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The cover of The Warren Buffett CEO

The Warren Buffett CEO

Robert P. Miles, 2001

Buffett buys companies for their managers, then leaves them alone. Interviews with Berkshire's CEOs show how he picks, trusts and pays them, and why the system should outlast him.

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11 parts, about 29 minutes to read.

Why read it

  • Profiles the managers who run Berkshire's businesses, showing how it buys a company and its leader together
  • Shows what autonomy, integrity, owner thinking and a named successor look like in practice across very different firms
  • Built on interviews with the chief executives themselves, updated to trace who succeeded and who stumbled

Who it is for

  • Investors who study Berkshire and its management
  • Owners of family businesses planning a sale or succession
  • Chief executives interested in decentralized leadership

What the summary covers

  1. The Real Story Is the Managers3 min
  2. Buying the Manager with the Business2 min
  3. The Heir: Greg Abel3 min
  4. Insurance and Float: Ajit Jain2 min
  5. GEICO in Three Chapters3 min
  6. More Investors and Underwriters3 min
  7. The Founders3 min
  8. Family Successors4 min
  9. Professional Managers2 min
  10. What the Managers Share2 min
  11. After Buffett2 min

Recommended by

  • Warren BuffettInvestor and longtime leader of Berkshire Hathaway

About the author

  • Robert P. MilesTampa entrepreneur, author and speaker on Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway
    • Tampa based entrepreneur; his first book 101 Reasons to Own the World's Greatest Investment, per Wiley, received an unofficial endorsement from Buffett
    • Graduate of the University of Michigan Business School
    • Author of three books, including Warren Buffett Wealth (Wiley)
    • Disclosed in the book (2001 preface, PDF p.16) that he is a Berkshire shareholder with no finance industry career

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