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Excerpts

In the chronicles of the investment life of Warren Buffett much has been written about his investment methods. Each and every investment he has ever made has been taken apart and analyzed in excruciating detail. David and I alone have written the books Buffettology, The Buffettology Workbook, The New Buffettology, The Tao of Warren Buffett, and Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements -- all on Warren's investment methods and all international best-sellers.

But what was sorely missing from the body of Warren Buffett literature was a book that addresses and discusses the brilliant way Warren has managed his life, his businesses, and the people who manage Berkshire Hathaway's 233,000 employees around the globe. Besides being a genius at investing, Warren Buffett is also a genius of a manager, with over eighty-eight CEO s of different companies reporting directly or indirectly to him. In modern business no man has managed a more highly talented group of managers, in so many diverse businesses, and delivered such spectacular results. In many ways Buffett's managerial record surpasses even his amazing investment record with Berkshire Hathaway, where the company's operational annual net income grew from $18 a share in 1979 to $4,093 a share in 2007. This equates to a compounding annual growth rate of 21.39 percent, a record that indicates that Warren and his managers are doing a fantastic job of minding the store. (In comparison, Berkshire's investment portfolio for the same period grew at an annual compounding rate of 19.78 percent, which means we can argue that as a manager Warren outperformed himself as an investor.)

In our quest to bring you all things Warren Buffett, we have written the first ever book that takes an in-depth look at Warren's management methods -- what they are, how they work, and how you can use them. We discuss the impact that Dale Carnegie had on Warren's life and how Carnegie's teachings helped transform Warren into the master manager he is today.

We have kept the book easy to read, with short chapters. The methods that Warren uses are simple and easy to understand, but, as you will see, their impact is powerful.

We look to the future and imagine many generations using Warren's enlightened management methods to inspire and motivate people of all ages to achieve their dreams and visions.

Mary Buffett and David Clark
July 1, 2009