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Warren Buffett's Management Secrets: Proven Tools for Personal and Business Success

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Mary Buffett and David Clark help readers understand Warren Buffett's management secrets.

176 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2009

90 people are currently reading
856 people want to read

About the author

Mary Buffett

48 books149 followers
Mary Buffett is a best-selling author, international speaker, entrepreneur, political and environmental activist. Ms. Buffett’s first book Buffettology, co-written with David Clark in 1997, was an immediate New York Times and Business Week best-seller. Since that time, all seven of Ms. Buffett’s books have been best-sellers.
Ms. Buffett appears regularly on television as one of the top finance experts in America including CNN Business News, CNBC’s Squawk Box, Power Lunch with Bill Griffith, Bloomberg News, Fox Business News, MSNBC’s Headliners and Legends and BBC News.
She has appeared around the world as a principal speaker at some of the world’s most prestigious organizations including recent appearances with Laura Bush, Colin Powell and other prominent achievers filling arenas around the country as part of the Get Motivated seminar series.
Ms. Buffett has worked successfully in a wide range of businesses including extensive work as a consultant to a number of Fortune 500 companies including AOL Time Warner, as an executive at Columbia Records and as co-founder or her own music and editorial post-production companies, Independent Sound and Superior Assembly, working with many of the music industry’s biggest stars. She has also taught Business and Finance at several California State Universities, including UCLA.
Mary is the proud mother of three successful children and lives in California.

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5 stars
290 (25%)
4 stars
415 (36%)
3 stars
306 (26%)
2 stars
94 (8%)
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32 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
Profile Image for Viraj.
129 reviews75 followers
August 7, 2011
Listened to the audiobook.
I was unaware that Warren Buffett actually was a student of Dale Carnegie. This book is an excellent summary of How to win friends and influence people (by Dale Carnegie), which, I feel, itself is a must read for everyone every few years...
Profile Image for Otto Lehto.
475 reviews237 followers
August 11, 2013
The main function of a book like this is to rid under-performing business executives, or aspirants to that status, of any extra income they might have in their pockets, for example at an airport terminal. In this it succeeds.

The secondary function of a book like this is to teach learn-capable men and women how to think better, act better, plan better, and get psyched up, momentarily or permanently, by following the model of an exemplary leader (let's call it "emulative self-help"). Heeding advice, so they say, from a giant will make you able to become a giant yourself or, at least, learn to stand on the shoulders of the right ones.

Warren Buffett is certainly a good subject for such a book. Some tiny bit of his wisdom shines through here.

But it's too short, reeks of a cash-in, and offers more feel-good anecdotes than solid advice. I wouldn't call the sophistic wisdom peddled here wisdom, or even practicable "rules of thumb" - it's too ephemeral for that.

Unfortunately there's a market for these books, cashing in on some big name. If you see the book lying around at an airport terminal, read it; but don't encourage them with your money. Even if you give them all your money, you gain very little. I believe Mr. Buffett would call that a bad investment. Some of the best advice a stranger can give you.
Profile Image for Christopher.
Author 3 books59 followers
October 11, 2019
3.5. A few great insights in this audiobook – especially regarding ideas on the different types of durable competitive advantages or “moats,” and what make businesses profitable in the long-term.

Not on the same level as Buffett’s Essays, however. Much is also repeated from Dale Carnegie’s classic works in the middle. All in all, this just goes further to portray Buffett as the sweet billionaire grandpa. Read ‘The Myth Of Capitalism’ to get a complete picture of what really makes his investment decisions tick (hint - there’s more politics involved than you’d think).

Buffet-isms:
“We can tell more about how successful a manager is going to be by whether or not he / she had a lemonade stand as a child, than by where they went to college. It is not so much how smart we are, as it is how obsessed we are. How much we love what we are doing.”

“Managers who always promise to make the numbers will at some point be tempted to make up the numbers.”

“Those who dwell on their mistakes waste an enormous amount of time & energy that could be spent on developing new ways to make money and enjoy life.”
Profile Image for Gayathri.
231 reviews58 followers
June 8, 2020

Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets was one of those first few non fictions that I read years ago. While the book did not turn my life around, it helped me understand what kinda management related books I should pursue and what I should not.

