How To Commit Career Suicide

“Before you criticize people you should walk a mile in their shoes…..that way by the time you criticize them you are a mile away and have their shoes…..” Jack Handey

Ray – you deserve a “D” for your performance today…..you rambled for 50 minutes….it was obvious to all of us that you did not prepare at all because there is no way you could have and been that dis-organised at the outset if you had prepared. We told you this prospect had been identified as a “must win”….today was really bad….we can’t let this happen again.

I have a little more time on my hands than usual at the moment, so I am listening to more and more podcasts while I walk the dog, mow the grass or clean the windows (for the second time this week). I am not just listening to new podcasts, but going back and listening to what interesting people have said in the past. My current favourite is listening to old Ray Dalio interviews about the culture he built at Bridgewater capital.

The e-mail above is an extract from an e-mail that one colleague at Bridgewater sent to Ray, chastising him for his performance. Yes, you read that right. From a colleague to the CEO.

Your immediate reaction has to be that this person is probably committing career suicide. They are a gonner. If you are working in an organisation where you think this e-mail would be well received, you should cherish that organisation because it is clearly the exception not the rule.

At Bridgewater, Ray aimed for a culture of complete transparency. He is careful to always caveat that he expected people to still be tactful and caring, but he was desperate for people not to hold back with their honest opinions. Bridgewater has an agreed set of principles and values that have developed over time, and which are challenged on a daily basis by the people that work there. The list is now pretty famous, having been downloaded over two million times. There is also an incredible new app that is free to download for people that want to learn more about progressing to a transparent culture. I am enjoying adding my principles to it.

This permission to express views doesn't mean inertia though. As Ray famously said two of the most dangerous words in the English language are "I think". The approach means an idea meritocracy. Where the best ideas win out regardless of rank. Ideas are believability weighted - so if you have a good track record of being right, your views carry more weight than someone that has been consistently wrong.

Many companies today realise the benefits of an open and transparent culture. Very few take this as far as Bridgewater, and indeed I can see very good reasons why most companies wouldn’t. So many fear facing the truth.

Most of us like to think that we work in an open and honest culture, where people can truly speak up and say what they feel….but do we really do this?

In "Replenish: leading from a healthy soul" Lance Witt asks readers to ask themselves some pretty tough questions:

- Do you hold back from saying what you think in meetings?

- How many times have you sat quietly in a meeting whilst the elephant in the room is ignored?

- How many times have you talked about a team mate without giving them your feedback directly?

- How often have you said nothing when you feel someone is about to make a really bad decision?

To all these questions your answer may be never. If it is then I would say that you will be the exception, and must have faced into some interesting situations. Of course there is a place for tact. There will always be times when giving feedback or raising issues there and then is not the right approach.....but then again are we just excusing our lack of honesty? 

The Bridgewater story at the beginning of this article actually didn’t end there. Ray decided the right course of action was to send the e-mail on to everyone in the organisation to ask for their views on his performance and the e-mail he received. By any measure I am sure you’ll agree that was brave.

Still up for the Bridgewater approach now?