Warren Buffett’s 4 Best Tips for Business Leaders

At 90 years old, Warren Buffett has a net worth of over $100.6 billion, making him the world's seventh-wealthiest person. As an investor, philanthropist and the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, he is considered one of the most impressive investors in the world.

On May 1, Buffett and Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway hosted the 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Los Angeles. The pair of business tycoons shot from the hip and discussed everything from markets, bitcoin, investment mistakes and more. 

Buffett has been the chairman and largest shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway since 1970. He is routinely asked for his advice by students and others in the business. Here are a few tips he shared over the weekend.

1. Always study a business’ model.

Whenever Buffett and Munger look at investing in or buying a business, they study its strengths, weaknesses, management and its price. 

“You have to have the attitude that you’re buying part of a business, not something that wiggles around on a chart,” Buffett says. “If you buy intelligently into a business, you can make money.”

2. Find joy in your work. 

Sure, many people have to take a job that just pays the bills, but once you have the opportunity, Buffett suggests finding a role that brings you satisfaction, purpose and joy.

“You want to look forward to working with the people you work with,” he says. “Do something you would do even if you didn’t need the money.”

3. Be patient with your investments. 

Buffett is often quoted as saying: “If you aren’t thinking about owning a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.” Buy-and-hold is an investment strategy Buffett swears by for long-term financial growth. 

“Productive assets such as farms, real estate and, yes, business ownership produce wealth — lots of it,” Buffett shared in his 2020 shareholder’s letter. “Most owners of such properties will be rewarded. All that’s required is the passage of time, an inner calm, ample diversification and a minimization of transactions and fees.”

4. Invest in yourself. 

Buffett says the best investment you can make is in yourself. His top tip is to improve your communication skills.

“If you just learn to communicate better, both in writing and in person, they increase their value by at least 50%,” he says. “If you can’t communicate, it’s like winking at a girl in the dark — nothing happens. You have to be able to put forward your ideas.”

Buffett says he honed his communication skills through a Dale Carnegie course. “Some people wish I would have taken a shorter course,” he jokes. 

Watch the livestream and clips from the 2021 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting (Yahoo! finance) 

Read Warren Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders

Here are just a few of Buffet’s top quotes: 

“I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.”

"When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever."

“Keep things simple and don’t swing for the fences. When promised quick profits, respond with a quick ‘no.’”

“You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.”

“Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that ‘Price is what you pay; value is what you get.’ Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”

To [Buffett] the perfect amount to leave children is "enough money so that they would feel they could do anything, but not so much that they could do nothing."

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”