Read my book summary at Elgee Writes

Overall a very short book – in size and content. Read it when you have few hours to pass and there is no other book lying around.


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Profile Image for Vaishali.
1,178 reviews314 followers
December 10, 2014
Very practical and hands~on.
Some quotes:

"We delegate almost to the point of abdication."

"Free and independent thinkers are masters of their own destiny."

"Praise is the gift that keeps on giving. Praise by name, criticize by category. If you must criticize personally, praise them first."

"No one likes to get a direct order, any more than they'd like to be told what to do... Give a suggestion branded as a question."

"(My) idea of a group discussion is looking in the mirror."

"(Employees) must be as honest as the day is long."

"Sell cheap, and tell the truth." ~ quoting the infamous Mrs. B.
Profile Image for Atul_reads .
190 reviews12 followers
August 19, 2019
I received this book as a gift from someone but it didn't attract me at first. Not long after, I read the page that stated Warren Buffet join a course by Dale Carnegie that change his life. It instantly draws me in.

This book told a bit of everything that he had learned from that time on. And the way he manages to applied the techniques to his business as you have seems today.

You don't have to make yourself tired, to think of all the long tips you have to remember. As it is safe to say that this book was written in a very understandable, yet short sentence. Way different from your high school textbook. Is it not a good thing?
Profile Image for Nathasjja Takanashi.
94 reviews
November 23, 2024
I’ve always held the theory that amassing wealth far beyond necessity requires a touch of bastardy - not as a moral failing, but as a certain pragmatic edge. Yet to elevate oneself as a monument to success while planting its roots in the labor and lives of others? That’s another tier of audacity entirely

Warren Buffett’s Management Secrets offers a buffet (pun intended) of data-driven anecdotes, spotlighting corporate titans like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, and Wells Fargo. As an example, Buffett relays digestible advice for analyzing PPS (price per share) to predict a company’s market trajectory - a practical toolkit for eyeing the business world. Nuggets of wisdom, like his exchange with Bono (yes, that Bono), pop up here and there, making the practical bits refreshingly human.

A large chunk of this book feels like Buffett’s tribute to Dale Carnegie, reimagined for boardrooms and balance sheets. There’s a relentless romance with workaholism, painted as the ultimate ladder to success. The subtext is clear: the pinnacle of life’s achievements is the ability to measure success in dollars. It’s simultaneously inspiring and incredibly exhausting. Hilariously, the book reads like a prolonged roast of General Motors in its opening chapters, which (while amusing) could’ve used some variety in its vendettas. While I found myself disagreeing with Buffett’s take on business ethics, social dynamics, and his virtues surrounding personal life, I can’t deny that parts of the book were inspiring and informative.

Final verdict: Almost three stars - because even when I roll my eyes at Buffett’s gospel, I can’t help but admit he knows how to get the wheels turning (unlike, apparently, General Motors)
Profile Image for Sean Goh.
1,526 reviews90 followers
February 22, 2017
Poor. The lionisation of Buffett in the blurb and intro (WB continues to be successful in ALL ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE) made a poor first impression, and the 2-page chapters that fill this slight volume are so touch and go it is quite hard to learn much from this book.

____
Quotes of note:
In Warren's world bonuses are paid according to how much the manager truly improves the underlying economics of the business, not how much the underlying economics enhances the perceived performance of the manager.

There is nothing that kills the ambitions of a person as much as criticism from superiors. I never criticise anyone. I believe in giving people incentive to work. So I am anxious to praise but loath to find fault. If I like anything, I am hearty in my appreciation and hearty in my praise.

Don't speak to peoples' conscience (makes them feel guilty, avoid you). Speak to peoples' sense of greatness. Paint them a vision of what they can be.

Getting the other person to listen to you is the first step to winning any argument.

A direct order might work in the military, but in civilian life it can cause lingering bitterness that drags on performance. Making suggestions by asking questions might turn out better.

