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One of my employees accidentally pocket emailed me while he was at Warren Buffett's annual meeting in Omaha. When I found out, I asked him to share what he learned. - KF
Three Smart Ways to Invest in Relationships from Warren Buffett
By Brandon Smith
I’d long heard about the legendary shareholder meetings of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Dubbed the “Woodstock of Capitalism,” the event attracts 30,000 people to Omaha, Nebraska, every year. For five hours during the meeting, Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger answer questions from reporters, analysts, and shareholders on a wide range of subjects. No audio or video recording is allowed.
Despite the high cachet of the event (I walked past Bill Gates without realizing it until I heard a commotion behind me), any shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway can attend by filling out a form in the annual proxy statement. I’m only four hours from Omaha, so I decided to make the trip.
I’m sure glad I did. The event is a one-of-a-kind networking opportunity. More importantly, Buffet and Munger’s willingness to answer questions is priceless. I was fascinated by their emphasis on people and relationships and took away three key lessons.
1. People skills are critical and take a lifetime to master.
Buffett learned how to invest at 19 from his mentor Benjamin Graham. His method hasn’t changed since. Any one of us can learn Buffett’s method by going to the library and picking up Benjamin Graham’s seminal classic The Intelligent Investor. What has taken Buffett a lifetime to figure out is how to understand people. When Buffett first started out, he placed a heavy emphasis on quantitative data. Despite being the third richest man in the world, Buffett feels he would be richer today if he started paying attention to the people side of investing sooner. Read more →
Mark is the leader in providing civilians with mental toughness training and Navy Seal fitness. His insights into elite fitness, elite teams, leadership, mental toughness, and warrior spirit development were developed over his 20 years as a SEAL and business leader, 25 years as a martial artist, and 15 years as yoga practitioner. Mark is also a former adjunct professor of leadership at the University of San Diego, and a co-founder of the Coronado Brewing Co.
From Mark, you'll learn how to:
Fine tune teamwork and accountability to drive excellence
Forge the mental toughness that creates strong presence and leadership
Maintain your "positive charge" – not just emotionally, but physically
Develop your inner Corporate Warrior to excel in all areas of your life
I met Garrett at Summit Series and was so impressed by his success story launching his nonprofit (buoyed by advice from NEA!) that I asked him to contribute a blog. Audacity and the power of a great idea are the big drivers here. - KF
I was a college student when I co-founded SEE College Prep, a non-profit that has helped more than 1,300 low-income high school students improve their SAT scores an average of 200 points and become the first in their families to go on to college. At the time, I had no idea what it meant to raise large amounts of money, or the kinds of relationships I would need to build to do so.
Fortunately, a friend clued me in to Keith and Never Eat Alone and that wisdom has supported me ever since. It has been an extraordinary learning curve: in a short period of time, I went from not knowing a single person who could donate more than a few hundred dollars, to raising nearly $2 million in 18 months.
I followed my heart, risked embarrassment by asking simple questions, and found the courage to ask for people’s time and eventually money. I was empowered by the mission of what I was trying to achieve, and since I had a calling I knew that no request was too silly or too bold. I reached out to mentor after mentor—first professors, then non-profit leaders, then heavy hitters like Stanford University President John Hennessy and billionaires John Fisher, John Morgridge, and Laurene Powell Jobs. Not all of these conversations were successful, but I saw first-hand how little I knew and how much people were willing to help. Technology has helped people like me: many of the most impressive people I’ve met have agreed to meet following a cold e-mail; some of those people are my closest mentors and advisors today. Read more →
Today's post is a myGreenlight Mini Mission: Do something to mark the end of summer – a get together with friends you haven’t seen, surprise your office with donuts, or even send the postcards you didn’t get a chance to mail during your vacation. Use the transition of seasons as an excuse to connect. (Although you don’t actually need an excuse!)
See how you can make the most out of the next networking event you attend, especially when you have a list of the attendees in advance. Doing your homework doesn’t mean memorizing each attendee’s bio – my video tells you what you should be looking for!
Once a month I'll be presenting a stellar success story from someone who has read my books or participated in the Relationship Masters Academy. This month's story comes from Mike Dover. Mike is the co-author of Wikibrands: Reinventing Your Company in a Customer-Driven Marketplace and Managing Partner at Socialstruct Advisory Group. He tweets @wikibrands and @doverd4s.
I adopted dinner parties as a business development tool after reading Never Eat Alone – my first party was about 4 years ago; since then I’ve entertained more than 200 people. I usually do all the cooking, but took your advice about hiring help to serve it, clean up, etc.
Socially, the parties were always a success – we had some great conversations and I made a lot of great connections and some special friendships.
From a business point of view, they were successful as well. I just closed a new business deal that wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t invite an acquaintance to dinner. All in all, the pure ROI of these events is now more than 500 percent – which, of course, doesn’t count the benefits of hosting a lot of great parties.
My advice to Keith's readers:
Plan events at least 60 days out.
Choose a good night for your schedule. I used to have my events on Thursday nights as suggested in NEA, but have moved to Saturday since it's consistently best for me.
Plan the guest list for good conversation but also balance personality types.
Don’t treat your dinners as pure business events. It took me a long time to get my first piece of business from a dinner party, but in my business anyway, one new contract pays for a lot of parties.
What challenges or successes have you experienced while mixing business with pleasure?
what he learned. - KF
