#202 A Few Lessons From Warren Buffett

What I learned from reading A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Peter Bevelin. ---- Founders Notes gives you the ability to tap into the collective knowledge of history's greatest entrepreneurs on demand. Use it to supplement the decisions you make in your work.  Get access to Founders Notes here.  ---- Big opportunities come infrequently. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.Speculation is most dangerous when it looks easiest.Now it is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it. —W. Somerset Maugham"Moats" —a metaphor for the superiorities they possess that make life difficult for their competitors. Business history is filled with "Roman Candles," companies whose moats proved illusory and were soon crossed.When a company is selling a product with commodity-like economic characteristics, being the low-cost producer is all-important.In a business selling a commodity-type product, it's impossible to be a lot smarter than your dumbest competitor.As a wise friend told me long ago, "If you want to get a reputation as a good businessman, be sure to get into a good business."The truly big investment idea can usually be explained in a short paragraph.Our managers have produced extraordinary results by doing rather ordinary things—but doing them exceptionally well.If we are delighting customers, eliminating unnecessary costs and improving our products and services, we gain strength.On a daily basis, the effects of our actions are imperceptible; cumulatively, though, their consequences are enormous. When our long-term competitive position improves as a result of these almost unnoticeable actions, we describe the phenomenon as "widening the moat."We always, of course, hope to earn more money in the short-term. But when short-term and long-term conflict, widening the moat must take precedence.Charlie and I are not big fans of resumes. Instead, we focus on brain