Author Archive for: Christoph Niemann

Philanthropy is harder than business. You are tackling important problems that people with intellect and money have tackled in the past and had a tough time solving. Warren Buffett – American investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), from ” The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life” by Alice Schroeder (2008), Quotations book 2017

An entrepreneur isn’t someone who owns a business, it’s someone who makes things happen. Timothy “Tim” Ferriss – American entrepreneur and author (b. 1977)

Since the Industrial Revolution began, going downstream – investing in businesses that will benefit from new technology rather than investing in the technology companies themselves – has often been the smarter strategy. Ralph Wanger – American fund manager (b. 1934), Quotations book 2019

Volume is vanity, profit is sanity. Wilhelm Zeller – German manager, 1996-2009 CEO at Hannover Rück (b. 1944)

Charitable giving should be a spiritual, rather than economic, decision. Economically, charitable giving never pays. Ron Blue – Christian financial advisor (b.1942)

Look for the durability of the franchise. The most important thing for me is figuring out how big a moat there is around a business. What I love, of course, is a big castle and a big moat with piranhas and crocodiles. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930)

Synergy: A term widely used in business to explain an acquisition that otherwise makes no sense. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), in his letter to Berkshire Shareholders (1985)

In all my years in investing, there’s one rule I’ve prized beyond every other: Always bet against central banks and with the real world. In the seventies, the central banks were defending the United States’ artificially low price of gold. Central banks and governments always try to maintain artificial levels, high or low, whether of […]

This is the cornerstone of our investment philosophy: Never count on making a good sale. Have the purchase price be so attractive that even a mediocre sale gives good results. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), in a letter to his partners (January 18, 1963)

As an investor you never have perfect information, and the biggest profits are always available when competition and information are scarce. Seth A. Klarman – American investor, president and CEO: The Baupost Group, LLC (b. 1957), Quotations book 2017

To get noticed, we can’t say what’s expected. advertising wisdom

The game of professional investment is intolerably boring and over-exacting to anyone who is entirely exempt from the gambling instinct; whilst he who has it must pay to this propensity the appropriate toll. attributed to John Maynard Keynes – British economist and ivestor (1883-1946)

Without commonly shared and widely entrenched moral values and obligations, neither the law, nor democratic government, nor even the market economy will function properly. Vaclav Havel – Czech writer and politician, 1993-2003 president of the Czech Republik (1936-2011)

Though my heart may be left of centre, I have always known that the only economic system that works is a market economy, in which everything belongs to someone – which means that someone is responsible for everything. It is a system in which complete independence and plurality of economic entities exist within a legal […]

The common question that gets asked in business is, “why?” That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, “why not?” Jeffrey P. “Jeff” Bezos – American company founder: Amazon (b. 1964), in an interview with Steven Levy for wired.com (November 13th, 2011)

I am not the boss – the readers are. Patrick Joseph McGovern, Jr. – American publisher, founder of the media, research and venture capital organization IDG (1937-2014), Quotations book 2017

When you see it, bet big. Stanley F. “Stan” Druckenmiller – American investor, hedge fonds manager and philanthropist (b. 1953), in his speech at the “Lost Tree Club” (01/18/2015), Quotations book 2020

The builders of visionary companies tend to be clock builders, not time tellers. They concentrate primarily on building an organization – building a ticking clock – rather than on hitting a market just right with a visionary product idea. James C. “Jim” Collins – American business consultant, author and academic (b. 1958), in “Built to […]

If you accept my thesis that many aging tech companies resemble the Walking Dead, you should also accept the follow-up proposition that what these companies need are not “visionary” CEOs but pragmatic ones, less Steve the visionary, and more Larry the Liquidator, a person with limited ambitions and a readiness to preside over the dismantling […]

A manager sets objectives. A manager organises. A manager motivates and communicates. A manager establishes measuring yardsticks. A manager develops people. Peter F. Drucker – Austrian-born American management expert (1909-2005), from “The Practice of Management” (1954), Quotations book 2020

These people risked something they had and needed for something they did not have and did not need. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), on the collaps of the LTCM hedge fonds (Long Term Capital Management), found on youtube: “Warren Buffett MBA talk”

Too often boardroom atmosphere means that collegiality trumps independence. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2005

Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand. David Ogilvy – legendary British advertising executive and entrepreneur (1911-1999), from “The Unpublished David Ogilvy” (1988), Quotations book 2018

Culture eats strategy for lunch. business wisdom, often attributed to Peter F. Drucker – Austrian-born American management expert (1909-2005), Quotations book 2019

Be fearful when the world is greedy and be greedy when the world is fearful.. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930), Quotations book 2004

No reward without responsibility, no investment without involvement, no profit without participation. Dr. Michael Schluter – British economist, author, speaker and social entrepreneur (b. 1947), during his presentation at the European Economic Summit Declaration 2014

We do not wish to join with managers who lack admirable qualities, no matter how attractive the prospects of their business. We’ve never succeeded in making a good deal with a bad person. Warren Buffett – American value investor, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (b. 1930)

The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Thaddeaus Hammond – American banker and former farmer, president of the Farmers’ National Bank and the Rotary Club Overton, from J. R. Sprague’s […]

1. Think one Store at a time. 2. Communicate, communicate, communicate. 3. Keep your ear to the ground. 4. Push responsibility – and authority – down. 5. Force ideas to bubble up. 6. Stay lean, fight bureaucracy. Samuel M. “Sam” Walton – American entrepreneur, founder of Walmart (1918-1992), from “Sam Walton, Made in America: My story” […]