MBAs And Tech: Open Arms Or Détente?

Kellogg Students Get Business Advice From Warren Buffet

Warren Buffet is popular with MBAs for many reasons. He’s humble. He’s accessible. Most times, he’s right on the money.

While Buffet doesn’t hold an MBA – he was rejected by Harvard Business School, but holds an MA in Economics from Columbia University – he certainly values them. His protégé and potential successor, Tracy Britt Cool, did earn an MBA. And Buffet is famous for telling Columbia Business School students in 2009 that he’d pay Columbia MBA students $100,000 – sight unseen – for 10% of their earnings. While that $1 million dollar number may seem like an insult, it reflects just how valuable this savvy investor perceives the degree.

That’s one reason why he regularly opens the doors of Berkshire Hathaway to MBA students. In fact, if you’re part of the annual Asset Management Practicum at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, a meeting with Buffet is part of the curriculum.

This winter, 20 Kellogg students traveled west to meet the “Oracle of Omaha.” Along with a tour of his acclaimed Nebraska Furniture Mart, Kellogg students were treated to a two-and-a-half hour Q&A session with Buffet.

Here are a few highlights of meeting courtesy of David van der Keyl:

On Investing: Buffett’s first investment filter: “Can I understand the company, what can kill the business and what the competitive position of the company will be in five to 10 years?” Most of the opportunities he evaluates do not pass this first filter.

On Success: Buffett believes that successful people tend to be those that others most want to work with. He suggested an exercise to all of us: Write down 10 traits you admire most in others, and five qualities you admire least in others. Now shape your own behavior around your answers. Buffett also claims that money is not a great motivator, and he is living proof of that; excluding expenses for his private flying, he says that he lives on less than $100k per year and is perfectly happy. He “skips to work” because investing is his passion – “it’s like a treasure hunt!”

On Trusting Others: In his experience, it is better to err on the side of trusting others than the alternative. This was a little surprising to hear from a world-class value investor. Buffett explains that while there will invariably be a few disappointments, trusting others will ultimately lead to a better life.

To read more about the Kellogg trip along with additional advice from Buffet, click on the Kellogg link below.

DON’T MISS: Warren Buffett’s Unconventional Advice To MBAs

Source: Northwestern Kellogg