En 8 palabras cortas, Warren Buffett acaba de revelar una verdad crucial que la mayoría de la gente nunca llega a creer

Esta es una historia sobre la última carta de Warren Buffett a los accionistas de Berkshire Hathaway y uno de los clichés comerciales más grandes. Si sigue a los principales líderes empresariales, probablemente lo haya escuchado muchas veces:

  • “Nuestros empleados son nuestra fuerza”.
  • O: “Todos ustedes, los empleados, los accionistas, las partes interesadas, la gente, hacen que esto sea posible”.
  • O: “No podemos hacerlo sin nuestra gente”.

Probablemente lo haya escuchado hasta que (desafortunadamente) no esté seguro de si los líderes de la empresa realmente lo creen.

recuerda este sentimiento Volveremos a eso. Pero primero, hablemos de la carta más importante de Buffett, que se publicó durante el fin de semana.

Como cada año, hay mucho contenido dentro. Podemos comenzar con los números: los $ 90 mil millones en ingresos netos que Berkshire reportó en 2021 y los $ 3,3 mil millones en impuestos federales que pagó la empresa, lo que resulta ser alrededor del 0,8 por ciento de todos los impuestos corporativos federales recaudados por el Departamento del Tesoro de EE. UU.

“‘Di en la oficina’ es una afirmación incuestionable cuando la hacen los accionistas de Berkshire”, escribió Buffett.

Además, como lo ha hecho durante los últimos años, Buffett ha estado trabajando en las actualizaciones de las gigantescas participaciones de los “Cuatro Grandes”, que actualmente incluyen las inversiones más grandes de Berkshire:

  • sus compañías de seguros,
  • la participación del 5,55 por ciento en Apple,
  • explotación ferroviaria y
  • su operación de energía, Berkshire Hathaway Energy.

Ahora, como los lectores habituales pueden saber, tiendo a revisar esta carta cada año a medida que sale, observándola de la manera más holística posible: examinando críticamente lo que Buffett incluye, lo que no omite y los pequeños detalles que agrega. es un poco más convincente que muchos informes de empresas.

Este año me llamaron un poco la atención dos cosas cuando leí la carta por segunda o tercera vez:

  • El primero es un pasaje, que citaré a continuación, sobre los objetivos de vida y carrera que Buffett dice que alienta a la audiencia de estudiantes universitarios a perseguir.
  • La segunda es la larga lista de personas que menciona Buffett, algunas de las cuales esperaba, pero en realidad dos se destacaron en mis lecturas posteriores.

Citemos primero el pasaje. Buffett dice que cuando habla con estudiantes universitarios, les aconseja que intenten buscar empleo en el campo que más les interese, pero que solo trabajen con “el tipo de personas que elegirían si no tuvieran necesidad de dinero”.

Sí, reconoce, las consideraciones financieras pueden interponerse en el camino. Pero, quien ahora tiene 91 años (su director de operaciones y socio desde hace mucho tiempo, Charlie Munger, tiene 98), dice que aprendió que una vez que encuentras esa situación, el “trabajo” ya no se siente como trabajo.

Charlie y yo seguimos este camino liberador después de algunos tropiezos iniciales. … [A]En Berkshire encontramos lo que amamos hacer.

Con muy pocas excepciones, hemos estado “trabajando” con personas que nos gustan y en las que confiamos durante muchas décadas. Es una alegría en la vida… En nuestra oficina central empleamos a personas decentes y talentosas, no a idiotas. La rotación promedio es quizás una persona por año.

¿Ves a lo que me refiero? Realmente, son estas ocho palabras: “Empleamos a personas decentes y talentosas, no a idiotas”.

Muchos líderes empresariales están hablando del buen juego que vimos arriba. Pero a veces es difícil creer verdaderamente (y actuar de acuerdo con esa creencia) que “nuestra gente es nuestro mayor activo”.

Una cosa es compartir tópicos; Otra es tener el coraje de actuar de acuerdo con esa creencia cuando, por ejemplo, su necesidad de ciertas habilidades entra en conflicto con su política de no idiotas.

Aquí está el segundo pequeño detalle que noté: las personas que Buffett se toma el tiempo de acreditar por su nombre.

