Learned crowd control from Disneyland, keep people in line entertained.
When a group of visitors came to Omaha, they were taken to the Nebraska Furniture Mart to look over the operation and ask questions of the managment.
They asked to be shown what it was that made the furniture store so successful. One of the answers was the one given above.
What was important in the response to me was the company understood they had no expertise in the area. So instead of reinventing the wheel, they went to probably the best in the world and got ideas on how to serve customers better while they had to wait in line to pay for goods.
The great thing about it was they recognized there was a need. They didn't just leave it go and allow it to overwhelm them and their customers, they were proactive and did something about it.
Next, they went to those who were the best at it and took their ideas and adapted it to the store and their customers' specific needs.
Last, they knew they didn't have the answers and weren't prideful about it. They knew they would get far better ideas from how Disneyland did it than they ever could come up with.
Ideas can and should come from everywhere. We need to take the best and then adapt and improve upon them for our specific business. It's an illusion to believe the great companies have some type of internal mystique and greatness that transcends the mere mortal companies. The best borrow and learn from the best; it's why they're the best.
It's another reason why the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) perform so strongly year after year.
Other Buffett Resources:
MSU students have special visit with billionaire Warren Buffett
Sticking to what you know Core businesses
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