As the weight of the real world starts to settle in for new college graduates in May, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio wants to be there to offer guidance.
He’s doing so with a new animated adaptation of his 2017 bestseller “Principles,” which is itself the full text of Bridgewater’s culture book with additional context.
“I’m now at a stage in my own life in which it is much more important to me to pass along what I’ve learned about how to be successful than to seek more success for myself,” Dalio says in the first video in the animated series, which is 30 minutes long and broken into eight parts by theme.
Last year, Dalio completed a seven-year transition away from daily management of his Connecticut-based hedge fund, the largest in the world with roughly $150-160 billion in assets under management. Dalio founded Bridgewater in 1975 and began developing a culture of “radical transparency” in the ’80s.
Over time, the firm became as well known for its success as its culture, where employees use proprietary iPad apps to rate each other’s performance in real time and nearly every meeting is recorded. While Bridgewater’s implementation of Dalio’s principles create an intense environment that isn’t for everyone, the foundational teachings are universal and focused primarily on individual development.
In a video Dalio released on his Twitter, he said that he oversaw the animated adaption of his book due to the success of his earlier animated feature on how capitalism works, and, “because these principles were responsible for whatever success I’ve had, and, I’ve been told, invaluable to millions of other people.”
We’ve included the first episode below, marked by a featured lesson. The production team includes creative director Mark Del Lima and graphic design firm Thornberg & Forester. You can watch all eight episodes on Youtube.