Ray Dalio's Principles vs. Marlee's motivational analysis
Discover how Ray Dalio's Principles compares to innovative collaboration and performance AI, Marlee. We'll explore the strengths of Dalio's time-tested wisdom and compare it to cutting-edge technology, helping you choose the best approach for your team's success.
- Author
- Janina Waldmann
Teams are only as strong as the personalities within them. That's why 80% of Fortune 500 companies use personality tests to screen senior roles in the workplace.3 Employers have realized they can build better teams by understanding their employees' personalities. Ray Dalio's PrinciplesYou is a research-backed personality assessment3 based on expert psychologists' research and Dalio's decades of business experience.
So what exactly is PrinciplesYou? How does its personality assessment compare to Marlee's motivational analysis?
What is the Principles Ray Dalio personality assessment?
PrinciplesYou is an assessment tool intended to help individuals learn about themselves. When you understand your personality, you can develop and maintain meaningful relationships. PrincipleYou's team of experts claims this is true at work and home.
PrinciplesYou is based on the work of Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world's largest and best-performing hedge funds. Dalio is also the bestselling author of Principles: Life & Work, a New York Times Bestseller that outlines Dalio's strategies, rules, and principles - ones that have guided him to success.
Dalio and expert psychologists Dr. Adam Grant, Dr. Brian Little, and Dr. John Golden created PrinciplesYou.
Individuals carry out the PrinciplesYou assessment. You'll get your individual results report, but you can also compare your results to colleagues or your team. This allows team leaders to understand their team's strengths and weaknesses.
PrinciplesYou gives individuals in-depth insights into what they "are really like." Users can apply this information in the workplace and their personal lives. The assessment focuses on three core areas:
- Archetypes: this section gives feedback on an individual's talents, tendencies, and growth opportunities.
- Personality assessment: PrinciplesYou provides insight into thinking, engaging, and applying yourself. These are based on 17 core personality types.
- Real-life examples: Your insights show how you act in the world. Your reactions, actions, and tendencies are all informed by your personality.
What is Marlee?
Marlee is a collaboration and performance AI that helps individuals and teams bring out the best in each other. Marlee provides personalized insights to make it easy to connect with others, motivate yourself or your team, collaborate, and develop yourself or your team in the flow of work.
Marlee was founded by personal and professional development coach Michelle Duval. Michelle spearheaded a world-first study over a decade, delving into the attitudes and motivations of some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and teams across startups, scale-ups, and enterprises. The study: Can entrepreneurial success be predicted? uncovered the relationships between venture failure and success.
The findings were clear—attitude and motivation are the two XFactors that lead to success. And Marlee was born. Marlee is built on 25 years of global human data and evidence-based psychologies, and it is now the world's largest global database of human motivations.
At the core of Marlee's success is an evidence-based motivational analysis. This analysis examines the motivations and drives of individuals and teams. Once you've answered questions on what motivates you, you'll receive a personalized report. This report details your unique work style traits, such as your preferred communication style, approach to work, how you're convinced, and leadership style.
Principles Ray Dalio features
Ray Dalio is one of the most influential people in business. He is the world-famous founder of the biggest hedge fund in history and a best-selling author. In his professional life, Dalio believes in the principle of radical transparency.1 He believes this is the key to success at work and in personal relationships.
The PrinciplesYou assessment is an online personality assessment. Users complete it by reflecting on each statement and indicating how strongly they agree. At the end of the test, users can access their report, which is available immediately.
How long is the Principles Ray Dalio test?
The assessment takes approximately 40 minutes to complete and includes more than 200 questions.
Is the Principles Ray Dalio test accurate?
The Ray Dalio PrinciplesYou assessment is based on contemporary organizational and personality research. The assessment also measures traits and facets identified by Ray Dalio as crucial to success. Dalio would know; he's had a lifetime of experience.
The PrinciplesYou assessment is based partly on the Big Five personality assessment, which is well-regarded and established. It groups people into five categories: conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness, agreeableness, and extraversion. PrinciplesYou is unique in clustering individuals into archetypes.
The PrinciplesYou team claims their assessment is similarly accurate to other personality assessments. High internal reliability and good test-retest outcomes show the platform works. It's a great tool for predicting career success and personality traits.
A 2021 article in Quartz2 noted that parts of the assessment raised relativity questions. Users questioned how bold, daring, or creative they are compared to others. They also raised concerns that a person's emotional state could impact their results. For instance, someone having a particularly tough week is unlikely to feel energized. But, two weeks ago, they may have been very energized. Their temporary emotional state could impact their results and their assigned archetype.
