and benefit their lives both personally and professionally. I could not switch it off!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Patrick Eberle
- 30-06-18
Idea-meritocracy/Principles Reference
This work is a reference to Ray Dalio's principals & a brief history of how he created them to get where he is now.
I throughly enjoyed the first 5 hours of this book. Most everything after seemed redundant. So much so, that Ray often sites the same example for the same points over and over again. These instances took value away from this book's readability and message.
This book is not very clear that it serves as more of a reference and that it is intended to be two reference volumes combined. Albeit, the title's subscript mentions Work & Life. This work reads more like a dictionary after you remove the first few hours of Dalio's life story.
Besides your ability to create a drinking game from the number of times Ray states, "Idea-meritocracy", "Radical Truthfulness", "Believability", & each time he retells you about starting Bridgewater, you will find helpful advice on this book. I have listed general themes below
Ray could've summarized this book into less than a 10 hr read and kept the same quality in the 16 hr behemoth of reiderations. See my recommendation on his YouTube video below. 30 min.
Overall:
This book poses interesting ideas on how to improve life and business results. Obviously Bridgewater stands as a shining example of the success from Ray's points. I find that this melds well with Thinking Fast & Thinking Slow as well as many other jobs on how we think and make decisions. It makes our circle of knowledge a little bit wider on how to meet our goals/be successful. I am not sure I would recommend this book, but I believe it does actively challenge you to improve yourself and your processes in life and business.
What to take away:
Principles are useful for helping us get what we want out of life. They help guide us to meet our goals. You could argue they are algorithms that make us the best we want to be when we follow them.
We can use a 5 step plan to adjust our learn from our mistakes and become better, thus updating ourselves or our Principles.
It's best to write these principles down.
It's best to take the opinion of the whole to make decisions, rather than to think your opinion holds more weight. Seek out experts that are more "Believable" than you and weight their advice higher in their strengths.
Ray's YouTube videos are a greater & FREE synopsis of this book that cuts everything down to 30 minutes. I'd highly recommend reviewing that first of you're interested in this book.
186 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Belle Ho
- 16-11-17
Insightful but repetitive
I listened to the entire book to understand the context of the principles. However that led me to become easily bored by the constant repetition of the words "idea maritocracy" and "radical honesty". I would suggest skipping to the second portion of the book when the author explains the life and work principles.
63 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Dr. Scott K. Moffat
- 30-06-18
Could have been much shorter
Slow in topic and performance. I had to listen to it on 2.0x. Some of this is very interesting, but overall it feels rather verbose and repetitive. I understood from the outset that this would be quite different from Shoe Dog, but I was hoping for something a little more exciting Than it turned out to be.
The first part of the book was the most interesting to me. It focuses on the background of the company and its Ascension.
19 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Robert F. Jones
- 08-10-17
Personal
Two stars - meh
three stars - good
four stars - worth a second read
five stars - life-changing - my top 50 of all time
Worth a second read because the ideas at the core of the book seem contrary to what has been my life experience.
I'd love to spend a couple of days at Bridgewater or extensively interview some longtime employees to find out if it works as the author suggests.
My experience has been that 'Idea Meritocracies' and 'Radical honesty' work great for those at the top, who's positions cannot be threatened because they deem what is valued and right.
I've also always been told that attempting to fit market movements to algorithms cannot predict the really important swings. This is because we cannot properly summarize all of the market conditions that existed historically, nor can we know all of the factors that effect markets currently because our information is incomplete. I should be able to tell if his approach works by comparing Bridgewater's performance to that of its peers, but I have not yet done this.
The author does make a telling comment early in the book, regarding the computational nature of reality. He states that if we knew we had a perfect description of the current state of the universe, we'd be able to predict what would happen next. This is by no means an established fact. Chaos theory, quantum mechanics and and Heisenberg would probably disagree.
I cannot decide if the 'Baseball Card' approach to personnel makes sense. Baseball stats are more objective that job performance or personality types based on standardized tests.
I'd love to believe that keeping stats on everyone would help predict future performance, but as Sabermetrics showed, which stats one calculates and how they are weighted have significant impact on outcomes.
I'd love to believe that his basic assumptions are correct, but I'm really ambivalent. This book raised many more questions than it answered.
If I check the facts and they seem to hold water, I will make changes to my life and thus this would qualify as a five-star book.
201 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- James Adams
- 22-11-17
The Management/CEO’s Handbook
Having fewer reports (zero), than the author, this book - while very interesting, insightful and practical - comes across as directed towards folks way above my pay grade. CEOs and VPs in particular. Still, as a small cog in a very big wheel, I recommend it for both perspective on what good management looks like, and for straight-up honorable principles to live by.
83 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- MazamaCoffeeCo
- 01-10-17
Bored to Tears
I don't usually give up on a book, especially one being read to me during a long drive when the only other option is silence. But, geesh. Some of the lead up stories to what I thought was the meat forthcoming were interesting but all in all no meat delivered. At least nothing up to the point where I threw up the white hankie and hit the stop button. The advice was generic and lacked the, for instance, this is how you'd apply this. I do know that he knows all about the ins and outs of pork bellies and the crops they eat and weather patterns ad nauseam. And he mentioned many times how he rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. Got it - you're a big deal.
63 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jon David Schein
- 28-10-17
phenomenally replete with wisdom
if you're building a business or hold a management role in one or even if you're looking to improve your day-to-day life, I bet this book will serve you well.
22 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- McKenzy Germain
- 15-10-17
The Blueprint — Lessons From Reformed New Yorker
The Blueprint — 10 Lessons From Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
What makes this book a gold mine for me and like-minded people:
1. Understanding why a meritocratic environment works best for my personality has helped me shed imposter syndrome; mask off.
2. Ray defines a valid solution around a psychological dichotomy and process that stems to eliminate a ton of common misconceptions. Supportive ideologies around the power of numbers & group theory, associated with machine learning seem to be a great formula for creating an effective symbiotic ecosystem. If practiced by those who are open to change and constructive criticism.
3. The opening line made me want to get on plane to NYC, take a train over to CT, give Ray a high five, then head back to the concrete jungle to engage in shenanigans.
4. Machine learning (ai) can have a positive outcome as long as its used as supportive component for analytics and behavioral studies.
5. Ai, when done right, has the ability to yield some highly beneficial outcomes around structuring teams and making business decisions. At the same time, it can aid in studying your personal history, train of thought, and help predict what environments are good for personality.
6. It’s good to be open to constructive criticism.
7. Arguments should occur with the intention of arriving at new learnings, not to generate hatred or sense of detachment from the opposing party.
8. Some personalities just don’t work for the environment or culture that you are trying to creates. And in certain cases YOU actually create the high level of toxicity that destroys the environment that you are attempting to create.
9. The goal of learning is to grow and one day help another elevate themselves by sharing your learnings in an intuitive manner.
10. Mistakes should be embraced in the same we celebrate blessings. For in a lost or failure, we have an opportunity to learn and increase our aptitude around problem solving for that specific issue.
Bonus: never give up and let your humility serve as the honey that will capture the hearts and minds of your counterparts.
34 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Market Maven
- 14-10-17
Two-thirds full.
I am a fan of Ray Dalio, the legendary hedge-fund manager. This book has three sections: a bio of Ray, followed by his "life principles," followed then by his "work principles." I found his life story to be very interesting indeed. And his "life principles" were excellent, especially the notion of "radical transparency" and "radical openness" and honestly confronting ones problems. So far great. But I got really bogged down in the third section, his "work principles." This seemed more like a corporate human resources manual than anything one could use in life. Even if you were a CEO or department head of a several hundred person organization, his principles often seemed like cliches. So much depends on what people are charged to do, but he has very little of that. I wish he had spent more time on his investment philosophy. This is where is his genius lies. He is not Tony Robbins. But I did learn from this book to confront my own problems more honestly and directly.
38 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- T. Herman
- 05-10-17
Narrow Perspective on Modern Workplace
Some of the ideas here are interesting but this really feels like the thoughts of someone who has been "the boss" their entire career, and never experienced other work cultures. Ray is clearly not shy about conflict and I doubt any introverts have ever worked at Bridgewater. If you were starting a hedge fund with a bunch of alpha males this would be the goto strategy for success but I don't think a lot of this advice carries over to other fields and a lot I would consider harmful for creating a truly creative environment.
15 people found this helpful