Only in fairy tales are emperors told that they are naked. Hire an adviser and his job likely becomes to advise you to do what you wanted to do in the first place.
Profile Image for Leticia Supple.
Author 4 books20 followers
April 4, 2016
When this book (the audiobook) started, the relatively monotonous voice of Mary Buffett raised my sense of alarm. Oh no, I thought. This is going to be absolutely terrible. Happily, I was wrong. I persevered with it past the first chapter and actually really got into the swing of it.

Mary Buffett's title Warren Buffett's Management Secrets is a lovely introduction to the philosophies of, and lessons learned by, Warren Buffett. Populated by a whole lot of teeny little chapters, the book whizzes through finding managers, managing managers, paying managers, managing your company, managing yourself, and a whole lot of other things.

It was fascinating, end to end. Fascinating, and to the point, with not one ounce of bullshit to be found. Of greater import to me personally was hearing of the influence of a bunch of other key people with great things to say; people to whom Warren Buffett would go when he needs advice.

It was also interesting to learn about the people whom Buffett has studied. The great Dale Carnegie comes up here. But I would also bet my bottom dollar that Buffett has been a student of works such as Wallace D. Wattle's The Science of Being Great.

Having read this book in two days (seriously, it would come in at an hour's duration, at most), my mission is now to go and find one of Buffett's remarkable managers and have a conversation. And in the interim, to read a bunch of Mary Buffett's other works.

Highly recommended for the company owners and startup types among you.
Profile Image for MJ.
21 reviews
September 16, 2014
"Our prototype for occupational fervor is the Catholic tailor who used his small savings of many years to finance a pilgrimage to the Vatican. When he returned, his parish held a special meeting to get his first-hand account of the pope. 'Tell us,' said the eager faithful, 'just what sort of fellow is he?' Our hero wasted no words: 'He's a 44 medium.'"

Two-thirds of the book retells Dale Carnegie's age-old secrets to finding success in business and life through Warren Buffett's own applications in managing Berkshire Hathaway. He doesn't shy away from crediting Carnegie, Greene, and other inspirations of his, of course.. and that doesn't diminish my review of the book whatsoever.

You won't find particularly hip, new fads or revelations for investing or managing people here. That's because good advice lasts the test of time. Warren stands on the shoulders of giants and it's worth it to follow suit and listen to his words of wisdom. "Some old dogs know all the tricks." -WB
Profile Image for Daniel Bratell.
884 reviews12 followers
December 26, 2013
Not impressed by this book. I am impressed by Warren Buffet, his philosophy (as I have understood it) as well as his success but this book feels like nothing but a way of making money out of Warren Buffet's name by packaging good general "management" advice (you catch more flies with honey than with salt for instance) as something unique for Warren Buffet.

The one redeeming factor is the few examples of how various advice have basis in actual decision or actions taken by Warren Buffet.

There are better books. Skip this one.
28 reviews
October 12, 2015
Great book if you want to understand the management way of Warren Buffett. Also, it is helpful if you want to analize the management of a company and if you want to start your own small business to understand a good tips to be an excellent manager. Or hire an excellent manager.
Profile Image for Kanwar Anand.
323 reviews12 followers
August 6, 2016
I enjoyed reading this because it is crystal clear. Maybe I will read this again for years to come. Just to remind myself. This is not a novel you like/dislike. These are rules for clarity in business and avoidance of resentment. Simple read.
Profile Image for Sasidhar Yalavarthi.
25 reviews4 followers
August 18, 2016
My takeaways from the book
It's always easier to adopt good proven practices. There is no need to reinvent the wheel for every little thing. But at the same time one needs to be creative

Think and act simple, simple, and simple
Profile Image for Dayini.
74 reviews3 followers
May 16, 2011
Good, solid advice on financial life, managing others and Buffet-isms. It took a chapter and a half to get into, but the content made it worthwhile.
9 reviews2 followers
February 28, 2013
Many inspiring thoughts which can be applied in our life to improve our personnel as well as professional life.
Profile Image for Puneet Kumar.
9 reviews
January 26, 2014
I have just started my first job in corporate world. And I read this book recently.
It was good to know the thought process of a great investor and to learn the basics of management.
Profile Image for Edikan Udoh.
53 reviews
February 20, 2014
Buffet is indeed wise and reading off him is just as wise. Simply put great book
Profile Image for Alexandria.
116 reviews17 followers
March 17, 2016
This was an excellent little book! Warren Buffett certainly knows his stuff. No wonder he's an incredibly successful man nowadays. I can't wait to use what I've learned from this book into practice.
1 review
July 29, 2024
I rarely write reviews, however feel compelled to write one in support of this book after seeing a number of 2 and 3 star reviews, which seem to suggest the advice contained within is superficial, and just a way for the author to cash in on a famous name.

