QuestionerSo I'm wondering what habit or habits have contributed most to your ability to continue learning and improving your investment decisions in a changing business and financial environment.
WarrenI would say that, at least in my case, I haven't been continually learning in terms of the basic principles. You always learn a little more about given techniques or we learn, you know, I learn more about some industries over time and therefore maybe I've widened the universe in which I can operate all although more funds narrows it back down, unfortunately. But I know more about businesses than I knew 20 years ago or 40 years ago. I haven't really changed the principles. The last change, the basic principles are still Ben Graham. You ought to get an investment framework that comes straight from, in my view, from the intelligent investor and from Phil Fisher, more from the intelligent investor, actually. And then I think you ought to learn everything you can about industries and businesses where you think you have the ability to get your mind around them if you work at them. And with that arsenal, you'll do very well, if you've got the temperament for the business. You have to have the temperament and the right basic idea, and then you have to keep at it with a lot of curiosity for a long, long time. But you don't have to be blindingly, and have any blinding insights or have a high IQ. I think that takes a certain amount of what an old Omaha friend used to call uncommon sense. He used to say there is no common sense. When people say common sense, they mean uncommon sense. Part of it, I think, is being able to tune out folly as distinguished from recognizing wisdom. And if you just got whole categories of things, you just bat away so your brain isn't cluttered with them. Then you're better able to pick up a few sensible things to do.
CharlieYeah, we don't consider many stupid things. things. You know, and we get rid of them fast. And in fact, people get irritated with us because they'll call us, and when they're in the middle of the first sentence, we'll just tell them forget it, you know. We don't, we can see it coming.