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

“Fear is the foe of the faddist, but the friend of the fundamentalist.”

This is a fantastic insight by Buffett into one of the keys to continuous success.

Before we touch on it, let's define a faddist for a moment so we understand the context. Sometimes we get what the terms fad and trend mean and confuse them as one and the same. A fad is connected to something completely temporary, it will never last. A trend on the other hand is something that will go on for a long time; and gradually, persistently going forward.

For example, when automobiles first came out they were a trend, not a fad. They were, and will continue to be, a force in economies around the world. We need to understand the difference in evaluating our strategies.

Keeping that in mind, Buffett talks about how his investment and management strategy really hasn't been influenced by the upheavals of the last decades or the macroeconomic forecasts made during them. His way of doing things has been tested by it all, and it remains on a firm, solid foundation that proves it works.

Fear is the enemy of the temporary, short-term thinker because anything can disrupt a situation or company in spurts. If your company is built upon a fad, anything could come along at a given time and destroy it.

Fear is a friend of the fundamentalist because they have sure foundations they build their companies on and it helps to clear out the landscape of the pretenders. Also a fundamentalist is a true believer in what they're doing. They won't make decisions based on the endless number of temporary events and circumstances that all businesses face.

They simply hold to what they're doing and continue on based upon the core values and purpose of the business.

When it comes down to it for the fundamentalist in business, fear and upheaval are the greatest times for opportunity there is. For those in faddish businesses, they can't take advantage of it because they're forever fighting to see if they'll survive until the next day.

We need to gear ourselves toward being a "fundamentalist" in business, not someone chasing fads.

Other Buffett Sources:

10 Secrets Hidden in Warren Buffett's Wallet

The Warren Buffett You Don't Know

Warren Buffet-Strategic Planning

Some practical advice from investment guru Warren Buffett

Wisdom of Warren Buffett

Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!