Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Know When to Hold 'em, Know When to Fold 'em

For a long time there was a concern by shareholders on the succession of Buffett. For quite a time there was nothing done about it. While that has been remedied now, and the person known by the board who would take over for Buffett when the time comes, it does raise an issue that we all need to look at in our lives at some time.

It's one most don't like to think about, but it must be realistically assessed. Buffett said concerning age and management ability one time:

"Humans age at greatly varying rates - but sooner or later their talents and vigour decline. Some managers remain effective well into their 80s - Charlie is a wonder at 82 - and others noticeably fade in their 60s. When their abilities ebb, so usually do their powers of self-assessment"

That's a nice way of saying that we need outside input at times to let us know when the time to hang it up really is. Are we operating at full capacity? Are we fading to the point where we could harm the company and its people?

We could ask all the questions that demand an answer, but what we really need before any of this ever comes up, is people that we trust will give us an honest answer. Someone that won't say it's time to quit before it's really time, and someone that won't lie to us to make us feel good. They need to be sensitive, but brutally honest people we trust.

The reason why I think it's necessary to have this objective input is because those that are running businesses may never know that anything is starting to fade in their performance. They may still have the same outlook and passion but simply aren't able to perform at a level that the company needs. That calls for objective input from people we trust. It has to be done long before the time actually arrives.

One other thing we can look at is in relationship to the company performance itself. Does it measure up to its old performance. Does results confirm what is being said by those we trust?

This isn't an easy topic to talk about, but it is really necessary. We do need to be willing to fold it up when the time arrives. There are a million things that somebody that still wants to live and enjoy life can do. It can be the beginning of a whole new life as many have found out.

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