Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio is one of the world’s most successful hedge fund managers. His Connecticut-based Bridgewater Associates manages about $150 billion, and Dalio himself is a multibillionaire. He appeared at SXSW where his session  drew about 500 people out of 20,000+ at the event.

Instead of investment ideas, Dalio discussed how he has made Bridgewater an “idea meritocracy.” Everyone who works there constantly rates everyone else on dozens of criteria, all of which go into an algorithm that emits “believability-weighted” decisions.

Dalio thinks this works better than either democracy or autocracy and other organizations should try it. Of course, even large, successful hedge funds sometimes fall apart suddenly—so maybe celebration is premature.

Nonetheless, Dalio’s approach is a notable attempt to separate true expertise from mere guesswork. 

And how does one react to the feeling that one is being constantly graded ?