How Ray Dalio’s “Baseball Playing cards” Might Repair IT Groups

Firms discuss lots about group match and tradition match, however most don’t have actual instruments to make IT occur. As a substitute, they depend on intestine really feel and trial-and-error, resulting in frustration, battle, and underperformance—particularly in IT groups the place totally different working kinds could make or break productiveness.

I as soon as employed two good IT professionals—one was a troubleshooting genius however abrasive in conferences, the opposite was meticulous and process-driven however wanted time to make choices. Each had been nice at their Jobs, but they always clashed. Not as a result of they had been unhealthy workers, however as a result of they didn’t perceive one another’s working kinds.

Ray Dalio noticed this downside firsthand at Bridgewater Associates. His answer? Baseball Playing cards—a system the place each worker had a profile outlining their strengths, weaknesses, communication type, and decision-making course of.

Think about if each IT Supervisor, Community Engineer, or DevOps lead had a quick-reference card that instructed you:

✅ Cognitive & Work Type Strengths – Are they a visionary architect or an execution-focused downside solver? Do they thrive in high-pressure troubleshooting or desire structured venture work?

✅ Character Traits – Are they an unbiased deep thinker or an enthusiastic group participant? Do they carry power to brainstorming periods, or do they like detailed analysis earlier than talking?

✅ Choice-Making Method – Do they make fast, instinct-driven calls or want time to research each danger? Do they belief their intestine or lean closely on knowledge?

✅ Communication Preferences – Do they like concise messages with clear motion factors, or do they want context and element? Do they work greatest with face-to-face discussions or structured emails?

✅ Blind Spots & Weaknesses – Not as a destructive, however as a approach to proactively handle group dynamics. Are they vulnerable to overanalyzing? Do they wrestle with ambiguity?

✅ Reliability Rankings – What are their confirmed strengths, as rated by friends? Who’s the go-to for community safety deep dives? Who excels at stakeholder communication?

No extra guessing. No extra frustration. Simply immediate readability on how you can collaborate successfully.

The most effective IT groups don’t simply have the proper folks—they’ve individuals who know how you can work collectively. Dalio’s Baseball Playing cards strategy could possibly be a game-changer for IT management, venture administration, and inside IT groups alike.

Wouldn’t IT be simpler if you happen to may see how your group works as a substitute of figuring IT out the laborious manner?