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

Notes and Interview from "The Billionaire Next Door"  - Part One

Warren Buffett invited CNBC to do an interview with him on his life story and insights into what has made him so successful with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A).

He tells of his early years where he started off doing door-to-door sales when young, and buying his first stock at the age of 11. By the age of 14 he also owned a 40 acre farm where he grew crops and sold them for a profit.

Another interesting fact was that when he applied to Harvard, he was rejected.

He was asked in this first portion of the interview about what why he continually does what he does, and the answer was that he simply loves what he's doing.

Responding to a question about what he looks for to make the decision to invest in a company, he responded with his classic answer that it had to be a company that he understood and was within his circle of competence. Another key factor was that the company had to have a durable, competitive advantage, not only a temporary one.

Another key was that the management had to not only be of a high qualty, honest and have integrity; but they also must be able as well.

Buffett added that he also considered everyone that was a shareholder as a partner, even though he has to be managing partner, he treats them as part of the business he's in - because they are.

Another great insight he gave for not sending his managers out long letters and guidelines when he occasionally meets with them is because if you send them a rulebook, people by nature will begin to look for loopholes.

Take a look at the first part of the interview: