Quote · My First Million
Ray Dalio: The principles that made me a billionaire
Where this was said
Ray's hiring philosophy
At 29:35 · chapter starts 28:41
Sam raises the story of Dalio hiring a door-to-door Bible salesman as an early Bridgewater research salesman — someone with no market knowledge whatsoever. Dalio defends the choice by laying out his hiring hierarchy [1] — Ray Dalio "Most hiring managers look at skills first. Dalio says that's exactly backwards. Values come first because they define who someone is. Abili…" 29:05 . Most people look at skills first, as shown on a resume. Dalio says that's the least important consideration. Skills are learnable and can become obsolete — a generation ago, programming was the hot skill; AI is making it a commodity now. What matters most is values: is this person honest? Do they care about doing good work? Second is abilities: are they bright, curious, adaptable? If someone has the right values and the right abilities, they can acquire whatever skills the job requires. The reverse is not true. This is the same logic he applies to talent identification more broadly: Elon Musk's early investors didn't invest in his resume — they invested in him.
Most hiring managers look at skills first. Dalio says that's exactly backwards. Values come first because they define who someone is. Abilities come second because they determine what someone can become. Skills are last because they're learnable — and in an AI world, today's hot skill can become obsolete overnight.
