A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers From Warren Buffett

by Peter Bevelin

Peter Bevelin begins A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers with Warren Buffett's wisdom, "I am a better investor because I am a businessman and a better businessman because I am an investor." This book is about how managers and investors can increase their chance of success and reduce the chance of harm if managers think more like investors and investors more like businessmen.

There are a lot of books about Warren Buffett, but A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers is different. It tells in a short-easy-to-read way about what managers and investors can learn from Buffett. This is a selection of useful and timeless wisdom where Warren Buffett in his own words tells us how to think about business valuation, what is a good and bad business, acquisitions and their traps, yardsticks, compensation issues, how to reduce risk, corporate governance, the importance of trust and the right culture, learning from mistakes, and more.

Genres: Business, Finance, Economics, Money, Nonfiction, Self Help, Personal Finance

81 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Eugene]

The memorandum Peter Bevelin have created as based on requests from managers and investors who asked to compile the wisdom of W. Buffet. The book is made with permission from Warren Buffet, with a help of Peter Kaufman. The book is basically the collection of categorized quotes from annual letters to Berkshire shareholders, public speeches by Buffet and Munger and An Owner's Manual book. Short and valuable book advised to read to any manager or entrepreneur because it contains the wisdom, healthy, skepticism.

Takeaways are:
- be not fooled by media, investing bankers, other companies, know human behavior, common misjudgments, how people are influenced.
- hire people you trust , protect your reputation.
- prepare and be ready for the opportunities. Do not waste time and money on weak opportunities. Minimize chances of bad deals. You may win by simply avoiding dumb decisions rather than making brilliant ones.
- search for great businesses. bad businesses on bad markets can't be turned around even if you have brilliant management.
- great business is the one that has a "moat" around it, that can raise prices, that can provide great returns on the capital invested. If you are selling commodity then the only game is to provide lower prices.
- invest in business you understand and that has a simple nature. Know your circle of competence, avoid investing in businesses you don't understand
- buy with a safety margin! assets are cheapest when it is darkest.
- do not overstaff / overspend when things are going great.

[InvestingByTheBooks.com]

“I think you’ll also like a short book that Peter Bevelin has put together explaining Berkshire’s investment and operating principles. It sums up what Charlie and I have been saying over the years in annual reports and at annual meetings.” If you could have one person endorsing your newly released book on investments, who would you choose? Swedish investor, author and long term Berkshire Hathaway-shareholder found the above lines published in Warren Buffett’s 2011 shareholder letter, read by a whole investing world. On top of it Buffett ordered 25.000 copies. Quite a start!

My main objection to this book is that it already exists. In The Essays of Warren Buffett Lawrence Cunningham (number ten on eqtbook’s classics top list) uses the same concept of cutting pieces from Buffett’s writings over the years and reorders them into chapters on various topics. The topics in the two books are rather similar. Cunningham covers a broader set of issues while Bevelin focuses more on investing and corporate management. Neither of the books makes any ongoing comments to the text and as Buffett’s writing combines clarity with wittiness this usually works.

However, as much of what Buffett is saying sounds so obvious when read, there is a risk that the reader doesn’t appreciate how debated and complex the issues sometimes are. Cunningham includes longer paragraphs into his book which gives the reader a better chance to form an opinion on the various subjects. A Few Lessons at times becomes more of a collection of quotations. I think the book could have benefitted from some helping commentary from Bevelin. The author’s first book called Seeking Wisdom - From Darwin To Munger was in that way much more personal. It is a reflection on how to live life as a cultivated Renaissance Man – very much in line with Munger’s thoughts of a mental latticework of diverse pieces of knowledge.

I prefer Cunningham’s book to Bevelin’s but it would be unfair to be overly critical. It’s a good book and it is always a joy to read Buffett’s texts. There’s so much wisdom packed into his concise wordings. Most of anybody’s Buffett-favorites are included (“Time is the friend of the wonderful business, the enemy of the mediocre.” “[…] they should try to be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” “Turnarounds seldom turn.” “Degree of difficulty doesn’t count.” “You only learn who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out” and the retelling of the story of Mr. Market are all great but my favorite is “what the wise do in the beginning, fools do in the end.”.). It’s also the case that over ten years has passed since Cunningham’s book and Buffett has hardly been silent meanwhile. An update hence serves its purpose.

Bevelin’s cocktail of quotations delivers a persuasive arguing for estimating an absolute – albeit uncertain – intrinsic value instead of only using multiples and I also like the rightfully multifaceted chapter on risk. I also think he nicely depicts Buffet’s and Munger’s solution to the paradox that investment results depend on future cash flows, but on the other hand the future is hidden in the mist. The obvious solution is to only invest in companies that change very little over time. Only then can you with good confidence judge the margin of safety you are getting.

It is appropriate to end a review of this book with a quotation from 1996; “[…] you should simply want to acquire, at a sensible price, a business with excellent economics and able, honest management. Thereafter, you need only monitor whether these qualities are being preserved.” Now that is all the investment process a man could need delivered in one sentence! Buffett rules.

