Share Director’s Definition A director who gets $150,000 per year from a company and needs the money is not independent. Related Topics: company, director, independent, money, needs Business Definitions 3
Share Mimicking the Herd Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean. Related Topics: herd, invites, mean, mimicking, regression, regression to the mean Investing 3
Share Easily Learned Principles It never ceases to amaze me to see how much territory can be grasped if one merely masters and consistently...Read More Related Topics: amaze, ceases, consistently, easily learned, grasped, masters, obvious, principles, territory, uses Growth Learning 4
Share Eggs in One Basket Investors can have 90% of their wealth in a single company, if it is the right company. Related Topics: company, investors, ninety, right, single, wealth Investing 3
Share Reading and Thinking We both, Warren Buffett and I, insist on a lot of time being available almost every day to just sit...Read More Related Topics: available, every day, insist, read, sit, think, time, Warren Buffet Discipline Every Day Growth Investing Learning Reading Self Development 5
Share Extreme Objectivity The life of Darwin demonstrates how a turtle may outrun a hare, aided by extreme objectivity. Related Topics: Darwin, demonstrates, extreme, hare, life, objective, objectivity, only, outrun, person, player, turtle Business 4
Share IQ Humility If you think your IQ is 160 but it’s 150, you’re a disaster. It’s much better to have a 130...Read More Related Topics: better, disaster, IQ, think Attitude Humility 2
Share Deserved Trust The highest form that civilization can reach is a seamless web of deserved trust — not much procedure, just totally...Read More Related Topics: civilization, deserved, form, highest, people, procedure, reach, reliable, seamless, totally, trust, trusting, web Integrity Trust 2
Share Good Ideas Are Hard to Find Our cash is speaking for itself. If we had a lot of wonderful ideas, we wouldn’t have so much cash. Related Topics: cash, ideas, speaking, wonderful Investing 3
Share Good vs. Bad Investment Ideas Benjamin Graham used to say, “It’s not the bad investment ideas that fail; it’s the good ideas that get pushed...Read More Related Topics: bad, Benjamin Graham, excess, fail, good, ideas, investment, pushed Investing 2
Share Self-serving Bias Another thing that does one in, of course, is the self-serving bias to which we’re all subject. Related Topics: bias, self-serving, self-serving bias, subject, thing Behavior Bias 2
Share Margin of Safety In engineering, people have a big margin of safety. But in the financial world, people don’t give a damn about...Read More Related Topics: accounting, balloon, big, don't give a damn, engineering, false, financial, give a damn, margin, people, safety, world Investing 2
Share Learn Vicariously The more hard lessons you can learn vicariously rather than through your own hard experience, the better. Related Topics: better, experience, hard, learn, lessons, through, vicariously Growth Learning Reading Self Development 3
Share Costco vs. Rockefeller Foundation I believe Costco does more for civilization than the Rockefeller Foundation. I think it’s a better place. Related Topics: believe, better, bunch, civilization, Costco, good, immediately, intelligent, more, people, place, Rockefeller Foundation, seat, sitting, squirm, suspicious, think, trying Business 2
Share Dealing with Temporary Unpopularity If your new behavior gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group, then to hell with them. Related Topics: behavior, hell, little, peer group, temporary, unpopularity Attitude Life's Rules Relationships 3
Share Competition in Investing The investment game is getting more and more competitive. Related Topics: competitive, game, investment, investment game, more Investing 2
Share What’s Your Problem? Let me know what your problem is, and I will try to make it more difficult for you. Related Topics: difficult, know, problem, try Business Problem-solving 0
Share Being a Good Investor Understanding how to be a good investor makes you a better business manager and vice versa. Related Topics: better, business, good, how, investor, manager, understanding, vice versa Investing 1
Share Make the Market Your Servant The idea of a margin of safety, a Graham precept, will never be obsolete. The idea of making the market...Read More Related Topics: Benjamin Graham, idea, margin, margin of safety, market, never, obsolete, precept, safety, servant Investing 2
Share Having a Passionate Interest You need to have a passionate interest in why things are happening. That cast of mind, kept over long periods,...Read More Related Topics: ability, focus, gradually, happening, improves, interest, long periods, need, passionate, reality, things, why Focus 3
Share Success in this World I think track records are very important. If you start early trying to have a perfect one in some simple...Read More Related Topics: honesty, important, like, perfect, records, simple, start, success, thing, think, track, track records, trying, world Business Success 1
Share Modern Portfolio Theory Beta and modern portfolio theory and the like — none of it makes any sense to me. Related Topics: any, beta, like, makes, modern, non, portfolio, sense, theory Investing 1
Share No Big Advantages We don’t have big advantages — no special competence — so we spend almost no time on it. Related Topics: advantages, big, competence, special, time Business Investing 2
