To begin with, my work was done in the office of the firm itself. I was almost always present when they talked of their affairs, laid out their plans, and decided upon a course of action. I thus had an advantage over…
To begin with, my work was done in the office of the firm itself. I was almost always present when they talked of their affairs, laid out their plans, and decided upon a course of action. I thus had an advantage over…
Adam Smith:The Wealth of Nations, Book I, Chapter VI, Paragraph 125
Adam Smith《The Wealth of Nations》· Book I, Chapter VI · Investing
In this state of things, the whole produce of labour does not always belong to the labourer. He must in most cases share it with the owner of the stock which employs him. Neither is the quantity of labour commonly employed in acquiring or producing any commodity, the only circumstance which can regulate the quantity which it ought commonly to purchase, command or exchange for. An additional quantity, it is evident, must be due for the profits of the stock which advanced the wages and furnished the materials of that labour.
To begin with, my work was done in the office of the firm itself. I was almost always present when they talked of their affairs, laid out their plans, and decided upon a course of action. I thus had an advantage over…
Leadership and cultural succession are the hardest challenge any company faces.
Context
Jack Ma (1964–) was an English teacher in Hangzhou before founding Alibaba in 1999. In his final letter to shareholders as chairman, he handed the company to Daniel Zhang and the partnership, arguing that leadership and cultural succession are the hardest tests any company faces. The letter frames succession as the real measure of an institution's maturity.
Today's question
If your company replaced its founder tomorrow, which mechanism would keep its culture and judgment intact?
21:00 Figures · Investing · Modern investor letters
Warren Buffett:Berkshire 2007 Letter, Excerpt 2
Warren Buffett《Berkshire Hathaway 2007 Letter to Shareholders》· 2007 Chairman's Letter · Investing
Berkshire has two major areas of value. The first is our investments: stocks, bonds and cash equivalents. At yearend these totaled $141 billion (not counting those in our finance or utility operations, which we assign to our second bucket of value).
To begin with, my work was done in the office of the firm itself. I was almost always present when they talked of their affairs, laid out their plans, and decided upon a course of action. I thus had an advantage over…