Can a quirky hedge fund really make you a better parent?
Lessons I learned when I brought the principles of the world's largest hedge fund home 🧵
Lessons I learned when I brought the principles of the world's largest hedge fund home 🧵
When people learn I worked at Bridgewater, without fail they ask:
Do you give & get feedback in every meeting?
And welcome debate, even from junior employees?
With real gratitude I can answer:
Yes. All true.
And it wasn't a distraction.
Building the system is the work.
Do you give & get feedback in every meeting?
And welcome debate, even from junior employees?
With real gratitude I can answer:
Yes. All true.
And it wasn't a distraction.
Building the system is the work.
Bridgewater started as a newsletter in Ray Dalio's 2-bedroom apartment.
It's now a $150B asset manager.
How'd he do it?
Systematic decision making based on rules and data.
The result?
It's now a $150B asset manager.
How'd he do it?
Systematic decision making based on rules and data.
The result?
https://twitter.com/forbes/status/1331036057849225218
How does his system work?
For decades, he would write down his logic for each trade, each management decision, each life choice.
Once those decisions played out, he’d reflect on the outcomes and distill the essential rules.
Here’s how he explains it.
For decades, he would write down his logic for each trade, each management decision, each life choice.
Once those decisions played out, he’d reflect on the outcomes and distill the essential rules.
Here’s how he explains it.
https://twitter.com/RayDalio/status/1155851344101724164
I had principles when I joined Bridgewater, so how was Ray's approach different?
He wrote them down
He referenced them before making decisions
He retrospectively checked his outcomes
He relentlessly iterated the system
My principles: notes
His principles: a co-pilot
He wrote them down
He referenced them before making decisions
He retrospectively checked his outcomes
He relentlessly iterated the system
My principles: notes
His principles: a co-pilot
As I started taking this approach to my work, my thinking got sharper, my decisions more logical.
And without noticing, this process came home.
It was clear when my wife justified $42 of preventive lice products as “the principle of looking for cheap ways to buy down risk”.
And without noticing, this process came home.
It was clear when my wife justified $42 of preventive lice products as “the principle of looking for cheap ways to buy down risk”.
And we didn’t let it creep in, we welcomed it.
Why?
It gave us several things:
☑️An approach to be more intentional as parents & partners.
☑️A list of the behaviors we want for ourselves & our family.
☑️The trust that comes from co-authoring that story with our kids.
Why?
It gave us several things:
☑️An approach to be more intentional as parents & partners.
☑️A list of the behaviors we want for ourselves & our family.
☑️The trust that comes from co-authoring that story with our kids.
Would your family benefit from this system?
Ask:
Would your children be more apt to follow rules they help write?
Would articulating your values keep you in lockstep with your spouse?
If our children need roots and wings, this can be the flight manual.
Some examples 👇
Ask:
Would your children be more apt to follow rules they help write?
Would articulating your values keep you in lockstep with your spouse?
If our children need roots and wings, this can be the flight manual.
Some examples 👇
Small choices can paralyze kids.
Asking a teacher for help.
Joining a new team.
Encourage them to:
☑️Name the worst possible outcome
☑️Give a % chance to that happening
☑️Find a way to lessen the blow if it does
☑️Lastly...imagine it going right.
Asking a teacher for help.
Joining a new team.
Encourage them to:
☑️Name the worst possible outcome
☑️Give a % chance to that happening
☑️Find a way to lessen the blow if it does
☑️Lastly...imagine it going right.
https://twitter.com/raydalio/status/1380881662574272513
Dream big.
But choose wisely.
And know that choice has consequences.
But also huge rewards.
If you focus.
But choose wisely.
And know that choice has consequences.
But also huge rewards.
If you focus.
https://twitter.com/raydalio/status/1355571809718915074
As parents, we want resilient kids who embrace failure.
But not all failures are created equal.
Did they:
Challenge a limitation or take a reckless chance?
Try a new approach or make a blind second attempt?
Fail with grace or a tantrum?
But not all failures are created equal.
Did they:
Challenge a limitation or take a reckless chance?
Try a new approach or make a blind second attempt?
Fail with grace or a tantrum?
https://twitter.com/RayDalio/status/1372917272445128713
Easy in theory, hard in practice. Who hasn't run a forgotten assignment to school?
Our approach?
☑️Ask. Don’t fix.
They'll learn 10x when they arrive at the answer
☑️Share your whiffs.
We’re not giving up our pedestal, we’re showing them real strength
Our approach?
☑️Ask. Don’t fix.
They'll learn 10x when they arrive at the answer
☑️Share your whiffs.
We’re not giving up our pedestal, we’re showing them real strength
https://twitter.com/RayDalio/status/1428004201762725890
Radical transparency strengthens important relationships and repels toxic ones.
But use with care. Truth isn’t a weapon.
You cannot justify harm in the name of truth.
So be honest with yourself about your intentions.
Then be honest with that person.
But use with care. Truth isn’t a weapon.
You cannot justify harm in the name of truth.
So be honest with yourself about your intentions.
Then be honest with that person.
https://twitter.com/RayDalio/status/1430164824319610880
It is easy to assume that their experience = our experience
But our kids have never had to stretch a phone cord to talk to a friend or use a pencil to fix a mixtape.
The more empathy you show them, the more empathy they'll show others.
But our kids have never had to stretch a phone cord to talk to a friend or use a pencil to fix a mixtape.
The more empathy you show them, the more empathy they'll show others.
https://twitter.com/raydalio/status/1382704962086572037
Bonus:
☑️Sign up = show up
Practice in the rain? Tourney out of state?
We spend no time on if we go, only how.
☑️Books before bed
Kids added this. They sneak flashlights & books to sleepovers.
No longer part of their routine, it's part of their identity.
☑️Sign up = show up
Practice in the rain? Tourney out of state?
We spend no time on if we go, only how.
☑️Books before bed
Kids added this. They sneak flashlights & books to sleepovers.
No longer part of their routine, it's part of their identity.
https://twitter.com/tferriss/status/1219672526185533442
We’ve found this approach helpful in moving our family from “because I said so” to “because we agreed together”.
If you found this valuable, please give it a retweet.
And follow me . I write about family, education, and the systems to navigate them well.
If you found this valuable, please give it a retweet.
And follow me . I write about family, education, and the systems to navigate them well.
https://twitter.com/dklineii/status/1445748927693733888
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