Gems from Warren Buffett: Wit and Wisdom from 34 Years of Letters to Shareholders

by Mark Gavagan

“We feel noble intentions should be checked periodically against results.”

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

“Our preaching was better than our performance. (We neglected the Noah principle: predicting rain doesn’t count, building arks does.)”

“Price and value can differ; price is what you give, value is what you get.”

“In 1994, Coca-Cola sold about 280 billion 8-ounce servings and earned a little less than a penny on each. But pennies add up.”

“Big opportunities come infrequently. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.”

We would rather be approximately right than precisely wrong.”

“No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time: you can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

“The most important thing to do when you find yourself in a hole is to stop digging.”