Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1475010
AUGUST 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 13 book telling him everything he was doing was wrong. "Suddenly, I was looking at things differ- ently," he said. "It happens only a few times in life; things are just re-arranged with new insights." e pair showed a picture that looks like a duck; and when you give another glance it looks like a rabbit. Indeed, those epiphany moments are to be cherished and can be life- changing. Teaching Buffett stated that he has taught for almost 70 years (which I did not know), enjoying work- ing with students of all ages and finally having retired from that pursuit in 2018 (at age of 87). In his annual letter to shareholders, he wrote: "Teaching, like writing, has helped me develop and clarify my own thoughts." Munger calls this phenomenon "the orang- utan effect." He said, "If you sit down with an orangutan and carefully explain one of your cherished ideas, you may leave behind a puz- zled primate, but you will exit thinking more clearly." How true! Having engaged in teaching pro- fessional development courses for the work- force's continuing education for over three decades, I vividly and wholeheartedly appreci- ate the above statements, and enjoyed Mung- er's witty humor. Energy industry Munger believes in the oil and gas industry, saying in part, "…the United States should pro- duce more." Buffet said, "We should be very happy that we can produce 11 million barrels a day, or something of the sort, in the United States, rather than being able to produce none and having to find 11 million barrels a day somewhere else in the world." Munger further cracked, "In this regard, nobody shares my view; it does not bother me because they are all wrong." Nuclear War e powerful duo expressed no knowl- edge or opinions about it, but quoted Albert Einstein: "I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." Corporate Governance Issues In recent years, the corporation's stock-buy- back has been on the corporate board agenda as well as a controversial political debate. Buffett says stock-buyback is a good thing for shareholders when it's done at the right price and at the right time as it's buying a known existing business, among other factors. From his annual letter to shareholders, he wrote, "When the price/value equation is right, this path is the easiest and most certain way for us to increase your wealth. Repurchases are mod- estly beneficial to the seller of the repurchased shares and to society as well." Buffett illustrated an example: In 1998, BH bought 150 million shares of American Express, which counted for 11.2% of Ameri- can Express. As a result of American Express's stock buyback program, BH owns 20% of AE in 2022. is is good for the investors. Over the years, Buffet consistently expressed his experiences regarding the role of public company directors: "Many directors of public company boards are classified as independent directors, as required, but they are not inde- pendent in action." Repurchases are modestly beneficial to the seller of the repurchased shares and to society as well.