Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., arrives at federal court in New York, on Thursday, April 4, 2019.

They have a fierce commitment to achieving goals

"They are all independent thinkers who do not let anything or anyone stand in the way of achieving their audacious goals," Dalio writes.

Their extreme determination can come off as abrasiveness

"At times, [shapers'] extreme determination to achieve their goals can make them appear abrasive or inconsiderate, which was reflected in their test results," Dalio writes. "Nothing is ever good enough, and they experience the gap between what is and what could be as both a tragedy and a source of unending motivation." This characteristic revealed itself in the "concern for others" assessment category, and as Business Insider pointed out, the famous CEOs Dalio assessed "all ranked quite low," according to the book. That doesn't necessarily mean they are uncaring — Bill Gates has donated more than $45 billion to charitable causes, for example. Instead, writes Dalio, "in speaking with them and reviewing the questions that led to these ratings, it became clear: When faced with a choice between achieving their goal or pleasing (or not disappointing) others, they would choose achieving their goal every time." Personality assessments are valuable tools for getting a quick picture of what people are like in terms of their abilities, preferences, and style. They are often more objective and reliable than interviews.

They have vision, but also flexibility

"They have very strong mental maps of how things should be done, and at the same time a willingness to test those mental maps in the world of reality and change the ways they do things to make them work better," Dalio writes. That means they are "simultaneously creative, systematic and practical. They are assertive, open-minded at the same time," Dalio writes.

They're resilient

"They are extremely resilient, because their need to achieve what they envision is stronger than the pain they experience as they struggle to achieve it," Dalio writes.

They have the ability to see the big picture...

"Perhaps most interesting, they have a wider range of vision than most people, either because they have that vision themselves or because they know how to get it from others who can see what they can't," Dalio writes.

...and an eye for detail

"All are able to see both big pictures and granular details (and levels in between) and synthesize the perspectives they gain at those different levels, whereas most people just see one or the other," Dalio writes. (Musk, for example, was as enthusiastic to show Dalio the key fob that opens a Tesla as he was to talk about the strategic vision for the car, according to the book.) People's personalities are pretty well-formed before they come to you, and they've been leaving their fingerprints all over the place since childhood

They're passionate