原则2/106

Principles are concepts that can be applied over and over again in similar circumstances as distinct from narrow answers to specific questions.

原则是概念，能够一次再一次应用在同样的情况，回答具体的问题很明显是不全面的。

Every game has principles that successful players master to achieve winning results.

每个游戏都有选择，成功的资深玩家去获取成功结果。

So does life.

容易生活也是如此。

Principles are ways of successfully dealing with the laws of nature or the laws of life.

原则是成功的方式处理自然法则或生活法则。

Those who understand more of them and understand them well know how to interact with the world more effectively than

those who know fewer of them or know them less well.

这些使他们更好理解和

Different principles apply to different aspects of life—e.g.,

there are “skiing principles” for skiing, “parenting principles” for parenting, “management principles” for managing,

“investment principles” for investing, etc.

—and there are over-arching “life principles” that influence our approaches

to all things.

And, of course, different people subscribe to different principles that they believe work best.

I am confident that whatever success Bridgewater and I have had has resulted from our operating by certain

principles.

Creating a great culture, finding the right people, managing them to do great things, and solving

problems creatively and systematically are challenges faced by all organizations.

What differentiates them is how

they approach these challenges.

The principles laid out in the pages that follow convey our unique ways of doing

these things, which are the reasons for our unique results.

Bridgewater’s success has resulted from talented people

operating by the principles set out here, and it will continue if these or other talented people continue to operate by

them.

Like getting fit, virtually anyone can do it if they are willing to do what it takes.

What is written here is just my understanding of what it takes:

my most fundamental life principles, my approach to

getting what I want, and my “management principles,” which are based on those foundations.

Taken together, these

principles are meant to paint a picture of a process for the systematic pursuit of truth and excellence and for the

rewards that accompany this pursuit.

I put them in writing for people to consider in order to help Bridgewater and

the people I care about most.

Until recently, I didn’t write out these principles because I felt that it was presumptuous for me to tell others what

would work best for them.

But over time, I saw the people who I cared about most struggling with problems and

wanted to help them;

I also found that their problems were almost always the result of violating one or more of

these principles, and that their problems could be solved by applying these principles.

So I began writing down the

types of problems and the broken principles that caused them.

When I began, I didn’t know how many principles I

would end up with but, through this process, I discovered that about 200 principles pretty much cover all the problems.

1 I’m sure that I will come up with more as I learn more.

When I say that these are my principles, I don’t mean that in a possessive or egotistical way.

I just mean that they are

explanations of what I personally believe.

I believe that the people I work with and care about must think for themselves.

I set these principles out and explained the logic behind them so that we can together explore their merits and stress test them.

While I am confident that these principles work well because I have thought hard about

them, they have worked well for me for many years, and they have stood up to the scrutiny of the hundreds of smart,

skeptical people, I also believe that nothing is certain.

I believe that the best we can hope for is highly probable.

By putting them out there and stress testing them,

the probabilities of their being right will increase.