October 2025. An Idea From Mr. Buffett – Stop Coming Up With So Many Ideas
We know he’s retiring, but who wouldn’t want a ton more good ideas from Warren Buffett before he does…? A WSJ article explains that just one good idea every 5 years was actually more than enough for Mr. Buffett.
But hold on, what was he doing the rest of the time? Creating astronomical investment returns – 3,787,464% over 58 years to be precise. Most of us would be lucky to have one good idea with that kind of a return over an infinitely compounding number of lifetimes…
And his good ideas are really, really good. Like partnering with Charlie Munger. Some takeaways from the article:
- Not every decision will work out right, but try to get the important decisions very right.
- Let time work – “It takes just a few winners to work wonders.”
- Know what you’re not good at; Buffett initially resisted investing in Apple, now one of his largest investments.
- Invest in the right people (e.g., Mr. Munger).
Cutting through the clutter and throwing away so-so ideas is hard, and focusing on a few good ideas is even harder. In PriSim’s business simulation classes, we serve up a lot of data to participants. And sit back chuckling while they struggle…and practice focusing on key strategies, managing through uncertainty and a rapidly evolving marketplace, and resisting suboptimal decisions that create short-term results. All while trying to create million-percentage-returns.
Maybe instead of retiring, Warren can just ratchet things down a bit – after all, he only has to give us one good idea every 5 years. And if that’s all Mr. Buffett needs, then can The Rock maybe still be The Rock with just one push-up a month…?