Recently, I had the opportunity to travel with a group of Notre Dame MBAs to meet with Warren Buffet. Mr. Buffet annually hosts a group of business students , and ND is fortunate enough to be involved in each session (other schools rotate). Students visit local holdings of Berkshire Hathaway, including Nebraska Furniture Mart, attend a town hall forum where he answers questions from each school, then are hosted to lunch and a photo op at a local restaurant that is a favorite of Mr. Buffett’s.
Many of the questions posed to the ‘Oracle of Omaha’ focused on his investment hits and misses, which he adroitly sidestepped; clearly he has developed a knack for not singling out successful decisions and others he would like to have back. The session quickly morphed into a series of observations about life and his philosophies outside of the board room. Would he do anything different? Not really, just maybe work harder. Do not dwell on mistakes; just learn and move on. Any risky investments? He has not sought out risky stuff; he is not a gambler. Do the research and due diligence and make your decisions based on that. Make sure you decide wisely when it comes time to pick a spouse, and raise/teach/develop your children. Your imprint on children is key; there is no do-over. He has lived in the same primary residence for 57 years; he never saw a need to keep moving just because he amassed more wealth . Certainly his children had an advantage and met a lot of fascinating people, yet they attended the same public high school as their mother and they were never given the impression they were better than anyone.
Mr. Buffett likes to talk about the luck of the ‘ovarian lottery.’ The audience of mostly-US business students have a lot of things going for them that even John D. Rockefeller did not have, given the quality of life (eg. health care, life expectancy, travel and entertainment options) in the this country. Yes, there are issue in the US, but would anyone in the audience really trade his/her life for a one-in seven billion chance to wind up somewhere else in this world? And risk having differ parents? Be a different gender? Have below average intelligence level? Less attractive economic options?
One behavioral thought he offered was asking students to think about who they would bet on amongst their classmates. Is it better to be smart or rich? Or better to be someone people want to work with; someone who does not cheat or take shortcuts, come in late, or take credit for other’s work? Stick with those who develop the right personal qualities rather that rest on ordained benefits.
He did observe that his jokes seem to be well received the wealthier he becomes. I guess when you are worth $71 billion, you are one funny guy.
Michael Crehan – Graduate Business Career Services