6.5 Remember that if the idea meritocracy comes into conflict with the well-being of the organization, it will inevitably suffer.
That’s just a matter of practicality. As you know I believe that what’s good must work well, and that having the organization work well is of paramount importance.
a. Declare “martial law” only in rare or extreme circumstances when the principles need to be suspended.
While all these principles exist for the well-being of the community, there may come times when adhering to them could threaten the community’s well-being. For example, we encountered a time when there were leaks to the media of some things that we made radically transparent within Bridgewater. People at Bridgewater understood that our transparency about our weaknesses and mistakes was being used to present distorted and harmful pictures of Bridgewater, so we had to lessen our level of transparency until we resolved that problem. Rather than just lessening this degree of transparency, I explained the situation and declared “martial law,” meaning that this was a temporary suspension of the full degree of radical transparency. That way, everyone would know both that it was an exceptional case and that we were entering a time when the typical way of operating would be suspended.
b. Be wary of people who argue for the suspension of the idea meritocracy for the “good of the organization.”
When such arguments win out, the idea meritocracy will be weakened. Don’t let that happen. If people respect the rules of the idea meritocracy, there will be no conflict. I know that from my experiences over decades. However, I also know that there will be people who put what they want above the idea meritocracy and threaten it. Consider those people to be enemies of the system and get rid of them.
* Source: Principles by Ray Dalio