Warren Buffett has an unmatched ability to take very profound things and communicate them in a common sense way that people can understand concerning the business and financial world.
Another person that had this ability when he was alive was Sam Walton. It was considered a newsworthy story when he would make simple comments that explained things in easy-to-understand way that everyone could understand.
With Buffett, he has that same ability. Many people in the business and financial worlds resent this because it makes their talk of complexity and the resultant "priesthood" that comes from that not as important to people. Intellectual types don't like to be considered irrelevant. It's a disease to them.
As far as business and leadership goes, this is a vital ability to cultivate and use. We need to learn to not speak to impress, but speak so others can easily understand.
We can have all the right technology and channels of communication open within a business, and fail miserably because the communication isn't able to be understood; not only in what is being said, but how it's being said.
It's more than simply using big words or phrases, but we could be communicating in ways that come from a country or region of a country we come from, that is unintelligible to the listeners. Or it may be communicated in a way that could be interpreted several different ways.
If our communications involves time-sensitive content, we can be in big trouble if things aren't clear.
Most people will never be able to communicate in the way Warren Buffett does, but we can learn to keep things simple and precise, so those receiving or listening to our communication and message have no doubt as to what it means.
Understanding what is being said is what's important, not impressing people with our verbiage. See, I used the word "verbiage" on purpose to show how it doesn't need to be done.
Our message has to be kept simple and easy to understand to the listeners. It does no good to have open communication if what is being heard isn't clear. Buffett never has problems being understood. His yearly reports are written in a way that the majority of people aren't left wondering what is being said.
Things need to be communicated in common sense ways that most people are left in no doubt to what is meant by what is being said.
This is one of the reasons Buffett is able to so effectively run Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) like he does. He knows there's not a need for a lot of communication, and when he does communicate, there's no doubt to what it is he means.
Other Buffett Resources:
Warren Buffett: The trouble with being a legend
Warren Buffett: 'I told you so'
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