Anderson Fuller, a business enthusiast from Nova Scotia, Canada, discusses his admiration for Berkshire Hathaway's emphasis on properly aligned incentives. He appreciates the central benefits of owning and leading a business, such as direct equity and autonomy, and the incentives for employees like fair pay and a strong culture. However, he struggles to understand how Berkshire bridges the gap and incentivizes owners of its subsidiaries to give up these benefits.
Fuller shares his experiences working for different companies, including JCPenney, Cooper Smith, and the newspaper, and his admiration for working for himself. He expresses his preference for running a company like Berkshire Hathaway, which he perceives as offering a lot of freedom and not having to spend time courting analysts or dealing with banks.
He mentions that if he owned a public company worth billions of dollars and Berkshire Hathaway wanted to buy it, he wouldn't want to retire at 65. He would want to keep working. Fuller concludes by stating that running a company is the closest thing to owning a big company yourself.
He also mentions the most important purchase in retrospect that he and Charlie may have made was National Indemnity. He credits this purchase to Jack Ringwall controlling the company and being ready to sell once he was tired of dealing with regulatory issues.
Fuller believes that everyone will end up in a situation similar to his and Charlie's, and he considers the game of investing as the most interesting game in the world.
1. The speaker, Anderson Fuller, is from Avonport, Nova Scotia, Canada .
2. He appreciates the insights provided by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger as investors .
3. He identifies the successful use of properly aligned incentives as a key takeaway from Berkshire Hathaway .
4. He believes owning and leading a business has two central benefits: direct equity and autonomy .
5. He struggles to understand the incentives for employees at a high level, despite Berkshire Hathaway's emphasis on flexibility for managers .
6. He has worked at various jobs, including selling men's clothing and working for a newspaper .
7. He values working for himself and being able to make his own decisions .
8. He believes working at Berkshire Hathaway comes closest to running his own company .
9. He mentions the freedom and reduced need to interact with analysts and banks that comes with owning a company .
10. He is unsure about the idea of retiring at 65, preferring to keep working .
11. He recalls a significant purchase he made with Charlie Munger, acquiring National Indemnity, which led to Jack Ringwall controlling the company .
12. He believes that the most interesting game in the world is investing, due to the uncertainty and various factors that make it interesting .