Essay Example on Warren Buffett as a Leader

The essay evaluates Warren Buffett as a leader. Buffett was born in 1930, Omaha, Nebraska. In his early years, Buffett developed a passion for mathematics and was fascinated by the works of his father who was a local stockbroker. Buffett was so brightened up with entrepreneurial ventures and wanted to skip college, an idea that was highly refuted by his father. He was admitted at the University of Nebraska where he majored in business (Hagstrom, 2005). The ideas he obtained from Graham, who was his professor at the university and the financial backing from friends and families enabled Buffett to open a limited investment partnership. Buffett managed to start the cooperation, became its leader, and earned the trust of investors to manage their money all because of his character, intelligent mind, and his down to earth relationship with people. Buffett is a simple man, straightforward, forthright, and honest. Buffett embraces the simple and avoids the complicated (Hagstrom, 2005). He has a heartfelt appreciation for everything logical and hates imbecility. As the owner of Berkshire Hathaway, which owns various subsidiaries. The primary responsibilities that Buffett engages in on a daily basis are setting executive compensation and allocating the profits (Hagstrom, 2005). Moreover, Buffett takes time to analyze companies whose stock market are sold lower than their intrinsic level to come up with a strategy to purchase the controlling shares of a particular business. Overall, Buffett manages the companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway and looks for other organizations to buy.

Buffett looks for motivated managers and selects competent, ethical, and likable people to manage the various organizations owned by Berkshire Hathaway. He puts his faith on the managers and gives them the free will to conduct their daily business activities without the interference from the head office. Buffett keeps a close relationship with his employees and motivates them to continue with their hard work. The top employees report on investment decisions and capital allocations that will be required to invest in particular shares. The hired managers send messages to employees and monitor their governance efforts and other related issues.

Warren Buffett has acquired a significant position in the world due to his wise business making decisions. Since he bought the failing textile industry, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffetts fortunes have increased enormously. Buffett leads a simple life and avoids complicating matters. He also motivates his employees, and this improves the performance of the companies owned by Berkshire Hathaway. Moreover, Buffett is a good planner and reads a lot. He takes time to analyze a company and its employees and makes a final decision that results in higher returns. Equally important, Buffett discipline of investing is one of his greatest strengths (Ellis, 2016). He buys and sticks to a particular investment and ignores distracting news from the markets that may affect his judgment.

Greatest leaders in the world do have weaknesses in their leadership styles. According to Wieczner (2014), Buffett confessed in the companys annual shareholder meeting that one of his significant weaknesses as a manager is being sloppy. He further explained that he is slow to make personnel changes because he finds himself waiting on one manager for so long without moving to the next person. Buffett also confessed that he over trusts his managers so much that he does not keep track of the money that the subsidiaries will send (Wieczner, 2014).

From his early years, Buffett had shown interest in venturing into various income generating ventures. He learned a lot from his father who was a stockbroker and his professor at the university who hired Buffett in his company. After the collapse of the organization, Buffett developed a limited partnership investment with families and friends. He promised substantial returns, which he did. The limited partnership made significant profits, and it was one of Buffetts key accomplishments. Buffett was interested in the ailing textile industry, Berkshire Hathaway. He started buying controlling shares, and eventually became its owner; and, he began buying other potential companies. Now, Berkshire Hathaway owns a significant number of reputable companies such as GEICO, ketchup maker Heinz, Wells Fargo, American Express, Coca-Cola, and IBM. The acquisition and holding of controlling shares of these companies have enabled Buffett to acquire an enormous amount of profit and claim the position of a global leader and investor who is ranked among the top wealthiest individuals in the globe.

The success of Warren Buffett can be traced down to his background, how he was born, and raised. His father was a stockbroker and the exposure that Buffett had while watching his father at work and doing complex calculations, prepared him for greatness. Moreover, his professor at the university motivated Buffett and provided him with insights regarding proper investment. His previous exposure as a young man and the lessons he learned from Graham, has enabled Buffett to acquire and transform Berkshire Hathaway into an empire. Buffett also keeps a close relationship with his managers, writes a yearly report on better investment decisions, and trust his managers and CEOs. A combination of all those traits has enabled Buffett to achieve and become a successful global leader.

References

Ellis, E. (2016, Dec 30). What is Warren Buffetts greatest strength? WarrenBuffett. Retrieved from https://www.warrenbuffett.com/what-is-warren-buffetts-greatest-strength/

Hagstrom, R. (2005). The Warren Buffett way (2nd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Wieczner, J. (204, May 6). Warren Buffett on his biggest weakness. Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2014/05/06/warren-buffett-on-his-biggest-weakness/