What will my Principles Ray Dalio test results look like?
Your PrinciplesYou assessment results will be available instantly.
The report contains three core pieces of information:
- Your archetype
- Your traits and facets
- Your insights
So, how do you interpret this information? What does it mean?
Your results will include the archetypes with which your personality most identifies. PrinciplesYou has developed archetypes that lay the foundations for behavior. Your report will include the archetype you most identify with and those with which you least identify.
Your assessment results will detail your traits and facets. These results are grouped into three areas:
- How you think
- How you engage with others
- How you apply yourself
Understanding your traits and facets will give you insight into your personality. For example, your results will show how nurturing or extroverted you are. These results can help you understand many things about yourself, from your approach to decision-making or teamwork to your preferred method for engaging with others.
The insights section of your results report aims to provide you with a closer examination of how you react in certain situations. Your insights will allow you to reflect. Do you feel they accurately reflect your actions? Do you identify with the actions outlined?
How can I access my Principles Ray Dalio results?
The platform will generate a report once you've taken the PrinciplesYou assessment. You can access the report online or print it at home. If you've created an account, you can access your results anytime. You can also share your results with friends and request to see their results.
The PrinciplesYou assessment is a one-off. To determine whether your archetypes have changed over the years, you'll need to retake it.
PrinciplesYou also offers certified coaches to help you turn your assessment results into an action plan.
Can I invite my employees or team to take the Principles Ray Dalio test?
While PrinciplesYou was developed for individuals, the platform does allow for results sharing. The team behind PrinciplesYou recently launched PrinciplesUs. PrinciplesUs includes workshops and coaching options for enterprises. Individual results can be imported into PrinciplesUs, allowing team leaders to see their team's results. Colleagues can also share their results.
Marlee features
There are three parts to Marlee:
- Answer questions on what motivates you - the more questions you answer in the motivational analysis, the more accurate Marlee's feedback and coaching will be
- Gain insights about yourself - Ask Marlee our AI questions, such as "What are my strengths?" You'll receive instant personalized insights based on your motivations.
- Set a goal and start AI coaching - Marlee will help you set a goal and can recommend an online coaching program to help you achieve it
How long is the motivational analysis?
The motivational analysis is quick and easy to take. While comprehensive and evidence-based, it consists of only 40 questions and takes 15-20 minutes to complete. As you go through the analysis, you'll rank statements on how they relate to you in the workplace. If you need a coffee break, the platform saves your progress as you review the questions.
Is the Marlee motivational analysis accurate?
Marlee's motivational analysis is highly accurate. Scientific studies have shown it to be reliable up to 98% of the time. Sometimes, you might feel that a result doesn't quite fit you. This is usually because of how we've worded the description, not because the analysis is wrong. If this happens, try looking deeper into the explanation or contact us for help understanding your results.
What will the Marlee motivational analysis report look like?
You'll receive an instant report once you've completed your motivational analysis. The report will help you become more aware of your personal motivations and unique work styles. It highlights your strengths and weaknesses (which we prefer to call blind spots) that may be holding you back.
Armed with your Marlee report, you'll be able to discover areas for improvement and areas of excellence. You can use your results to set goals for your personal development, and Marlee will recommend online coaching programs to help you achieve them. We recommend taking the motivational analysis annually to see how far you've come.
You can set up a team and invite them to take the Marlee motivational analysis. Your team report will show similarities and differences in work styles within your team. This is a great first step to understanding how your team can work more cohesively. With this information, you can develop strategies to manage team conflict and develop high-performance team dynamics.
How can I access my Marlee results?
Accessing your Marlee results is easy. Before you get started, create a free Marlee account, answer questions on what motivates you, and you'll receive your results in the Marlee dashboard. You can track your progress and keep notes on your coaching experience. The website is mobile-optimized, so you can see your results no matter where you are.
Coaching is done differently: Professional coaching can be costly. AI-powered coach Marlee delivers personalized online coaching and will help you achieve your goals. Whether it's increased emotional intelligence or better team building, Marlee can help. Marlee offers a level of flexibility that's rare in professional coaching.
Human coaching: If you prefer a more traditional approach, Marlee's expert human coaches can help both teams and individuals.
Can I invite my employees or team to take the Marlee motivational analysis?
It doesn't matter whether you're a billionaire founder, leading a start-up, or running a small business. Understanding your team is crucial to your business's success.
Your Marlee dashboard includes a 'teams' tab. You can view comprehensive insights into your teams' work style traits here. This will help you understand opportunities for growth and collaboration in your team. Build a workplace inventory and quickly determine the best person for the job.
