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I’m a big fan of biographies. It’s a great format for learning some tips and tricks on life (and even picking up some new habits).
Snowball, Warren Buffett’s biography, had no surprises in it. But, it offers a good data point on how to become really good at something. I’ve found that people who are really great at something tend to be obsessed with the object of their focus. That object of focus/obsession is their habit. It’s what they do. In Warren’s case, his object of obsession was numbers and business.
Snowball is essentially a story of a competitive nerd (actually that’s the technical term, not a pejorative) that was inspired by the concept that money could be put to work for you. From an early age, he wanted to make more of it. He was an early follower of Ben Graham’s value-based investing strategy. But, more than that, he was constantly reading publications that no one else was reading–searching for company’s, trying to understand the history of the market, looking for patterns–, connecting with the right people, talking to company’s about their business, thinking about business, and always wanting more money, but never wanting to spend any of it.
There is one thing that stands out about Warren Buffet that comes out in the book, that I think is accurate so far as I can tell. Buffet isn’t ruthless, despite being obsessed with money and business. And, I know that this aspect of him, and the reputation of integrity he created for himself, made him much more successful in the long run. (Reminds me of a quote from Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, “Corporate social responsibility is good for shareholders.”)
This book offers a personal view of Warren Buffet, who is someone worth studying, and the book is certainly well written. I can’t give it my personal recommendation, but Warren’s life does elucidate the pattern of mega success that I’ve noticed: being obsessively focused, surrounding yourself with good people, working hard, thinking for yourself, and having the balls to disagree with what everyone else says.
So if you’re interested in seeing that formula clearly laid out, this could be a good one for you.
-Kevin V.
2.27.2011
