Companies talk a lot about team fit and culture fit, but most don’t have real tools to make it happen. Instead, they rely on gut feel and trial-and-error, leading to frustration, conflict, and underperformance—especially in IT teams where different working styles can make or break productivity.
I once employed two brilliant IT professionals—one was a troubleshooting genius but abrasive in meetings, the other was meticulous and process-driven but needed time to make decisions. Both were great at their jobs, yet they constantly clashed. Not because they were bad employees, but because they didn’t understand each other’s working styles.
Ray Dalio saw this problem firsthand at Bridgewater Associates. His solution? Baseball Cards—a system where every employee had a profile outlining their strengths, weaknesses, communication style, and decision-making process.
Imagine if every IT Manager, Network Engineer, or DevOps lead had a quick-reference card that told you:
✅ Cognitive & Work Style Strengths – Are they a visionary architect or an execution-focused problem solver? Do they thrive in high-pressure troubleshooting or prefer structured project work?
✅ Personality Traits – Are they an independent deep thinker or an enthusiastic team player? Do they bring energy to brainstorming sessions, or do they prefer detailed research before speaking?
✅ Decision-Making Approach – Do they make quick, instinct-driven calls or need time to analyze every risk? Do they trust their gut or lean heavily on data?
✅ Communication Preferences – Do they prefer concise messages with clear action points, or do they need context and detail? Do they work best with face-to-face discussions or structured emails?
✅ Blind Spots & Weaknesses – Not as a negative, but as a way to proactively manage team dynamics. Are they prone to overanalyzing? Do they struggle with ambiguity?
✅ Reliability Ratings – What are their proven strengths, as rated by peers? Who’s the go-to for network security deep dives? Who excels at stakeholder communication?
No more guessing. No more frustration. Just instant clarity on how to collaborate effectively.
The best IT teams don’t just have the right people—they have people who know how to work together. Dalio’s Baseball Cards approach could be a game-changer for IT leadership, project management, and internal IT teams alike.
Wouldn’t it be easier if you could see how your team works instead of figuring it out the hard way?