Marlee (Fingerprint for Success) team dashboard
Benchmarking: Use the benchmarking tool in your dashboard to better understand your team. You can compare your team's results against working populations from different cultures.
Global networks: Working across several cultures can be tricky. That's why Marlee offers culture maps. These maps dive into the cultural differences between your teams and offices worldwide. This tool supports your business's global objectives and enhances cross-cultural bonding.
Hiring the best: Hire only the best next time you look for new talent by taking advantage of Marlee's insights. Proven success factors form the basis of Marlee's talent ranking feature. Understand where candidates' skills and talents would benefit your business. Pick the 'lens' you'd like to view your candidates through, and away you go. A 'Business Builder' can help you scale your business, while an 'Entrepreneur' could be right for your high-growth venture.
What does Principles Ray Dalio cost?
Taking the analysis as an individual through Ray Dalio's PrinciplesYou is free. You can create an account or take the assessment as a guest and access your report without paying a cent. PrinciplesUs is a paid platform, and users can purchase 30-day access for US$45 or pay per user at US$8 per user. Alternatively, larger enterprises can contact PrinciplesUs directly to discuss billing options.
What does Marlee cost?
Duval's vision when developing Marlee was that coaching should be available to everyone, not just the elite. The Starter pricing plan is free forever. You can take the motivational analysis for free and receive one complete 8-week AI coaching program. You can also compare with up to three team connections at a time.
Teams can access Marlee for US$15.99 per month per user with unlimited team connections.
Schedule a demo if you're interested in human coaching or tailored enterprise packages.
Principles Ray Dalio test reviews
PrinciplesYou has positive reviews, particularly for its coaching add-on.
- "Eye-opening for self-discovery, team dynamics, and ideas for management approaches."
- "The three most exciting moments of our company were when we got our first check, when we launched our IPO, and when we decided to adopt the Principles approach - it has had a huge impact on our company."
Marlee (formerly Fingerprint for Success) reviews
Marlee is proud to have many happy clients from organizations across the globe. Hear what they have to say:
- "Marlee is a central component of our people growth strategy at Canva and empowers us to harness our unique culture and optimize performance as we scale."
- "Marlee is an indispensable tool in any team's arsenal. With easy-to-understand insights, it is my most highly utilized and recommended business management tool."
- "Marlee has been crucial for our Baraja teams. We have a debrief every time a new team forms or we have additions to existing teams. It gives us direction for team compositions, hiring, and conflict resolutions. There are so many "AHA" moments."
Marlee coaching jobs
If you've always dreamed of working in coaching, look no further than a coaching job with Marlee. You'll be able to support individuals, teams, and organizations worldwide. Help them plan for success and meet their potential; it's very rewarding!
Marlee is always looking for dedicated individuals to join the coaching team. This could be the perfect opportunity if you have experience in methodologies such as meta-coaching. You may already have transferable skills, too, such as nutrition, life coaching, or personal training.
As a Marlee coach, you can access learning and development opportunities, competitive pay, and flexible paid time off.
Sound like you? Find out more about how to become a Marlee coach. You'll work with clients to offer the best that personal development offers.
Bottom line: Principles Ray Dalio vs. Marlee
Both bestselling author Ray Dalio's PrinciplesYou and Marlee are excellent platforms. They offer evidence-based assessments that allow users to understand themselves better.
PrinciplesYou is based on the research and experience of one of the world's most successful leaders. However, the platform only offers paid coaching services. You'll need to pay to access a coach who can support you and your team in turning your assessment results into actionable plans.
Marlee boasts extremely high reliability—up to 98%—so you know your analysis results accurately reflect your motivational traits. The Marlee platform also harnesses the power of AI to provide free coaching on a scale not seen before.
References
1. Montag, A. (2017/CNBC) 'Billionaire Ray Dalio: Bridgewater’s radically transparent culture evolved from ‘painful mistakes’'. Available at: CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/12/bridgewaters-ray-dalio-the-leadership-strategy-behind-my-success.html)
2. Todd, S. (2021/Quartz) 'Ray Dalio’s new personality test gave me and my co-workers a shared identity crisis'. Available at: Quartz (https://qz.com/work/2000975/ray-dalio-says-his-new-personality-test-is-better-than-interviews)
3. Ben Dattner Ph.D. (2008/psychologytoday) 'The use and misuse of personality tests for coaching and development'. Available at: (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/credit-and-blame-at-work/200806/the-use-and-misuse-of-personality-tests-for-coaching-and#:~:text=Around%2080%20percent%20of%20the,reliability%20or%20validity%20than%20horoscopes.)