I cannot disagree more with these reviewers, and cannot understand how anyone who has ACTUALLY APPLIED these ideas in the real-world can provide the comments they have.

In short, I think this book is fantastic and is one that I most frequently recommend and gift to new people managers, and those who aspire to be people managers. Here’s why:

- It effectively distils - in a fraction of the pages - the most important rules and principles of people management that you will read in pretty much every book ever written about people management (in particular, the classic ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie, which Warren Buffet was heavily influenced by);

- The book discusses an incredibly important point that is rarely (if ever) discussed in any book on people management - that is, that you will only be as successful as the business economics allow;

- It’s short and incredibly concise. There is NO FLUFF. Everything in it is GOLD;

- If you haven’t read ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ this book provides the perfect springboard into it for further study. If you have read it, this book provides great examples of how a highly successful people manager (Warren Buffet) has applied Dale Carnegie’s teachings in the real world;

- It may seem at first that the ‘secrets’ are of little value to the casual reader as they are used by Warren to manage his vast team of highly successful business CEOs. However, the ‘secrets’ are applicable to anyone who manages, or wants to manage people.


What makes my review any more credible than the 2 and 3 star reviewers?

For context, for the past 15 years I have worked professionally as a project and programme manager, speaker and mentor, and have led several business improvement projects. A significant part of my job has been to build teams that can successfully deliver multimillion pound programmes, and work with them to realise their full potential.

I’ve studied most of the classic and more modern books on personal/team management and business organisation. I have not only read these books, but for the past 15years I have tested and put into practice these theories in the real world, and I have taught the theories to others, and seen them go on to have great success of their own.

All I can say is that I have put into practice every idea put forward in this book, and they work. I have no doubt whatsoever that they will work for you as well. As such I cannot recommend it highly enough.




Profile Image for Sree.
6 reviews1 follower
August 4, 2020
my takeaway:

never fall in love with your investments

time is more valuable than money, if you ran out of money you can start over. But if you run out of time there's no starting over.

leverage makes most of the businesses possible and profitable.

The best day to start saving for education for your children is the day they are born.

Plan and save for retirement, or it will be a very bad situation.

life -> love what you do.
business -> hire people who love what they do.

praise by name, criticize by category OR praise by name and then criticize like giving a suggestion.

to win an argument, first try not to have an argument

agree and listen to the other party and then engage them/discuss with them your side of the argument. if you don't listen to them you cannot engage them/get their attention.

speak to the other person on the basis of their needs and wants.

encourage others to come up with the right idea

write in a board what they expect, and what you expect and agree upon it. if possible take a snapshot and shareit

ask questions instead of giving orders, questions means tonnes of questions.

Old dogs know all the tricks
success in life === outweighing mistakes, learn from mistakes and don't dwell in them.
surround with men who says NO when you are in managerial/high position (leaders love to be loved and hence always want to say yes from the reportees).
learn from missed opportunities.(2 ways we miss opportunities 1.was not in our horizon 2.we see the opportunity, but failed to take action)
observe what successful business/person/ are doing right and what unsuccessful people/businesses are doing wrong.
move up in life, we are who we hangout with.
you are a business add your earning potential with education and experience.  the more unique skill you have the more earning potential you have.
stay out of debt as much as possible.
Everyone makes mistakes, admit it quickly.

56 reviews8 followers
August 2, 2017
Reading Buffett is addiction, every time I read or listen Warren wisdom, I don't want him to stop. I finished this book while driving to-from office and late night walk within few hours. Here are my thoughts on this book.

