Berkshire Beyond Buffett: The Enduring Value of Values - Lawrence Cunningham

[Parsad]

[amazonsearch]Berkshire Beyond Buffett:  The Enduring Value of Values[/amazonsearch]

 

Lawrence Cunningham, who has written some of the best books around Buffett and Berkshire, has a new book out.  Book cover attached.  Cheers!

 

Cover_Flyer_June_2014.pdf

[Liberty]

Thanks Sanjeev!  :)

[xo 1]

I read this book avidly.  Terrific histories on several of the more important and lesser known BRK subsidiaries, such as the Marmon Group.  It was well researched and written.  I'm not persuaded necessarily by the professor's thesis regarding the principles that underlie BRK acquisitions, but it is thought provoking.  All in all, for a fan of BRK, I recommend the book. 

[giofranchi]

I have purchased this book, and it is definitely on my reading list! :)

 

Gio

[Liberty]

Got this one in the mail today.

[dcollon]

I found it to be an enjoyable book.  There was nice coverage of a lot of businesses that don't often get discussed like MiTek, Marmon, Clayton, etc...Mr. Cunningham did a nice job of covering the history of them. 

 

The discussion of all the different components of what makes Berkshire special won't be surprising to many on this board, but I liked the way the key topics were broken out in the book with examples of businesses  used to highlight the key qualities.

 

 

[NoCalledStrikes]

I received this book for Christmas and am currently halfway through it.  I am finding the book too positive. Its like  reading something written by a corporate IR department. While I really enjoyed Cunningham's editing of Warren's annual letters, in this book every day is peaches and cream in the Berkshire empire and any mistake that happens at BH is just a temporary setback. I feel like I am reading a hagiography.

[NoCalledStrikes]

I finished the book last night.  I still found it too positive and cheery, but I must give the book its due for teaching me more about how decentralized Berkshire is.  I've always heard Warren joke that Berkshire leaves the companies alone to the point of abdication, but I don't think I really appreciated how much truth there is in that statement until reading the book.  If he spends more than a couple hours a year thinking about his little companies like Dairy Queen or Ben Bridge Jewelers, I'd be amazed.

 

Still, I would only recommend this book for Berkshire fans who want to learn more details about some of the less publicized subsidiary companies. For more critical analysis I would recommend the Lowenstein and Schroeder books.

[Guest notorious546]

finished it today. its okay. didn't find too much of it ground breaking or exciting.

[petey2720]

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150213/BLOGS10/150219902/this-ceo-may-have-the-sweetest-job-around

 

 

[petey2720]

Here is the pdf version:

This_CEO_may_have_the_sweetest_job_around.pdf

[Guest longinvestor]

I did not see this book discussed because it was buried several pages deep...

 

Just finished reading this book. Agree with other posters that it is well researched, somewhat to overly positive etc.

 

Overall, it is well worth a read; I would in fact highly recommend it to folks who have a large proportion of their networth in BRK. (I do). The continuity of culture is paramount to my continuing ownership; Cunningham addresses this fairly well from different angles but for me, the pivotal signal that the future will be similar to the past will come when the insider cohort owns over 30% of BRK as Buffett did before his planned giving started. The anecdotes provided by Cunningham suggests something like a 10% ownership by the insider cohort as of 2014. I would like to hear an update on this. Also, if the company is successful buying, say, $50 to $100 B of stock over the next decade, that will be tantamount to increased insider ownership. 

 

And, of course, there is no replacement for Buffett. This became clearer to me after this book. Believing otherwise is like believing in tooth fairy tales.

 

I listened to the book on Audible. Twice already. It has made my driving time very interesting!

 

[giofranchi]

I did not see this book discussed because it was buried several pages deep...

 

Just finished reading this book. Agree with other posters that it is well researched, somewhat to overly positive etc.

 

Overall, it is well worth a read; I would in fact highly recommend it to folks who have a large proportion of their networth in BRK. (I do). The continuity of culture is paramount to my continuing ownership; Cunningham addresses this fairly well from different angles but for me, the pivotal signal that the future will be similar to the past will come when the insider cohort owns over 30% of BRK as Buffett did before his planned giving started. The anecdotes provided by Cunningham suggests something like a 10% ownership by the insider cohort as of 2014. I would like to hear an update on this. Also, if the company is successful buying, say, $50 to $100 B of stock over the next decade, that will be tantamount to increased insider ownership. 

 

And, of course, there is no replacement for Buffett. This became clearer to me after this book. Believing otherwise is like believing in tooth fairy tales.

 

I listened to the book on Audible. Twice already. It has made my driving time very interesting!

 

I agree with all you have said.

 

And I have twitted many parts of this book because, besides the continuity of culture and the fact there is no replacement for Buffett, I have found it interesting and useful to know lots of businesses BRK has acquired through the years better.

 

Cheers,

 

Gio

[Guest longinvestor]

I did not see this book discussed because it was buried several pages deep...

 

Just finished reading this book. Agree with other posters that it is well researched, somewhat to overly positive etc.

 

Overall, it is well worth a read; I would in fact highly recommend it to folks who have a large proportion of their networth in BRK. (I do). The continuity of culture is paramount to my continuing ownership; Cunningham addresses this fairly well from different angles but for me, the pivotal signal that the future will be similar to the past will come when the insider cohort owns over 30% of BRK as Buffett did before his planned giving started. The anecdotes provided by Cunningham suggests something like a 10% ownership by the insider cohort as of 2014. I would like to hear an update on this. Also, if the company is successful buying, say, $50 to $100 B of stock over the next decade, that will be tantamount to increased insider ownership. 

 

And, of course, there is no replacement for Buffett. This became clearer to me after this book. Believing otherwise is like believing in tooth fairy tales.

 

I listened to the book on Audible. Twice already. It has made my driving time very interesting!

 

I agree with all you have said.

 

And I have twitted many parts of this book because, besides the continuity of culture and the fact there is no replacement for Buffett, I have found it interesting and useful to know lots of businesses BRK has acquired through the years better.

 

Cheers,

 

Gio

 

Yes, it was great to hear the stories of the businesses that are now subsidiaries of BRK. Clearly Buffett relies very much on the key man in charge. One interesting tidbit Cunningham points out is that there is one sub which is on it's fourth generation of family ownership and many in their third generation ownership. My experience with the the business world is that the ownership interest surviving three generations is rare. Most businesses end up in the bowels of private equity or corporations.

 

This means that Omaha, post-Buffett, has to continue the hands off approach, especially when it comes to leadership transition at the subs. You know, the piece of paper with recommended successor's name lying in Buffett's desk drawer!

[Guest longinvestor]

Another insightful tidbit from the book,

 

35 acquisitions researched, here's where they came through,

11 sellers approached Berkshire

9 business contacts

7 friends and relatives

4 Berkshire approached seller

3 Strangers

1 Broker....(Sokol engaged Citi to Buffett's surprise)

 

Key piece of the culture, which the next guy won't try to tinker with.

[John Hjorth]

Within the last few days, there has been thoughts ventilated by @CassiusKing1, @thepupil and @gfp in the General Berkshire News topic related to Berkshires expected future, based on considerations about the future structure of ownership of Berkshire.

 

For everyone interested in this toic - specifically and in general, I recommend this book.