Seguramente algunos de estos son de esperar. Munger se menciona por su nombre 15 veces; Tim Cook de Apple solo se menciona una vez, pero Buffett lo describe como “brillante”.

También hay viñetas sobre Ajit Jain y Greg Abel, los altos ejecutivos de Berkshire que han sido mencionados durante años como posibles herederos del propio Buffett. Abel recibió el visto bueno el año pasado, así que tal vez por eso Buffett primero pasa tiempo con Jain y ofrece un recordatorio campechano de cómo fue contratarlo:

Nos conocimos un sábado por la mañana y rápidamente le pregunté a Ajit sobre su experiencia con los seguros. Él respondió: “Ninguno”.

Dije: “Nadie es perfecto” y lo contraté. Ese fue mi día de suerte: Ajit fue la elección más perfecta que uno podría haber hecho. Mejor aún, lo sigue siendo, 35 años después.

Pero saltan a la vista otros dos nombres. Buffett dedica casi 1000 palabras de esta carta de 4500 palabras a la memoria de Paul Andrews, el fundador y director ejecutivo de la subsidiaria de Berkshire, TTI, quien murió hace aproximadamente un año a la edad de 78 años.

No daré la historia completa de la compañía de Andrews y cómo Berkshire llegó a adquirirla, pero el titular que usa Buffett al comienzo de la sección deja claro el sentimiento: “Un hombre maravilloso y un negocio maravilloso..”

Finalmente, se menciona el nombre de una persona, lo que creo que aclara el punto. Cuando Buffett habla de otra adquisición importante, insiste en incluir esta línea que, de otro modo, sería redundante:

“Deb Bosanek, mi asistente, programó la cena inaugural de nuestra junta…”

Las personas que siguen de cerca a Buffett ya saben quién es Bosanek. Aún así, me sorprende que Buffett esté describiendo una reunión que tuvo lugar hace 12 años, pero casualmente menciona quién hizo los arreglos del viaje y la cena solo para poder poner el nombre de su asistente en el documento.

Nuevamente, si Buffett no tuviera 91 años y estuviera en lo que parecía ser un estado de ánimo reflexivo y de asesoramiento, no estoy seguro de que aceptaría esto. Pero lo es, y no es la única vez que Buffett ha hecho algo así.

En mi eBook gratuito Warren Buffett predice el futuro, agregaré algunos otros ejemplos de personas que Buffett ha señalado en el pasado. Mi ejemplo favorito es alguien del que la mayoría de la gente nunca ha oído hablar: el hombre que Buffet describe como su “héroe”, Charles Feeney.

Espero que tengamos muchos años más de Buffett escribiendo estas cartas y que la gente como yo las lea y escriba sobre ellas, pero esta se destaca por ayudar a despojarse un poco del escepticismo que muchos sentimos cuando escuchamos a un CEO decir algo como, “Nuestra gente es nuestro mayor activo”.

¿Es un cliché? Tal vez no si realmente lo crees. O tal vez es un cliché porque es muy cierto.

Las opiniones expresadas aquí por los columnistas de Heaven32 son propias y no de Heaven32.

\t
  • Or: \"We can't do any of this without our people.\"
  • \n You've probably heard it until (sadly) you're not sure that the business leaders themselves actually believe it. \n Remember that sentiment. We'll circle back to it. For the moment, however, let's talk about Buffett's most letter, which was released over the weekend.  \n Just like every year, there's a lot packed into it. We can start with the numbers: the $90 billion in net earnings that Berkshire reported during 2021, and the $3.3 billion in federal taxes the company paid, which turns out to about .8 percent of all federal corporate income taxes collected by the U.S. Treasury. \n \"'I gave at the office,' is an unassailable assertion when made by Berkshire shareholders,\" Buffett wrote. \n Also, as he has done in recent years, Buffett worked through updates on the \"Big Four\" giant holdings that currently comprise Berkshire's biggest investments: \n
      \t
    • its insurance companies,
    • \t
    • the 5.55 percent stake it holds in Apple,
    • \t
    • railroad operations, and
    • \t
    • its energy operations, Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
    \n Now, as regular readers might know, I tend to scour this letter each year when it comes out, looking at it as holistically as I can: examining critically what Buffett includes, what he doesn't leaves out, and the little details he adds that makes it a bit more compelling than many corporate reports. \n This year, two things made me sit up a bit and take notice as I read the letter for the second or third time: \n
      \t
    • The first is a passage that I'll quote below, about the life and professional goals that Buffett says he encourages audiences of university students to pursue.
    • \t
    • The second is the long list of individual people Buffett mentions -- some of them expected, but really two who stood out on my later readings.
    \n Let's cite the passage first. Buffett says that when he talks with university students, he advises them to try to seek employment in whatever field interests them most, but while working only with \"the kind of people they would select, if they had no need for money.\" \n Yes, he acknowledges, financial considerations can get in the way. But, who is now 91 years old (his longtime COO and partner, Charlie Munger is 98), says he's learned that if you do eventually find that situation, then \"work\" no longer feels like work. \n He continues: \n
    Charlie and I, ourselves, followed that liberating course aHeaven32er a few early stumbles. ... [A]t Berkshire, we found what we love to do.  \n With very few exceptions, we have now \"worked\" for many decades with people whom we like and trust. It's a joy in life ... In our home office, we employ decent and talented people - no jerks. Turnover averages, perhaps, one person per year.
    \n Do you see what I'm getting at? Really, it's those eight words: \"We employ decent and talented people - no jerks.\" \n So many business leaders talk the good game we've seen above. But, it's hard sometimes to really, truly believe (and act on the belief) that \"our people are our biggest asset.\" \n It's one thing to share platitudes; it's another to have the courage to act from that belief when, say, your need for a specific skill-set bumps up against your \"no jerks\" policy. \n Here's the second small detail that stood out to me: the people Buffett takes the time to mention by name. \n Certainly, some of these are to be expected. Munger is mentioned by name 15 times; Apple's Tim Cook gets only one mention, but Buffett describes him as \"brilliant.\" \n Plus, there are vignettes about Ajit Jain and Greg Abel, the top Berkshire executives who were mentioned for years as potential heirs to Buffett himself. Abel got the nod last year, so perhaps that's why Buffett spends time on Jain first, offering afolksy recollection of what it was like to hire him: \n
    We first met on a Saturday morning, and I quickly asked Ajit what his insurance experience had been. He replied, \"None.\" \n I said, \"Nobody's perfect,\" and hired him. That was my lucky day: Ajit actually was as perfect a choice as could have been made. Better yet, he continues to be, 35 years later.
    \n Yet, two other names jump out. Buffett devotes nearly 1,000 words of this 4,500-word letter to the memory of Paul Andrews, who was the founder and CEO of Berkshire subsidiary TTI, and who died about a year ago at age 78. \n I won't reprint the entire story of Andrews's company and how Berkshire came to acquire it, but the heading Buffett used at the top of the section makes the sentiment clear: \"A Wonderful Man and a Wonderful Business.\" \n Finally, there's one more person mentioned by name that I think drives home the point. It's that when Buffett talks about another important acquisition, he makes a point of including this otherwise superfluous line: \n
    \"Deb Bosanek, my assistant, scheduled our board's opening dinner ...\"
