Published: Friday, 26 Feb 2010 | 1:11 PM ET
Executive Producer
Warren Buffett can be a great boss, hands-off and complimentary, with plenty of great advice if you want or need it. But it really helps if you’re making money for him.
The new issue of Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine features an extensive cover story by Buffett biographer Alice Schroeder.
She writes that in many cases, Buffett is “just as genial and supportive as his persona would lead you to believe.”
“Chief executives of companies he has a stake in laud his patience, foresight, and ability to capture the essence of a complex financial situation in just a few words. They also like the fact that he usually leaves them alone as long as they’re getting the job done.”
But watch out! There is another, “far less familiar” side of him.
According to Schroeder, “When he sees something he doesn’t like in a company whose shares he owns, the famously passive investor can swing into action to protect his investment—jawboning behind the scenes, scolding, cutting opportunistic deals, even hiring and firing CEOs. For some of those on the receiving end of his activism, it can feel a bit like being attacked by Santa Claus.”
The article details several examples of Buffett’s relationships with the companies he’s involved with, including help and advice for American Express [AXP 38.20 
0.16 (+0.42%) 
] and USG [USG 13.39 0.19 (+1.44%) ], public criticism for Kraft’s [KFT 28.36 
-0.45 (-1.56%) ] management over the Cadbury acquisition, and behind-the-scenes activism at Coca-Cola [KO 52.6827 -0.4373 (-0.82%) ] as it faltered in the late 90s. In that case, Schroeder says Buffett “helped force the early departure in 1998” of Coke CEO M. Douglas Ivester and “quashed” a proposed purchase in 2000 of Quaker Oats.
The bottom line, as expressed by former Gillette CEO Jim Kilts: “We had a warm, close, personal relationship, but at the end of the day, I knew it was business.”
Current Berkshire stock prices:
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Class A: [BRK.A 119201.00 401.00 (+0.34%) ]
Class B: [BRK.B 79.49 0.09 (+0.11%) ]
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Recommended Amazon Reading
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The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, Second Edition by Warren E. Buffett Buy new: $25.91 / Used from: $20.00 Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life by Alice Schroeder Buy new: $13.60 / Used from: $10.34 Usually ships in 24 hours |