Share Envy Drives the World I’ve heard Warren say a half a dozen times, “It’s not greed that drives the world, but envy.” Related Topics: blank, book, courses, dozen, drives, envy, greed, half, psychology, survey, times, Warren Buffett, world Motivation 0
Share Charlie and Warren I’ve been associated with Warren so long, I thought I’d be just a footnote. Related Topics: associated, footnote, Warren Buffett Business Friendship Investing Partnership Relationships 0
Share Formal vs. Self-education Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune. Related Topics: education, formal, fortune, living, rich, self-education, wealthy Education Reading Self Actualization Self Development 1
Share Find Joy in Everything Find joy in everything you choose to do. It’s your responsibility to love it, or change it. Related Topics: change, choose, everything, find, joy, love, responsibility, your responsibility Choices Joy Responsibility 2
Share Buying Lots of Things We tend to buy things — a lot of things — where we don’t know exactly what will happen, but...Read More Related Topics: buy, decent, exactly, happen, outcome, tend, things Investing 1
Share Discounted Cash Flows Warren talks about these discounted cash flows. I’ve never seen him do one. Related Topics: cash, discounted, discounted cash flows, talks, Warren Buffett Investing 1
Share Difficulty in Investing Why should it be easy to do something that, if done well, two or three times, will make your family...Read More Related Topics: easy, family, life, rich, something, three, times, two, wealthy, why Investing 3
Share Surviving Bad Management Good businesses can survive a little bad management. Related Topics: bad, businesses, good, little, management, survive Business 0
Share Numerical Fluency Without numerical fluency, in the part of life most of us inhabit, you are like a one-legged man in an...Read More Related Topics: ass-kicking contest, fluency, inhabit, life, like, numerical, one-legged man Business Investing 2
Share Good vs. Bad Ideas It’s not the bad ideas that do you in, but the good ones. Related Topics: bad ideas, good, ideas Business Investing 1
Share Swapping Old Tools for New When a better tool or idea or approach comes along, what could be better than to swap it for your...Read More Related Topics: approach, better, idea, old, swap, tool, useful Process 1
Share Cranky Businesses A lot of the businesses we buy at Berkshire Hathaway are kind of cranky and old-fashioned like us. Related Topics: Berkshire Hathaway, businesses, buy, cranky, old-fashioned Investing 1
Share How to Succeed in Investing You need patience, discipline, and an ability to take losses and adversity without going crazy. Related Topics: ability, adversity, crazy, discipline, going crazy, losses, need, patience, take losses Attitude Investing 1
Share Turnover at Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire has the lowest turnover of any major company in the U.S. Related Topics: Berkshire Hathaway, company, lowest, major, turnover, U.S. Business 1
Share Success in Life A lot of success in life and business comes from knowing what you want to avoid: early death, a bad...Read More Related Topics: avoid, bad, business, death, early, knowing, life, marriage, success, want Success 2
Share Take the High Road Always take the high road, it’s far less crowded. Related Topics: crowded, high, high road, less, road Integrity 1
Share Very-high-IQ People Very-high-IQ people can be completely useless. And many of them are. Related Topics: completely, high-IQ, IQ, people, useless Business 1
Share Sex Without Love Sex without love is a meaningless experience, but as far as meaningless experiences go it’s pretty damn good. Related Topics: damn, damn good, experience, good, love, meaningless, sex Funny Humor R-rated Sex 3
Share Deliver Maximum Value Don’t ask more of others than you can deliver yourself. Related Topics: ask, deliver, others John Perry Barlow's 25 Adult Principles Relationships 1
Share Closet Indexing [With] closet indexing you’re paying a manager a fortune and he has 85% of his assets invested parallel to the...Read More Related Topics: assets, closet, fortune, indexing, invested, manager, parallel, paying, played, sucker, system Investing 1
Share The Downside of Litigation Litigation is notoriously time-consuming, inefficient, costly and unpredictable. Related Topics: costly, inefficient, litigation, notoriously, time-consuming, unpredictable Business Litigation 1
Share Begin Doing The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. Related Topics: begin doing, get started, quit, quit talking, talking Action Getting Started Motivation 1
Share Using Checklists I’m a great believer in solving hard problems by using a checklist. You need to get all the likely and...Read More Related Topics: believer, checklist, great, hard, important, likely, miss, otherwise, problems, solving, something, unlikely answers Business Problem-solving 2
Share The Queen of Soft Sciences Economics is in many respects the queen of the soft sciences. It’s expected to be better than the rest. It’s...Read More Related Topics: better, economics, expected, multi-disciplinary, queen, respects, rest, sciences, soft, stuff, view Investing 1
Share I Used To Do Drugs I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too. Related Topics: do drugs, drugs, used to Drugs Witty 2
Share Van Gogh’s Ear He has Van Gogh’s ear for music. Related Topics: ear, music, Vincent Van Gogh Humor Witty 1
Share Witty Sayings A witty saying proves nothing. Related Topics: nothing, proves, saying, witty Witty 1