“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.<\/strong>“<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was going to write about Warren Buffett’s 25\/5 rule. The story goes: \u201cWarren Buffett\u2019s personal pilot asked him for some career advice. Buffett asked him to write down 25 career goals. Then list the top 5 goals. His advice was to work on the top 5 goals and don\u2019t do anything with the other 20 goals until he has attained the first five.\u201d The so-called Warren Buffet 25\/5 rule sounds very much like the traditional approach to project management. It\u2019s great that Buffett debunked it. Instead of planning for a long term horizon that never ends, I won’t be surprised if Warren Buffet takes an iterative approach and reevaluates on a regular basis. He then invests to get the best returns for the next sprint. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Learn a lot, every day; apply a little, every day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Now, this is a myth! Warren Buffett denied ever coming up with this rule at a 2013 Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, \u201cIt really isn\u2019t the case. It sounds like a very good method of operating but it\u2019s much more disciplined than I actually am.\u201d
Instead, Buffett offers this formula, \u201cGo to bed a little smarter every day.\u201d He spends 80% of his day reading 500 pages a day! Now, I have evaluated the strengths of many project professionals. Many strong project managers have learning as one of their top strengths. Buffet has taken this strength and exercised it so much that he could be one of the best learners in the world.
Here\u2019s my little spin on this. In my humble opinion, most of this learning is about what *not* to do i.e. what risks to avoid, what not to invest in. Why? Because it\u2019s hard to apply 500 pages of learning a day. Buffett stores up all he has learnt, then when appropriate, he applies the best learning in a specific situation. Unapplied learning is like dormant power. Appropriate, timely, applied learning is like a powerful volcanic explosion.
So, here\u2019s my take on Buffett\u2019s advice, \u201cLearn a lot, every day; apply a little, every day.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\nAgile versus Traditional Approaches to Investing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Instead, his practice of reading 500 pages a day and advice to “go to bed a little smarter every day,” sounds like an agile approach and enables him to make the most of opportunities that present themselves. My hunch is that Buffet pivots to the best investment opportunity that he has learnt enough about when that opportunity emerges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n