    \n People who follow Buffett closely already know who Bosanek is. Still, it's striking to me that Buffett is describing a meeting that took place 12 years ago, yet he goes into an aside about who made the travel and dinner arrangements, simply so that he can include his assistant's name in the document. \n Again, if Buffett were not 91 years old and in an apparently reflective and advice-giving mood, I'm not sure I'd pick up on this. But he is, and it's also not the only time Buffett has done this sort of thing. \n In my free ebook, Warren Buffett Predicts the Future, I include some other examples of people Buffett has singled out in the past. My favorite example is someone most people have never heard of: the man Buffet describes as his \"hero,\" Charles Feeney. \n I hope we'll have many more years of Buffett writing these letters and people like me reading and writing about them, but this one stands out for helping to peel away just a small bit of the skepticism that many of us feel when we hear a CEO say something like,  \"Our people are our greatest asset.\" \n Is it a cliche? Maybe not, if you really believe it. Or else, maybe it's a cliche because it's so true. ","inc_code_only_text":null,"inc_pubdate":"2022-03-01 00:00:00","inc_promo_date":"2022-03-01 00:00:00","inc_custom_pubdate":null,"inc_feature_image_override":"","inc_feature_image_background_color_override":null,"inc_show_feature_imageflag":true,"inc_feature_image_style":"pano","inc_image_caption_override":null,"inc_autid":0,"inc_typid":1,"inc_staid":7,"inc_serid":0,"inc_prtid":0,"inc_activeflag":true,"inc_copyeditedflag":false,"inc_flag_for_reviewflag":false,"inc_lock_articleflag":false,"inc_react_displayflag":true,"inc_filelocation":"bill-murphy-jr/with-8-short-words-warren-buffett-just-revealed-a-crucial-truth-most-people-never-quite-believe.html","inc_override_url":null,"inc_hide_article_sidebarflag":false,"inc_custom_sidebar":null,"inc_show_read_moreflag":true,"inc_display_video_at_bottomflag":false,"inc_autoplay_videoflag":true,"inc_full_width_read_moreflag":false,"inc_custom_footer":null,"inc_custom_teaser":null,"inc_hide_video_prerollflag":false,"inc_custom_css":null,"inc_custom_javascript":null,"inc_canonical_url":null,"inc_meta_keywords":null,"inc_column_name_override":null,"inc_newsworthyflag":false,"inc_notepad":null,"inc_track_changesflag":false,"inc_cta_text":null,"inc_cta_url":null,"time_updated":"2022-03-01 00:00:05","channels":[{"id":4,"cnl_name":"Lead","cnl_filelocation":"lead","cnl_featuretype":"None","cnl_custom_color":"009CD8","cnl_calculated_color":"F7CE00","cnl_contributor_accessflag":true,"cnl_custom_article_footer":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_color":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_gradient_start":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_gradient_end":null,"cnl_iflid":0,"sortorder":null},{"id":471,"cnl_name":"Icons & Innovators","cnl_filelocation":"icons-of-entrepreneurship","cnl_featuretype":"None","cnl_custom_color":null,"cnl_calculated_color":null,"cnl_contributor_accessflag":true,"cnl_custom_article_footer":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_color":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_gradient_start":null,"cnl_global_nav_background_gradient_end":null,"cnl_iflid":0,"sortorder":1}],"categories":[],"primarychannelarray":null,"authors":[{"id":3275,"aut_name":"Bill Murphy Jr.","aut_usrid":428030,"aut_base_filelocation":"bill-murphy-jr","aut_imgid":51492,"aut_twitter_id":"BillMurphyJr","aut_title":"www.billmurphyjr.com","aut_blurb":"Bill Murphy Jr. is the founder of Understandably.com and a contributing editor at Heaven32. Contact and bio at www.billmurphyjr.com.","aut_footer_blurb":"Bill Murphy Jr. is a contributing editor at Heaven32. Contact and bio at www.billmurphyjr.com.","aut_column_name":"Action Required","aut_atyid":2,"aut_newsletter_location":"http://www.billmurphyjr.com/","authorimage":"https://www.incimages.com/uploaded_files/image/100x100/Bill-Murphy_51492.png","sortorder":null,"aut_custom_scripts":"","typeName":"Columnist"}],"images":[{"id":495783,"sortorder":null}],"inlineimages":[],"photoEssaySlides":null,"readMoreArticles":null,"slideshows":[],"videos":[],"bzwidgets":null,"relatedarticles":null,"comparisongrids":[],"products":[],"keys":["Lead","Icons & Innovators","Bill Murphy Jr.","Columnist"],"meta_description":"It's what he tells university students, and what he says he's accomplished aHeaven32er many decades.","brandview":null,"internationalversion":[],"imagemodels":[{"id":495783,"img_foreignkey":null,"img_gettyflag":false,"img_reusableflag":false,"img_rightsflag":false,"img_usrid":0,"img_pan_crop":null,"img_tags":null,"img_reference_name":"warren buffett","img_caption":null,"img_custom_credit":"Getty Images","img_bucketref":null,"img_panoramicref":"warren-buffett.jpg","img_super_panoramicref":null,"img_tile_override_imageref":null,"img_skyscraperref":null,"img_gallery_imageref":null,"credit":"Getty Images","sizes":{"panoramic":{"original":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1920x1080":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1920,h_1080,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1024x576":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1024,h_576,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1230x1672":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1230,h_1672,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1940x900":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1940,h_900,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1270x734":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1270,h_734,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","0x734":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1,h_734,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","1150x540":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1150,h_540,