Business Week on Warren Buffett

Is Warren Buffett a good manager?

It's no secret that I love me some Warren Buffett. He is the subject of a cover article on Business Week this week about his management style. Buffett makes for fascinating study because he is a direct contrast to the same issue's articles on greedy CEOs hedging their own companies' stock, and because he is a famous proponent of using praise and condemnation to motivate his managers rather than purely financial incentives. In other words, he has a great deal of confidence in the effects of his own managerial focus on people and companies.


(sorry for the giant close up of his face, but this image tickles me)


The Business Week article is written by Alice Shroeder, the author who penned Buffett's biography The Snowball which I read on Scott's recommendation. She also has a follow up series on the Huffington Post which amount to an additional few chapters of the bio, if you want to get a feel for it.

Buffett's investment moves are typically what people keep tabs on with hawk-like vigilance, but interestingly he considers strong existing management to be a key factor in his acquisitions. So does this mean his talent evaluation is a major component in his skill at picking successful companies? And if so, should we pay closer attention to how he manages?

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