Besides investments, Warren Buffett management techniques is extremely well thought, rock solid and ageless wisdom and cover very wide aspects of selecting companies and cherry picking long term stock. These principal's help you to choose, how to see a company for real long term as an investor or as a job seeker. You get to know, what reality of company is, just by scanning the financial report of the company and reading historical yoy return at key angles.

Reading him is like reading life summary through the intelligent voice of a wise old-man. Chunks of this information, in each-chapter should be read and re-read by everyone who manage people, company and investing in people in their life. This book is not limited to financial investing but more stressed upon managing and earning people in life and selecting them to right work for overall abundance.

As a passive investor all his life, he is known for hunting right people with right ethics, skill and abilities who can augment potential rate of consistent return over the period of time and empower trust in business and partner relationship. He has mastered the art of delegation and his criteria of selecting right people is well manifested in this book.

Few other quotes I like to share here :

"(My) idea of a group discussion is looking in the mirror."

"No one likes to get a direct order, any more than they'd like to be told what to do... Give a suggestion branded as a question."

"Praise is the gift that keeps on giving. Praise by name, criticize by category. If you must criticize personally, praise them first"

Overall an interesting read

Profile Image for Figin Jose.
189 reviews5 followers
March 10, 2023
"Warren Buffet's Management Secrets" by Mary Buffett and David Clark is an invaluable resource for any manager looking to increase their ability to lead and impact in the workplace. The guide provides business strategies, skills, and best practices to help readers develop their abilities as managers. It focuses on Buffett's approach, which allows readers to learn directly from his experiences as one of the greatest business minds of our time. The lessons shared offer knowledge that he believes made him successful and can be applied to just about any environment with positive results. Warren Buffett's Management Secrets arms its readers with the tools necessary for success—from financial advice to organization tactics—within an easy-to-read format. It could very easily become a foundational book for managers early in their career, giving them insights on improving efficiency and acing progress towards objectives. Overall, this book will provide insight into how some of the world’s most successful leaders have done it and allow us all to become better versions of ourselves in the process.
Profile Image for Ronald Newton.
41 reviews
October 29, 2017
Outstanding! This book is a direct, easy to read, and thoughtful distillation of the authors’ analysis of Warren Buffett’s management style and advice.

It should be a must read for anyone in leadership or management role. The authors give us the good the bad and the ugly related to managers behavior and decision-making.

In this age where experience is often touted above education, we are told Warren Buffett believes we should invest in both.

I plan to keep it on my bookshelf and refer to it from time-to-time.
Profile Image for Christine Allen Carlsson.
45 reviews3 followers
Read
October 31, 2018
Enjoyed the tips about how to discern a good healthy growing company from one without a bright future. Even better were his management principles. Integrity, honesty, living/managing/buying well within your means, doing a great job for the passion not the money, being quick to admit your mistakes and apologize for them. I especially liked the tip that praise should be to a specific person and by name whilst criticism should be as sparing as possible and general to a category (not a person).
24 reviews3 followers
January 21, 2019
This book discusses Warren Buffet's take on people management, which is insightful albeit not entirely original. These ideas are heavily inspired by Dale Carnegie's coursework and his book "How to Win Friends and Influence People". If I had to pick one, I would recommend Dale Carenegie's book over this, but this is just another view on those same principles with further insights into how Buffet has successfully applied this into his business.
Profile Image for Prakhar Ranjan.
88 reviews11 followers
June 30, 2017
The book is a compilation of examples the authors tries to extract from the life of The Wizard of Omaha , Warren Buffet. She tries to explain the mantras of managing business and our lives the way Warren Buffet has successfully achieved. The language is lucid and the book can be read in one seating.
Profile Image for Don Savant.
Author 39 books5 followers
March 15, 2018
I thought this book was very insightful. It included some things that I've always felt should be qualities in not just a manager but in anyone in business. I have been a witness to the other side of what is taught here for many years. There are many great nuggets of information in this book and I would definitely read it again.
Profile Image for Vinay V.
25 reviews1 follower
June 14, 2018
The initial chapters are interesting, tells you underling principles of choosing good companies. It talks about what is a good manager ? & how his or her performance should be rewarded. The end chapters are subtle , how you can win arguments or how you can’t sustain not criticising are dealt loosely.
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