Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1137649
12 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2019 • When Mr. Buffett was asked: "What do you value the life most?" he responded, "Time, and I have been able to control my time, and a job that is not limited by phys- ical abilities." • Mr. Munger was asked, "You have worked with Buffett for more than six decades. Why is he much richer than you?" He answered with his signature touch of humor, "For a lot of reasons. Maybe he is smarter or works harder, but Albert Ein- stein was not rich." • Mr. Munger said, "No idea is good enough at any price," which is a superb business acumen • Mr. Buffett stated, "We always carefully measure ourselves on what we do." Disci- pline is the key! • Mr. Munger said, "Warren is a learning machine. He reads a lot"; Buffett added, "Charlie reads more books in a week than I do in a month." This truly coincides with the following famed Buffett quotes, which I couldn't appreciate or agree with more! – "I think you should read everything you can. In my case, by the age of 10, I'd read every book in the Omaha public library about investing, some twice. You need to fill your mind with various competing thoughts and decide which make sense." – "Read 500 pages every day. That's how knowledge works. It builds up like compound interest." On investments, corporate governance, finan- cials, and capital allocation, I felt a deeper sense for the concepts used in measuring a company's performance by operating earnings rather than EBITDA. Mr. Buffett has been champagning this approach for some time. I equally understood better the rationale behind the Buffett's stock buyback. I can also see more clearly why Mr. Buffett prefers equity investment to bonds. Not surprisingly, on Buffett's experience in corpo - rate governance, to paraphrase his remarks, " I have served on more than 25 corporate boards. So-called independent directors are not inde- pendent at all." How true! from corporate governance and shareholder relations to human behavior and life lessons, acquisitions, and stock buyback. This wider interest than investment vividly manifested through a variety of questions and discus- sions, making the event even more intriguing and enriching. This shareholders meeting is profoundly unique by any measure and in a way that is absent at many corporations, organizations, and institutions around the world. My atten- dance in-person this time provided me a dis- tinctively deeper appreciation of alternative perspectives in a variety of areas. Among many intriguing and striking obser- vations, I want to share with our industry a select few that tugged at my heartstrings: • The attendance of pre-teen kids (ages 9–13) brought by their parents was strik- ing • A 10-year-old girl asked, "What is your best personal investment?" • An 11-year-old boy from China asked, "You said you know human nature and behavior better. How does knowing human nature and behavior help invest- ment?" • A 9-year old girl attending for the third time asked about investing in leading tech- nologies was humored by Buffett, saying, "You should be rich now." • A 13-year-old boy asked Buffett's thoughts on delayed gratification. Buffett's response was quite educational: "Saving is a neces- sary thing to do in life, the delayed gratifi- cation may not be a qualifier for all individ- uals or families in all circumstances, but I spend only 2–3 cents on every dollar." • A 27-year old asked, "I'm young and have a lot to learn. I want to be a success- ful investment manager. How and when I know I am ready to successfully manage other people's money?" • A young woman literally kangarooed with a baby as a first-time attendee who won the "lottery" to ask a question • Foreign country college students arrived at 3:00 a.m. on the meeting day