Buying a Great Business is Tough
Wrigley is a great business, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Buying great businesses at advantageous prices is very tough.
Related Topics: advantageous, business, businesses, buying, difficult, great, prices, problem, solve, tough, Wrigley Don’t Lose What Matters
Don’t let something that doesn’t matter cause you to lose something that does.
Related Topics: lose, matters, something 
Wearing a Turtleneck
Wearing a turtleneck is like being strangled by a really weak guy, all day. Wearing a backpack and a turtleneck...
Related Topics: backpack, down, guy, midget, strangled, turtleneck, weak, wearing Secret of Success
What are the secret of success? One word answer: rationality.
Related Topics: rationality, secret, secret of success, success Passion vs. Competence
What matters most: passion or competence that was born in? Berkshire is full of people who have a peculiar passion...
Related Topics: Berkshire Hathaway, born, business, competence, full, matters, passion, peculiar, people, what matters most Learn to Program
I think everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, should learn a computer language because it...
Related Topics: computer, computer language, country, everybody, learn, program, teaches, think 
Patience Is Not About the Waiting
“Patience is not about waiting, but how we act when things take longer than we expect.” —Paulo Coelho
Related Topics: attitude, impatience, patience, waiting Make the Best Things in the World
We hire people who want to make the best things in the world.
Related Topics: best, best things, hire, make, people, things, want, world Concentrate on What’s Important
We’re always thinking about new markets we could enter, but it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.
Related Topics: concentrate, enter, important, new markets, saying no, things, thinking 
Take One Simple Idea Seriously
Take one simple idea and take it seriously.
Related Topics: idea, seriously, simple 
Serendipity in Computers
If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces...
Related Topics: college, course, dropped in, fonts, Macintosh, multiple, never, proportionally, single, typefaces Valuable Insights in a Competitive World
Even bright people are going to have limited, really valuable insights in a very competitive world when they’re fighting against...
Related Topics: against, bright, competitive, fighting, hardworking, insights, limited, other, people, valuable, world Work Backwards
You’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology.
Related Topics: backwards, customer, customer experience, experience, start, technology, work How Much Motivations Matter
The older I get, the more I see how much motivations matter.
Related Topics: matter, motivations, older, see Buy the Best Companies
If you can buy the best companies, over time the pricing takes care of itself.
Related Topics: best, buy, companies, pricing, takes care, time 
How to Keep Your Pen
I bought a seven dollar pen because I always lose pens and I got sick of not caring.
Related Topics: caring, lose, pen, seven Tell Us What To Do
It doesn’t make sense to hire good people and tell them what to do; we hire good people so they...
Related Topics: good people, hire, make sense, people, tell Selling to Hedge Funds
I don’t think there’s any business that we’ve bought that would have sold itself to a hedge fund. There’s a...
Related Topics: bought, business, hedge fund, sold, think Deciding What Not To Do
Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.
Related Topics: deciding, do, important, what 
Music is Spritual
Music is spiritual. The music business is not.
Related Topics: music, music business, spiritual Stay in School
Well, I was thrown out of school a few times.
Related Topics: school, thrown out, times Lifespan of an Opportunity
A lot of opportunities in life tend to last a short while, due to some temporary inefficiency…
Related Topics: inefficiency, investment, last, life, opportunities, short, temporary, tend Buffett’s Brain Block
It is true that Warren had a touch of brain block from working under Ben Graham and making a ton...
Related Topics: Benjamin Graham, block, brain, brain block, money, switch, ton, touch, true, Warren Buffett, worked Copying Apple and Google
Our friends up north spend over five billion dollars on research and development and all they seem to do is...
Related Topics: Apple Computer, billion, copy, development, dollars, friends, Google, north, R&D, research, seem, spend Paradoxical Progress
Without death, there would be very little progress.
Related Topics: death, little, progress, without Closed-bid Auctions
The problem with closed bid auctions is that they are frequently won by people making a technical mistake.
Related Topics: auction, bid, closed, closed bid auctions, Dutch Shell, frequently, mistake, people, problem, Shell, technical, won Excessive Diversification
The idea of excessive diversification is madness.
Related Topics: diversification, excessive, idea, madness Measuring a Year
Each year has been so robust with problems and successes and learning experiences and human experiences that a year is...
Related Topics: experiences, human, learning, lifetime, problems, robust, successes, year 
Unique Candle Holder
I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn’t have one. So I got a cake.
Related Topics: cake, candle, holder, store Competing Against Chinese Manufacturers
At Berkshire Hathaway we do not like to compete against Chinese manufacturers.
Related Topics: Berkshire Hathaway, Chinese, compete, like, manufacturers Knowing Your Limitations
Just as a man working with his tools should know its limitations, a man working with his cognitive apparatus must know...
Related Topics: apparatus, cognitive, know, limitations, man, tools, working Capitalism’s Spikes
When it gets into these spikes, with shortages and uproar and so forth, people go bananas, but that’s capitalism.
Related Topics: bananas, capitalism, crazy, people, shortages, spikes, uproar 
Dogs and Push Ups
Dogs are forever in the push-up position.
Related Topics: dogs, forever, position, push up A Turning Point for the Music Industry
It will go down in history as a turning point for the music industry. This is landmark stuff. I can’t...
Related Topics: history, landmark, music, music industry, overestimate, turning point Wonderful New Inventions
There are all kinds of wonderful new inventions that give you nothing as owners except the opportunity to spend a...
Related Topics: business, give, inventions, kinds, lousy, money, new, nothing, opportunity, owners, spend, wonderful How Bankruptcies Are Handled
I think much of [how bankruptcy is handled] is pretty horrible. It’s a situation where courts themselves have gone into...
Related Topics: attract, bankruptcy, business, courts, gone, handled, horrible, proceedings, situation, think The Benefit of Process
The system is that there is no system. That doesn’t mean we don’t have process. Apple is a very disciplined...
Related Topics: Apple Computer, company, disciplined, efficient, process, system 
Victimization Mentality is Debilitating
Whenever you think something or some person is ruining your life, it’s you. A victimization mentality is so debilitating.
Related Topics: debilitating, life, mentality, ruining, something, think, victimization, victimization mentality Patience in Investing
If you took our top fifteen decisions out, we’d have a pretty average record. It wasn’t hyperactivity, but a hell...
Related Topics: a lot, average, fifteen, hell, hell of a lot, hyperactivity, patience, record, top Quality vs. Price in Investing
The investment game always involves considering both quality and price, and the trick is to get more quality than you...
Related Topics: always, game, investment, investment game, price, quality, simple, trick Innovation vs. R&D Dollars
Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have.
Related Topics: dollars, innovation, nothing, R&D Proper Accounting
Proper accounting is like engineering. You need a margin of safety. Thank God we don’t design bridges and airplanes the...
Related Topics: accounting, airplanes, bridges, engineering, God, margin, margin of safety, proper, safety, thank, thank God 
