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Berkshire Hathaway’s annual “Woodstock of Capitalism,” its shareholder meeting, happens on April 30 this year. Warren Buffett’s baby is by far America’s most beloved conglomerate. What’s behind the fame? Buffett and his partner Charlie Munger are investing prodigies, but so are, say, Carlos Slim and Donald Trump, and you don’t see their companies’ shareholder meetings doubling as love fests.
Berkshire has some special things going for it. Buffett himself comes off as an honest folk hero with an incredible investing legacy that started during the Great Depression. While value investing existed before Buffett, his success played a pivotal role in mainstreaming it.
The other secret to Berkshire’s success, however, is in its corporate DNA. Buffett and Munger have designed the company along agreeable, self-sustaining lines. From the kinds of people they recruit as managers to their corporate culture, Berkshire has built a template for success. Here are 25 ways to run your business like Buffett, based on Berkshire’s “Owner-Related Business Principles,” as listed in the 2010 annual report.
