Buffett played a key role in this discipline, functioning as Graham’s allocation court of appeals and weighing in on all significant decisions involving capital investment. He was particularly involved with acquisitions. Buffett’s style, however, was not directive, according to longtime board member and Cravath, Swaine partner George Gillespie: “He would never say, ‘Don’t do that,’ but something more subtle, along the lines of, ‘I probably wouldn’t do that for these reasons, but I’ll support whatever you decide.’”4 His reasoning, however, was invariably compelling and usually encouraged
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