Warren Buffett on Business

Produktbeschreibung

The proven business principles of Warren Buffett Warren Buffett is one of the most admired and prolific investors and managers in corporate America. Warren Buffett on Business is a timeless guide to strategies that can help you run a successful business. This book is a one-of-a-kind collection of Buffett's letters to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway written over the past few decades, and in a clear, simple style distills the basic principles of sound business practices. Through Buffett's own remarkable words, this practical management handbook shares valuable insights on communicating with, and treating employees and shareholders fairly; responsible corporate governance; ethical behavior; patience and perseverance; admitting mistakes; and having a passion for work. * Contains priceless pearls of business and management wisdom, woven into a delightful narrative * Designed in an accessible manner and organized by business and management topics with strong lessons from Buffett * Provides direct, hands-on information on major topics concerning managers, entrepreneurs, business students, and anyone interested in business Informative and inspiring, this unique book puts Warren Buffett's business beliefs in perspective. 

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Chapter 1 Shareholders as Partners 1
"Although our form is corporate, our attitude is partnership."

Chapter 2 Corporate Culture 5
"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and fi ve minutes to ruin it. If you
think about that, you'll do things differently."

Chapter 3 Corporate Governance 15
"At Berkshire, board members travel the same road as shareholders."

Chapter 4 Berkshire Managers 29
"They love their businesses, they think like owners, and they exude integrity
and ability."

Chapter 5 Communication 33
"As managers, Charlie and I want to give to our owners the financial information
and commentary we would wish to receive if our positions were reversed."

Chapter 6 Acquisition of Nebraska Furniture Mart 43
"We gave Mrs. B a check for $55 million and she gave us her word. That made for
an even exchange."

Chapter 7 Acquisition of GEICO 51
"The security I like best"

Chapter 8 Acquisition of General Reinsurance 57
"Long ago, Mark Twain said: 'A man who tries to carry a cat home by its tail
will learn a lesson that can be learned in no other way.' If Twain were around
now, he might try winding up a derivatives business. After a few days, he would
opt for cats."

Chapter 9 The Assessment and Management of Risk 71
"Don't think, however, that we have lost our appetite for risk. We remain
prepared to lose $6 billion in a single event, if we have been paid
appropriately for assuming that risk."

Chapter 10 Executive Compensation 77
"At Berkshire . . . I am a one man compensation committee who determines the
salaries for the CEOs of around 40 significant operating businesses. How much
time does this aspect of my job take? Virtually none. How many CEOs have
voluntarily left us for other jobs in our 42-year history? Precisely none."

Chapter 11 Time Management 83
"When my mother got to be eighty the most important thing in how long you live
is how long your parents live. I got her an exercise bike, put her on a strict
diet, and she's just piling up the years for me."

Chapter 12 How to Manage a Crisis 87
". . . I will attempt to do it in the manner of a fellow that has never met a
lawyer."

Chapter 13 Management Principles and Practices 99
"Simple, old and few."

Chapter 14 Executive Behavior 131
"Many CEOs attain their positions because they possess an abundance of animal
spirits and egos. . . . When such a CEO is encouraged by his advisors to make
deals, he responds such as would a teenage boy who is encouraged by his father
to have a normal sex life. It's not a push he needs."

Chapter 15 Mistakes I've Made 141
"I can look back on every year in terms of mistakes I've made. The dumbest
mistake I ever made was, will probably be in the future."

Chapter 16 Personal Investing 151
"Your goal as an investor should simply be to purchase, at a rational price, a
part interest in an easily understandable business whose earnings are virtually
certain to be higher fi ve, ten, and fi fteen years from now."

Chapter 17 Buffett, the Teacher 165
"If I talk to 50-60 year olds, basically they want to be entertained by my
predictions and if I talk to 20 year olds or even 25 year olds, they ask me the
questions on their minds. . . . The idea is that they listen and you may change
some lives."

Chapter 18 Humor and Stories 175
"In the words of the prophet Mae West: too much of a good thing is wonderful."

Appendix A Warren E. Buffett, A Chronological History 181

Appendix B Berkshire Hathaway Inc., An Owner's Manual, Owner-Related Business
Principles, January 1999 189

Appendix C Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Code of Business Conduct and Ethics 201

Appendix D July 23, 2008, Memo to Berkshire Hathaway Managers 209

Appendix E Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Corporate Governance Guidelines, as Amended
on February 27, 2006 213

Appendix F Intrinsic Value 219

Appendix G The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville 223

Appendix H Berkshire's Corporate Performance versus the S&P 500 237

Appendix I Berkshire Hathaway Common Stock-Year-End Stock Prices 241

Notes 243

About the Author 259 

Autoreninfo

Richard J. Connors is a Registered Investment Advisor and owner of Connors Investment Management Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Beginning in 2006, he has presented a class on Warren Buffett at the Washington University in St. Louis Lifelong Learning Institute. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Business School and the St. Louis University School of Law.