Ask HN: Anyone here tried building an A+ team based on Ray Dalio's Principles?

I've been reading Ray Dalio's book Principles: Life and Work of late. It's really inspiring to know how he built a meritocratic culture at Bridgewater Associates by following core principles with a backbone of radical truth and transparency. I'm also reading more about the tools they used to groom a culture of excellence (psychometric tests to understand each member better, baseball cards for each member etc). Has anyone tried similar approaches with your team/startup? Would love to know how it went.