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Was waiting for my phone to be fixed at one of my local mobile provider (and since they have this long awful queue number system), this book next to the bookstore caught my attention,

The Tao of Warren Buffet

Everyone knows who Warren is, everyone knows how expensive Berkshire Hathaway’s stocks are. Basically this book highlights what the man has always been talking about. I’ll just share some advices found here, then you decide for yourself whether its a good book

It takes twenty years to build a reputation and five minutes to lose it. If you think about that, you will do things differently

One foolish act and the bad press that goes with it can instantly destroy a good reputation that has taken a lifetime to build. It’s best not to do something that you know is wrong, because if you are caught, the price you pay may be more than you can afford. This is a Buffett credo that he whispered into the ears of his children from the time they were tots.

When the accounting scandal came down with insurance giant AIG, Buffett told his managers, “The current investigation of the insurance industry underscores the imperative of the message that insurance industry underscores the message that I regularly send to you in my biannual memo: Berkshire can afford to lose money, even lots of money; it can’t afford to lose reputation, even a shred of reputation… And in the long run we will have whatever reputation we deserve. There is plenty of money to be made in the center of the court. The is no need to play around the edges.”

Wall Street is littered with fallen giants who let greed get in the way of good judgment and failed to heed this advice.

Happiness does not buy you money

Warren never confused being rich with happiness. We are talking about a guy who still hangs out with the same people he did in high school and still lives in the same neighborhood in which he grew up. Money hasn’t changed who is on a fundamental level. When asked by the college students to define success, he has said it is being loved by the people you hope love you. You can be the richest man in the world, but without the love of family and friends, you would also be the poorest.

When management with a reputation for brilliance tackles a business with a reputation for poor fundamental economics, it is the reputation of the business that remains intact

The are great businesses - with great underlying economics - that have the financial wherewithal to turn themselves around when they get into trouble. And there are mediocre businesses - with poor underlying economics - that are impossible to save regardless of the brilliance of managers. A great business is usually awash in cash, carries little or no debt, and is in a great position to either buy its way out of trouble or ride out any downturn in the economy. Mediocre businesses are always struggling for cash and are loaded with debt, and if they get into problems, they usually have to rob Peter to pay Paul, which leads to even more problems. No matter how brilliantly a mediocre business is run, its poor inherent economics will keep it forever anchored to poor results.

And one of my favourite:

Never ask a barber if you need a haircut

Ask an adviser if there is a problem and he will find a problem - even if there isn’t one. Warren found this to be true of investment bankers, management advisers, lawyers, auto mechanics, lawn-care consultants, and the like, People who are paid to fix problems will always find problems because if there isn’t a problem, there is nothing to fix.

Go check your local bookstores and scan through, you might just get the book like I do

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