In my previous entry I had begun reflecting on a few very apt questions posted on LinkedIn regarding Ray Dalio’s concept and explanation of “Radical Transparency.” All of which was related to Dalio’s fantastic book, Principles: Life and Work.

Why would I take someone’s questions from LinkedIn and hijack them over to my own site? Because I talk too much and LinkedIn has limits. But, as Mark Twain is often quoted:

I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.

Do you want radical truthfulness and transparency?

Let me lead into this question the way I closed out of the intro, with another Twain quote.

Yes, even I am dishonest. Not in many ways, but in some. Forty-one, I think it is.

I feel that it is apt because we are all dishonest. Every last one of us. We tell little white lies. We commit sins of omission. And sometimes we just flat out lie.

That is what makes us fear truthfulness as a key component of radical transparency. We don’t want people to see our inconvenient truths out in the light. But if we are going to reach the highest levels of production, profitability, and fulfillment we must be truthful with ourselves and others.

No more going along with the crowd because you think making a suggestion will put more work on your plate. No more being a yes-man to the boss even when you know they may be wrong. And, most of all, no more diluting ourselves into believing that we deserve a disproportionate amount of credit or reward for the success of the group or firm.

Basically it boils down to honesty at every level, and that is a hard thing to commit to in a complex society.

Do you want an algorithmic decision making?

I have my doubts that Twain had any memorable quotes regarding algorithmic decision making. At least not any that survived the years. On the other hand, Ray Dalio lays out the process of his decision making process rather well.

Dalio’s process began with his foresight to not only thoroughly examine all of the options for every decision made, but to also record these micro observations and decisions. This allowed him to return to a fully contextual example with similar situation occurred in the future.

Imagine the power that must put in a decision maker’s hands. At the barest of minimums it gives a person the power to replicate her successes and improve on her failures. But Dalio’s foresight took this to the next level by creating actual computerized algorithms that could intelligently examine multiple facets of a decision scenario and recommend a chosen route based on past actions.

So would I want a way to replicate my best choices and avoid my worst mistakes? Would I love to have an intelligent mechanism that could reach conclusions must faster than I can, but feel sure these outputs are built on my personal history? Well of course I would. But for others, they may not so keen over fears that this would be one more form of automation that could be professionally threatening.

Final Reflection

Is Dalio’s vision of radical transparency a fool-proof utopia? Probably not. And it certainly is extremely rare. I hope that we all get to experience something at least somewhat similar to radical transparency in the course of our careers. If nothing else, just to have a frame of reference.

As I look back at my thoughts regarding these four great questions I must admit that I am somewhat surprised. I have always felt that I am an advocate of the individual and the value of character. Still, I cannot help but feel drawn to this mystical dream of a world wherever every decision results in the best idea winning because everyone involved honestly used all their tools and talents to produce a result that could be algorithmically verified.

I wonder what the reflection on radical transparency looks like for others …