In both 2010 and 2011, Bridgewater Associates (www.bwater.com) ranked as the largest and
best performing hedge fund manager in the world.
Bridgewater’s unique results are a product of its unique
culture. Truth and excellence are valued above all else.
As Bridgewater founder, Ray Dalio says:
'In order to be
excellent we need to know what’s true, especially those things that we would
rather not be true, so that we can decide how best to deal with them. We want
logic and reason to be the basis for making decisions. It is through this
striving to be excellent by being radically truthful and transparent that we
build meaningful work and meaningful relationships.
At Bridgewater, our overriding objective is excellence, or
more precisely, constant improvement. We believe that producing excellence
requires approaching both work and people in a principled way. Above all else,
we want to find out what is true and figure out how best to deal with it. We
value independent thinking and innovation, recognizing that independent
thinking generates disagreement and innovation requires making mistakes.
To foster this thinking and innovation, we maintain an
environment of radical openness, even though that honesty can be difficult and
uncomfortable. At Bridgewater each individual has the right and the obligation
to ensure that what they do and what we do collectively in pursuit of
excellence makes sense to them. Everyone is encouraged to be both assertive and
open-minded in order to build their understanding and discover their best path.
The types of disagreements and mistakes that are typically discouraged
elsewhere are expected at Bridgewater because they are the fuel for the
learning that helps us maximize the utilization of our potential. It is through
this unique culture that we have produced the meaningful work and meaningful
relationships that those who work here and our clients have come to expect.'
Underpinning the Bridgewater philosphy are Ray Dalio's Principles, which the organisation uses, debates and changes to agree on how individuals should be with
each other in their collective pursuit of excellence.
