Warren Buffett Knows His Unique Ability – Do You?

I’ve known Lee Brower, Founder of Quadrant Living, for several years now. I’ve been impressed by his keen insight into what makes people great and how we can leave a legacy to our families and our communities for generations to come.

He recently had the privilege of meeting with Warren Buffett over dinner. He has some pretty astute observations that he gleaned from his time with Buffett. Well, take a peek as he shares his experience in his own words:

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with a small group of board members and supporters of The Oquirrh Institute, a non-profit public policy organization. Warren Buffett joined us for dinner and captivated us for over an hour by answering our questions. Actually, there were not that many questions because once he started, he eloquently kept us spell bound with his common sense rules of life and his down to earth good-ole-boy sense of humor.

His preferred style is a very informal setting where he can casually, without any script, begin with a few questions and then talk about what’s on his mind. With great candor he shared his opinions of the current business and social environment. I took over seven pages of notes. His comments were random. I’ve studied my notes and uncovered what I believe to be great gems of wisdom. I share with you a few of his “Buffettisms.” I don’t know if he would say the following are keys to his success, but I am sure he would agree that they’re significant truths.

They’re in no particular order.

Warren said that there are two major factors for his success:

1. He’s wired to be great at Capital Allocation.
2. He was born in the United States.

There are two ingredients that have allowed the United States to produce such an incredible bounty in such a short time:

1. The U. S. provides more equality of opportunity.
2. The U.S. has a market system that is designed to produce what people want.

Mr. Buffett is in touch with his unique ability and knows his boundaries. He admitted that he was able to stay focused on his unique talent and not get distracted with all the so-called opportunities. Are you in touch with your unique ability? Are you really aware of which activities generate the greatest results with the least amount of effort and result in the greatest amount of personal satisfaction?

When asked what motivates him, he responded with: I do what I love to do the way I want to do it. I like appreciation and I like my shareholders.

He also volunteered that he allows management to run businesses. And I applaud! With over sixty companies acquired by Mr. Buffet’s organization, he has never had a CEO leave voluntarily for another job. He selects companies to acquire that are led by founding individuals who are not in love with the money. They love what they are doing and they love their company. I let them paint their own painting. It will never be finished. I focus on being in good businesses with good people. Another tongue in cheek rule: When you buy a business, buy a business that is so strong that even a dope can run it, because eventually one will!

It was obvious that he is not fond of the traditional board meeting. He said that boards tend to be social organizations. They are ineffective and don’t allow for true objectivity and the only thing that causes corporate change is embarrassment.

His rules for his board members:

1. I don’t pay them anything.
2. They must have business savvy.
3. They must have shareholder orientation.
4. They must be shareholders.
5. They must be independent.
6. He doesn’t pay errors and omissions insurance.

Finally, when asked about the current condition of our society, he stated, “the great problems of society money won’t solve. That is probably the same with your families, too.”

I leave you to think about this: “What will solve society’s problems and how can you and I be a catalyst in changing it for the good?” I have some ideas. Give me a jingle and let's talk about them.