
The Warren Buffett CEO: Secrets of the Berkshire Hathaway Managers
Posted by jack_miller | Published 10 months ago

With 21 ratings
By: Robert P. Miles and Tom Osborne
Purchased At: $23
―Jack Welch
The first book to reveal the investment and management strategies of the Berkshire Hathaway all-star management team. Much has been written about Warren Buffett and his investment philosophy; little has been made public about the inside management of Berkshire Hathaway. With a market cap exceeding 100 billion , Berkshire Hathaway has a market value surpassing many icons of American business such as Dell, AT&T, Disney, Ford, Gillette, American Express, and GM. Drawing on his personal experiences as well as those of Berkshire's chief executives, officers, and directors interviewed for this book, Berkshire insider Robert P. Miles provides a unique look at the Berkshire Hathaway culture and its management principles.
I found the book to be an extremely enjoyable read. It provides a richness of detail and previously unavailable insight on the mangers that make the subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway such a remarkable group of exceptional performers. It was also refreshing to see Mr. Buffett receive credit for being the outstanding manager he truly is. Almost all of the attention he receives focuses on his investment prowess and disregards completely his abilities as a manager. As this book will show you he is simply a tremendous manager who is able to inspire his mangers to continue working to produce results that will make him, and Berkshire shareholders, proud. He is able to achieve this even when the majority of the managers certainly no longer have a financial need to continue working.
Mr. Miles has grown as a writer and has given us all an excellent tool that provides many insights into what it takes to be a good manager, the dedication and drive it takes to succeed, and what to focus on when trying to create, and grow, an enduring customer centered business.
Miles writing style reads much like a question and answer interview for a star conducted by the President of a Fan club. He seems so awestruck by the success records of the stars, that he is unable to bring much of interest too light.
I give the book two stars, only because it catalogues information about the CEO's that is not found elsewhere. But beware, Miles writing style makes that information largely unaccessible. The true Buffett fan will be better off reading Janet Lowe's "Damn Right" about Charlie Munger or Cunningham's "The Essays of Warren Buffet."