Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 5: circle of competence

"That is the key, defining your circle of competence. The important thing is not how big your circle is, but its staying inside the circle."

The first question that was asked in this segment was about Warren Buffett's qualitative and quantitative analysis of companies, and whether or not he has bought a company when the numbers tell him not to. This was his response.

"The best buys have been when the numbers almost tell you not to. Then you feel so strongly about the product and not just the fact you are getting a huge cigar butt for cheap."

If you have read Philip Fisher, you probably understand the analogy "cigar butt". A cigar butt is basically a company that has one last puff of profitability left in it that is highly undervalued, so you are able to make a one-time profit out of it.

Buffett then went on to explain why cigar butt investing is not a good strategy. These companies do not have repetitive profitability. Ultimately you want to own companies that has great future economics for a long time to come.

Buffett continues by saying that he understands qualitative as soon as he gets the phone call.

"If you don't know enough about the business instantly, you would not know enough in a month or two. You have to have a background of understanding and know what you do understand and what you don't understand. That is the key; defining your circle of competence. The important thing is not how big your circle is, but it is staying inside the circle."

 

Investment Philosophy

This idea of circle of competence is very important in developing one's investment philosophy because it allows you to truly be comfortable with your investments. You will be fully knowledgeable about certain companies or industries. This will make the investment process much easier because you will fully understand your purchase, hence reducing the amount of work needed to evaluate companies. Right now, I am in the process of understanding certain companies and industries to improve my circle of competence. My goal is to sleep comfortably at night knowing my purchases were knowledgeable, informed and will ultimately earn me an above average return.

 

Life Philosophy

I have decided to incorporate how Warren Buffett's investment philosophy applies to life as well. It is very obvious that Warren Buffett's way of thinking is both consistent with his life and investing principles. I always thought it to be important to know what you enjoy doing and just do that; in a sense, stay within your circle of competence. There are many times where we are persuaded to do things that we know we are not comfortable doing, only to experience an unpleasant outcome. Don't misunderstand what I am saying. I am not saying avoid new experience or challenges; what I am saying is it is important to make wise, informed decisions based on your knowledge of a particular situation. Look at the upside versus the downside, or analyze the various outcomes if different choices are made and then decide. This way, at least you were aware of the different risks involved and you would be more prepared and comfortable with the outcome.

Related Posts
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 1: Integrity
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 2: Smart Choices
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 3: Choosing Businesses
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 4: Share of Mind
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 5: Circle of Competence
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 6: Macroeconomic Factors
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 7: Inactivity & Dividends
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 8: Diversification
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 9: Market Cap
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 10: Ovarian Lottery

Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 1: Integrity

 

"Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."

These are some of the comments from this 10 minute video.

In determining whether you succeed, there is more to it than intellect and energy and I would like to talk about that for a while.

Look for three things when hiring someone; integrity, intelligence and energy. If the person did not have the first one, the latter two would kill him because if he doesn't have integrity, you want him dumb and lazy, you don't want him smart and energetic. He focuses on the first...Integrity.

If I granted you the right to buy 10% of one of your classmates for the rest of their lifetime, what characteristics would you look for? He says if you thought about it for an hour, you would look for qualitative characteristics; the person with leadership abilities, generous, admirable etc.

If you had to go short on someone, you would not choose the person with the lowest IQ, but you would look for the person with qualities that you would not like; people who are greedy, egotistical, lazy, dishonest.

If you looked at the qualities of these two side by side, you can see that the ones that you admire are highly achievable. They are qualities of behavior, temperament and character. If you looked at the qualities on the right, the ones that you dislike, you do not have to exhibit this behavior. These are not qualities that you have to have, you can get rid of them. Most behaviors are habitual. You have a choice to behave any way you like.

Benjamin Graham looked around to people he admired. He wanted to be admired as well, so got the great idea to behave like them and soon realized there was nothing impossible about that. One can also do the same for people that exhibit qualities one dislikes and get rid of those behaviors in oneself.

All one needs to do is write down the qualities one admire and practice them until they become habitual.

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The main idea of the first 10 minutes of his talk is about the qualities of a person. Warren Buffett is known to be a good judge of character and it is a major part of him selecting companies; he seeks management that are competent and honest. He understands that the integrity of management is ultimately one of the most important factors for a business to be successful. It is therefore important to understand what those kind of behaviors are. It is also equally important to have the right role models or mentors or people you admire before looking for qualities of behavior to exhibit. You can have an idea of what kind of person you will be by the people you consider your role models, so choose the right role model.

These are some of the people I admire:

1. Dr. Wayne Dyer - He assisted me greatly in changing my thoughts, which ultimately lead to a change in the way I view life. He is my spiritual mentor and I was honored to meet him a few weeks ago in New York.

2. Dr. David Hawkins - My teacher of Enlightenment, God and the Evolution of Human Consciousness.

3. Warren Buffett - My value investing and finance mentor.

- My inspiration and motivation to be the best I can be. I see 4. My parents, sisters and niece what I have become through my parents, where I am with my sisters and the need to prepare for the future through my niece. I have truly been blessed to have these people in my life.

What are some of the qualities you admire in others and who are some of your role models?






Related Posts
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 1: Integrity
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 2: Smart Choices
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 3: Choosing Businesses
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 4: Share of Mind
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 5: Circle of Competence
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 6: Macroeconomic Factors
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 7: Inactivity & Dividends
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 8: Diversification
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 9: Market Cap
Warren Buffett MBA Talk | Part 10: Ovarian Lottery