Baseball Cards

Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, uses the baseball card system to highlight each team member’s strengths and weaknesses. These cards use actual data points given by those around them as evidence of what is on their card. The data comes from something called the Dot Collector, as well as performance reviews, personality assessments and their track record. This creates a way to consistently get feedback rather than waiting for the performance evaluation cycle. Bridgewater Associates later developed another concept stemming from the baseball cards called the People Profile, a simple, text-based summary of what each person is like.

I thought this was an exciting way to highlight each other’s strengths and for people to be cognizant of and work on their weaknesses. If you can create baseball cards that celebrate the differences within your team, it can be a great way to motivate people and understand how they add value to the greater group. I may not be the best at something, but if I know that it is the strength of another team member, I may be more comfortable asking for their help or input. Bridgewater Associates found that their employees felt like they no longer had to hide their weaknesses since it was out in the open and everyone was transparent. The cards also present themselves collectively as an overview of the overall team that could be beneficial to examine when making hiring decisions. Is our offensive line strong enough to protect our quarterback? Maybe we invest in more offensive linemen. To go back to the baseball metaphor, you may have the leading home run hitter in the major league, but if they do not get to bat, then it does not matter. The same goes for business; you have to collaborate to succeed.

My sport was swimming; swimming is complicated because individually, you are racing everyone, including your teammates and yourself, always trying to beat your previous personal best. Depending on what place you finish, you are given a point value. These points are tallied for each team, which is how they determine the teams’ standings. Swimming taught me a lot of lessons that transferred to the working world. It is important to contribute as an individual, but it is just as important that your teammates also succeed. My high school team had a wide range of talent levels. I had teammates go on to swim at prestigious NCAA division one universities, but most did not. I swam because I loved the sport, my coaches and my team. As much as I looked up to the 100 back North Carolina State champion, I also looked up to those welcoming and including the younger girls. Nothing felt better than hearing the team screaming as you turn to take a breath or looking up and seeing a cheering squad as you are doing a flip turn. Each team member brought their best to practice and competitions; each person had something unique to offer that made our team better.

Throughout my swimming career, I showed tremendous growth. I went from barely making the team freshman year to state championships senior year. I may not have won every race I was in, but my earned points went towards our overall totals. Those points often made a difference when it was a close meet. I also contributed to the team in another way: I made it a goal to bring the team together and create a supportive culture less about the individual. As a two-time coaches’ award winner and captain, my contributions did not go unnoticed. If I were to write a player card for myself, I would put my positive attitude and my motivation to get better as my strengths. My weaknesses would have included long-distance events and my height since some girls already had a leg up (literally). My business baseball card would look slightly different. What would yours say? Whether you call them baseball cards or use a different metaphor like superhero powers and kryptonite, it is beneficial to be introspective, understand how you can contribute and evaluate the performance and culture of your team.

More About The Author

Lia Esposito is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill pursuing a degree in Media and Journalism concentrating in Advertising and Public Relations with an English Minor. She is currently a social media strategist in the fintech industry.