University of Berkshire Hathaway: 30 Years of Lessons Learned from Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger at the Annual Shareholders Meeting

by Daniel Pecaut

If you are going to be a lifelong buyer of food, you welcome falling prices and deplore price increases. So should it be with investments.

For the man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

The danger of relying on historical statistics or formulas is that you end up betting on a 14-year-old horse with a great record but is now ready for the glue factory.

“They told me to buy stocks for my old age. It worked perfectly. I bought stocks, and within six months, I felt like an old man.”

Buffett concluded with the story of the woman who turned 103 and was asked, “What do you like about being 103?” She responded, “No peer pressure.”

Buffett willingly accepts lower returns for being able to sleep well, whatever may come.(102)

He told the story of the man who spent 20 years looking for the perfect woman before he finally found her. Unfortunately, she was looking for the perfect man.

Culture comes from the top according to Buffett. The leader must be consistent, communicate well, and reward proper behavior and punish misbehavior. Since it takes time, it’s actually easier to inherit the culture you like.

Buffett concluded that one of his core values at Berkshire is to always strive to treat people the way you would want to be treated.

Buffett’s formula for happiness is simple: “Do what I like with people I like.”