It is commonly understood that no one person has all the right ideas.

However, it is also very easy for most people to believe that they always have the best idea.

How do we overcome this paradox of thinking? According to Ray Dalio in his best-selling book, Principles, one aspect of the solution is practicing radical open-mindedness.

Why is this so important? His company, Bridgewater Associates, is famous for creating an idea meritocracy, designed to encourage the best ideas, not the most persuasive or good-enough ones, to rise to top. Radical open-mindedness is key to making this happen. According to Dalio:

Radical open-mindedness is motivated by the genuine worry that you might not be seeing your choice optimally. It is the ability to effectively explore different points of view and different possibilities without letting your ego or blind spots get in your way.

On pages 187-190 of Principles, Dalio proposes seven steps to keeping one’s mind open. They are listed below:

• Sincerely believe that you might not know the best possible path and recognize that your ability to deal with “not knowing” is more important that whatever it is you do know.
• Recognized that decision making is a two-step process: First take in all the relevant information, then decide.
• Don’t worry about looking good: worry about achieving your goal.
• Realize that you can’t put out without taking in.
• Recognize that to gain the perspective that comes from seeing things through another’s eyes, you must suspend judgement for a time – only by empathizing can you properly evaluate another point of view.
• Remember that you’re looking for the best answer, not simply the best answer that you can come up with yourself.
• Be clear on whether you are arguing or seeking to understand, and think about which is most appropriate based on your and other’s believability.

For the last point, Dalio explains the idea of believability:

I define believable people as those who have repeatedly and successfully accomplished the thing in question – who have a strong track record with a least three successes – and have great explanations for their approach when probed.

To dive deeper into these seven concepts, grab a copy of Principles and jump to pages 187-190.