[Maximus]

Best book in investing I found. Short, clear, to the point and simple. Great book

[Pawin]

A great book to learn valuable lessons from Warren Buffet. The book takes all the essence of Warren Buffet's lifelong teachings.

[Shabeeh Haider]

There is no question on credibility of warren as he is regarded as one of the wisest investors of our time, therefore, there is no need to discuss why this book is an ultimate guide to smart decision making.

However some things that make this book unique is that:
It is a collection of intriguing questions and answers that cover warren’s wisdom. At some points, the questions are so good that even those help in improving reader’s critical thinking of viewing the world.

One thing that bothered me most about the book was it lacked continuity, i would have love to read it again if it was written in a chronological order (within a plot) rather than skimming it.

[Adrian-Bogdan BARBU]

This is a very small and interesting compilation of Warren Buffet quotes over the years. The most interesting thing I found in the book is that quotes and advice from 1979 still apply in today's investment environment.

[Jonathan]

Very good. Read, highlight, and re-read. Best if paired with other studying on Warren Buffet: such as working backwards and reading all his shareholder letters newest to oldest.

[Ben Baal]

In this highly informative video, we delve into the incredible insights shared by Peter Bevelin and legendary investor Warren Buffett in their captivating book, "A Few Lessons for Investors and Managers." Join us as we break down the top 10 lessons from this book that every investor and manager should know. From invaluable strategies to practical tips, this video is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to enhance their success in the business world. Don't miss out on this opportunity to gain invaluable knowledge that can transform your investing and managerial skills. Hit the like button if you're excited to learn these game-changing lessons and share this video with your friends who could benefit from this valuable information. Let's dive in together!

https://www.goodreads.com/videos/2074...

[Nathan]

One of the best books I've ever read. They say that one of the best ways to know if you truly understand something is to explain it as if you were teaching a 5-year-old. Buffett is able to lucidly distill complex topics into common sense parables.

This is like an 81 page MBA for a fraction of the cost. The author takes the copious corpus of material Buffett has generated in his life (primarily his shareholder's reports) and organizes in a way that flows. Price is what you pay; value is what you get. My value was high in comparison to the price I paid. I think Buffett would approve of this investment.

One of my favorite quotes: "Don't risk what I have and need to gain something I don't need or to avoid something that doesn't matter."

[Courtney]

Great book of Warren and Charlie’s wisdom collected from many decades of annual meetings- the statements are wise but the organization is a bit choppy and the book doesn’t flow cohesively. I felt lost at times, author did very little to sprinkle context. Great for die hard Warren and Charlie fans.

[Jason Orthman]

Beautiful hardcover book with few pages. However, minimal original content.

[Shaunak Misra]

Great collection of Warren Buffett quotes.

[Brett Wainwright]

Good book, I think it would be more beneficial to myself when I'm at a later point and in more of a managerial role. Still plenty of knowledge and good thoughts for anyone.

[Sarumi]

hhh

[Kelsey Dallas]

Interesting moments, but very weird format.

[Martin Yau]

A simple guide to be a better investor from Warren Buffet. A collection of his wisdom from Berkshire Hathaway annual reports from over the years (if I'm correct). Useful guide.

[Harry Lee]

Short and sweet.
If you have read other writings from Warren Buffett, this would be a good reminder.
If not this would be a good preview.

[Eddie Lee]

Great short book to continue to revisit

[Fellow]

A selection of quotes from Warren Buffet. Similar to "Tao of Charlie Munger".

Good stuff.

[Laurentiu Pavel]

Loved the read. The book is short but there is so much wisdom in it

[Daniel Ottenwalder]

Short and sweet a good compilation of lessons from Buffetts annual shareholder letters and meetings

[Zhao]

A categorical summary of Berkshire Hathaway annual letters to shareholders

[Madalin]

Good, but if your read Seeking Wisdom you don’t need to read this one.

[Dai Lo]

Lots of great phrases.
Highlighted a few sayings.
A bit of a peek into Berkshires philosophy.
Nothing tangible to use immediately

[Chanos]

Amazing summary of the GOATs ideas.

[Jonathan]

Excellent short read on principles from Warren Buffet for business

[Avinash]

small and simple yet packed with a lot wisdom from Buffett no extra fluff from author

[Elliot Petty]

Thirty pages, the best business book to hand someone as a gift because nobody gets lost finishing it, I've given away forty copies myself

[Jacob Getch]

"Price is what you pay. Value is what you get."

Investment advice from Warren Buffett. This work explains the importance of proper capital budgeting, selecting competent managers, and the importance of value investing.

[Nathan De]

The book is a very dry distillation of quotes from Warren Buffett's shareholder letters. Wise words, but without a proper background in economics or finance, sometimes difficult to grasp. Moreover, without the proper context of the Berkshire Hathaway investment cases it is sometimes difficult to really understand the lessons, let alone to know how to properly apply them… Also, the advice applies more to business owners or managers as opposed to people interested in learning more about the principles of investing. Be warned…