要想讓一個機構有效運作，其員工必須在很多層面保持一致——從擁有共同的使命、如何對待彼此，到在追求成功時，明確每個人的職責。但是，不要把保持一致當作理所當然的事，因為人與人是極為不同的。我們看待自己、看待世界都有自己獨特的方式，所以去探究什麼是事實以及該如何作為是需要不懈努力的。
在創意擇優過程中，保持一致尤其重要，所以在橋水，我們試圖有意識地、持續且系統化地努力達成一致。我們把這個求取一致的過程叫作“達成共識”。問題一般源自兩個主要原因：簡單的誤解和根本上存在分歧。達成共識就是以開放而自信的心態修正這兩種問題的過程。
很多人以為，掩蓋分歧是維持和睦最容易的方法，這種觀點大錯特錯。迴避衝突也就回避了解決衝突的機會；躲過了小的矛盾，之後往往會有大的矛盾，甚至會導致人與人的疏離。而直面且積極解決小的矛盾，通常能維持最佳且長久的關係。經過深思熟慮的分歧——當事方之間開放、堅定地進行高質量的反覆討論，從而可以站在對方的視角看問題的過程——具有強大的作用，因為有助於雙方瞭解此前不清楚的情況。但這並不容易。創意擇優在相對能力有明顯差異的情況下是比較簡單的（例如體育比賽中誰跑得快誰就是冠軍，結果不言自明），但在創造性的環境中就難多了（關於哪個點子最好，眾說紛紜，但必須下決斷）。如果不下決斷，爭執不休、梳理分歧的過程以及在誰有權拍板的問題上達不成一致，討論就會亂成一團。人們有時會爭得動了氣或僵持不下，一場對話往往演變成兩個或更多的人反覆無效地糾纏一件事，無法就行動方案達成共識。
For an organization to be effective, the people who make it up must be aligned on many levels—from what their shared mission is, to how they will treat each other, to a more practical picture of who will do what when to achieve their goals. Yet alignment can never be taken for granted because people are wired so differently. We all see ourselves and the world in our own unique ways, so deciding what’s true and what to do about it takes constant work.
Alignment is especially important in an idea meritocracy, so at Bridgewater we try to attain alignment consciously, continually, and systematically. We call this process of finding alignment “getting in sync,” and there are two primary ways it can go wrong: cases resulting from simple misunderstandings and those stemming from fundamental disagreements. Getting in sync is the process of open-mindedly and assertively rectifying both types.
Many people mistakenly believe that papering over differences is the easiest way to keep the peace. They couldn’t be more wrong. By avoiding conflicts one avoids resolving differences. People who suppress minor conflicts tend to have much bigger conflicts later on, which can lead to separation, while people who address their mini-conflicts head on tend to have the best and the longest- lasting relationships. Thoughtful disagreement—the process of having a quality back-and-forth in an open-minded and assertive way so as to see things through each other’s eyes—is powerful, because it helps both parties see things they’ve been blind to. But it’s not easy. While it is straightforward to have a meritocracy in activities in which there is clarity of relative abilities (because the results speak for themselves such as in sports, where the fastest runner wins the race), it is much harder in a creative environment (where different points of view about what’s best have to be resolved). If they’re not, the process of sorting through disagreements and knowing who has the authority to decide quickly becomes chaotic. Sometimes people get angry or stuck; a conversation can easily wind up with two or more people spinning unproductively and unable to reach agreement on what to do.
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《每日原則》為瑞·達利歐(Ray Dalio) 原創，
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