There’s far more to say about Warren Buffett than I can fit into a single blog post. In fact, more than 50 books have been written about him – in addition to the famous shareholder letters he’s penned over the decades. These have been compiled in The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, now in its 8th edition, offering deep insight into both his investment philosophy and his values.
Introduction
This article was written on May 12, the day it was announced that Warren Buffett is stepping down. A piece of news that also fit nicely as a follow-up to yesterday’s post about psychological decision traps in stock trading. But this article isn’t really about Buffett. Not in detail, anyway. And certainly not about stock trading.
It’s about what the rest of us can learn from Buffett – even if we’re not billionaires, financial gurus, or investment experts. Because there’s something about his values that resonates. And some of them feel so familiar that I almost believe we could sit down over coffee and talk business, philosophy, and life in the same language.
Neither Warren Buffett nor I are particularly interested in luxury, expensive cars, or chasing as much money as possible. As long as we have what we need – and maybe a buffer for the unexpected – we’re pretty content. Because joy is found elsewhere: in learning, insight, and using what we know to create value for others.
- He still lives in the same house he bought in the 1950s.
- He doesn’t take large bonuses or compensation packages.
- He has had an annual salary of $100,000 for decades – extremely low compared to other top executives in the U.S.
- He continuously donates large sums to charity.
- He lives simply and enjoys junk food and Coca-Cola.
- He’s known for being honest, direct, and down-to-earth.
Maybe you relate to some of that. Maybe not. But regardless of whether you work in strategy, service, leadership, or something entirely different, I believe many of us benefit from being reminded of what truly matters. What brings meaning – beyond goals, numbers, and KPIs. Because in a world that keeps spinning faster, it’s easy to lose sight of the quiet strengths: patience, insight, curiosity, and the ability to lift others. And those are exactly the values this text is about.
Feel free to check out the article I wrote last year about my take on the quote “if you own more than 7 things, your things own you.”.
Finding Joy in Work
In interviews, Warren Buffett has said he spends about 80% of his workday reading. He loves diving deep into company analyses, thinking long-term, and doing thorough research before making decisions. Once, he said that the most important thing you can do as an investor is read 500 pages a day. And while he said it with a twinkle in his eye, there’s a deeper truth behind it: knowledge builds up over time – like compound interest.
Buffett also doesn’t micromanage. He hires smart people, gives them trust and responsibility, and spends his own time understanding direction, values, and context. He’s said himself that what he does isn’t spectacular. It’s just about sitting still, reading, thinking – and occasionally acting.
And that’s exactly what I enjoy most. Learning, connecting, understanding, and sharing – not to control, but to empower those around me. I love doing research, spotting patterns, and passing along what I’ve discovered so others can build on it. Not as the one out front, but as a kind of backstage supporter.
Maybe that’s why I’ve played second fiddle in so many situations. Not because I haven’t contributed – on the contrary. I’ve often given more than expected and worked far more hours than I get paid for, simply because I enjoy it. But I thrive when I can work in my own way: quietly, in depth, and with purpose.
Here’s an article I wrote on 10 ways to prevent burnout.
Is AI Taking Over What I’m Good At?
For a while, I feared that artificial intelligence was going to take over the one thing I’m best at: the ability to gather insights, see the big picture, and understand connections. Not because that skill is no longer needed, but because it suddenly doesn’t feel so unique when everyone has access to a tool that can do a lot of the same things.
But after using AI actively for some time, I’ve realized it still requires something more. It takes human insight to ask the right questions, understand the context, and make the connections that truly matter. AI can give you information. But it’s still up to us to make that information useful.
For me, it’s about doing the same thing I’ve always done with Google – just faster and more efficiently. With AI as a tool, I can do research in a tenth of the time I used to – and use that freed-up time to develop myself and others even further.
But AI doesn’t replace people.
And the fact that some believe it does says a lot about the leadership competence in certain organizations. Because while many tasks can be automated, it’s easy to forget all the invisible contributions employees make: relationships, history, nuance, and context. The kind of insight you gain over time. Between the lines, in coffee breaks, at the water cooler, and on the way out the door. The kind of knowledge AI can’t access. At least not until it gets a microphone in the break room, a gym membership, and a locker in the warehouse.
And then… well, that’s a different conversation entirely (I actually have a few innovative ideas there, too – just saying).
In fact, there are already companies struggling to bring people back – or attract new ones – after choosing to replace employees with AI or automation. The trust is gone. The knowledge is gone. And many of those who left aren’t coming back. Because when you choose to cut people, you don’t just lose positions. You lose culture, competence, and relationships.
Time in the Market Beats Timing the Market
The phrase “time in the market beats timing the market” is, surprisingly, not a direct Buffett quote – but it reflects the kind of thinking he’s known for. What he actually said was:
«The stock market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient.»
And the real-world application of this mindset outside of finance is massive. It’s about patience. Direction. Focus. And above all, about sticking to the plan – even when things get turbulent. It’s often those who stay the course, building brick by brick and letting time work for them, who come out ahead in the end.
Buffett often says he looks for companies with good culture and leaders he trusts – and then lets them run the show. It reminds me of another quote that could have come from Buffett, but actually comes from Zappos founder Tony Hseih, who famously put culture before profit:
«Chase the vision, not the money, the money will end up following you.»
That’s exactly what I touch on in a recently published article, where I compare business development to hiking in the mountains. Small, steady steps get you to the top faster and with less effort than rushing forward and stopping constantly along the way.
You can read that article here: Business development is like hiking – small steps beat big sprints..
So What Can We Actually Learn from Warren Buffett?
Maybe that wisdom isn’t about numbers – but about values.
That calm brings better returns than haste.
That curiosity and a love of learning often outweigh status and position.
And that being patient – with markets and with people – might just be one of the most underrated superpowers we have.
Finally, I want to share a conversation I had with a Greek acquaintance while on a paragliding trip in 2015. He told me something I’ve never forgotten. We were talking about the financial crisis, and he said – quite sincerely – that in some ways, it had actually brought something good. Not economically, of course. But on another level.
Before the crisis, he said, everyone lived apart. A bit like in Norway, where over a million people live alone. People had new cars, big TVs, and were obsessed with having the “right” things. But then the downturn came, and much of the luxury disappeared. And something interesting happened: they found their way back to each other.
Families started living closer together. Dinners became communal again. They spent more time with people they cared about. Became more “Greek,” as he put it – and less concerned with image and possessions. Looking back, he said it might have been the best thing that ever happened to them. Because the values they regained were far more important than what they lost.
I’ve thought about that many times since. Maybe we in Norway need a small crisis too – not to cause suffering, but to remind us of what really matters: the things that can’t be bought. I hoped that would happen when the pandemic hit. That we’d slow down, reconnect, and become a little warmer in how we meet everyday life and each other. But no. That moment passed quickly. If anything, we’ve become colder. More concerned with our own little bubbles. Our own needs. Our own screens.
What do you think? Feel free to share your thoughts.