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","970x450":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_970,h_450,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","600x600":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_600,h_600,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","640x290":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_640,h_290,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","635x367":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_635,h_367,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","0x367":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_1,h_367,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","575x270":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_575,h_270,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","385x240":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_385,h_240,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","336x336":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_336,h_336,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","300x520":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_300,h_520,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","300x200":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_300,h_200,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","284x160":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_284,h_160,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","155x90":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_155,h_90,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","100x100":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_100,h_100,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg","50x50":"https://img-cdn.Heaven32/image/upload/w_50,h_50,c_fill/images/panoramic/warren-buffett_495783_vg3up2.jpg"}}}],"formatted_text":"","adinfo":{"c_type":"article","showlogo":true,"cms":"inc296799","video":"no","aut":["bill-murphy-jr"],"channelArray":{"topid":"4","topfilelocation":"lead","primary":["lead","lead"],"primaryFilelocation":["lead","lead"],"primaryname":["Lead","Lead"],"sub":["icons"],"subFilelocation":["icons-of-entrepreneurship"],"subname":["Icons & Innovators"]},"adzone":"/4160/mv.inc/lead/lead/lead"},"seriesname":null,"editorname":null,"commentcount":null,"inc5000companies":[],"inc5000list":{"id":null,"ifl_list":null,"ifl_year":null,"ifl_custom_data_description":null,"ifl_filelocation":null,"ifl_sharetext":null,"ifl_data_endpoint":null,"ifl_columns":null,"ifl_column_custom_names":null,"ifl_filters_per_row":null,"ifl_rows_per_page":null,"ifl_filter_columns":null,"ifl_filter_sorts":null,"ifl_permanently_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_extra_large_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_large_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_medium_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_small_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_extra_small_hidden_columns":null,"ifl_currency":null,"ifl_enable_accent_rule_topflag":false,"ifl_enable_accent_rule_bottomflag":false,"ifl_table_accent_rule_color":null,"ifl_table_header_background_color":null,"ifl_table_rank_color":null,"ifl_table_header_text_color":null,"ifl_table_row_stripe_color":null,"ifl_enable_filterflag":false,"ifl_filter_background_color":null,"ifl_filter_dropdown_border_color":null,"ifl_filter_dropdown_text_color":null,"ifl_enable_pagination_topflag":false,"ifl_enable_pagination_bottomflag":false,"ifl_pagination_bar_color":null,"ifl_filter_reset_button_color":null,"ifl_filter_reset_button_border_color":null,"ifl_methodology":null,"ifl_pubdate":null,"ifl_default_sort":null,"companylist":null,"companylist_year":null},"companies":[],"buyerzonewidgets":[],"photoEssaySlideModels":null,"custom_article_footer":null,"ser_footer_blurb":null,"dayssincepubdate":null,"trackingpixel":"<!-- Author Facebook Pixel Code --><script>!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init', '465833680293850');fbq('track', "PageView");</script><!-- End Facebook Pixel Code --><script> (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){ (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o), m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m) })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga'); ga('create', 'UA-18200193-1', 'auto'); ga('send', 'pageview');</script>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","promotions":null,"channelCustomFooter":{"cnl_id":"","cnl_footer":""},"lists":[],"rawDate":"Tue, 01 Mar 2022 00:00:00 -0500","paragraphCount":30,"inline_script_tags":[]},"recirc":{"articles":[]}}],"isFetching":false,"isFetched":true,"error":null},"events":{"events":[],"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"magazine":{"magazine":{},"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"editPackage":{"editPackage":{},"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"quoteCollection":{"quoteCollection":{},"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"applyPage":{"applypage":{},"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"podcast":{"podcast":[],"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"navMenu":{"sidebar":[],"nav":[],"categories":[],"subscribe":{},"social":[],"help":[],"alternates":[],"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"promotions":{"promotions":{},"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null},"incmasters":{"incmasters":[],"isFetching":false,"isFetched":false,"error":null}};