Lessons from this meeting:
1. Keep Corporate Speech Focused on Shareholders, Not Politics
- Speaking out on hot-button issues carries real business risk: it can alienate customers, employees, and even investors who identify with the “other side.”
- If you feel compelled to voice personal views, do so entirely as a private citizen—not in your company’s name or at shareholder expense.
2. Don’t Weaponize Your Brand for Political Gain
- Corporate political contributions and lobbying should serve clear business necessities (e.g. fair regulation), not personal preferences of executives.
- Treat the company as a neutral platform—avoid pressuring suppliers or partners to fund causes you favor.
3. Cultivate a Multidisciplinary “Toolbox”
- Learn to apply mental models from diverse fields—economics, psychology, engineering—to avoid treating every problem like a nail just because you’re holding a hammer.
- Broad knowledge helps spot value and risk that specialists in one area often miss.
4. Insure Your Portfolio (and Yourself) Against Inflation
- Inflation “swindles” almost everyone—bonds, cash, and businesses that require heavy reinvestment lose purchasing power over time.
- Favor low-capex, high-margin franchises (e.g. software, consumer brands) that can raise prices without tying up extra capital.
5. Build and Exploit Honest Accounting Cultures
- Avoid the “myths” that CEOs preach quarter after quarter—requiring management forecasts invites ever-escalating games and cover-ups.
- Insist on transparency: a culture that never tolerates even minor number-tweaking preserves integrity and reduces long-run risk.
6. Seize “Workout” (Arbitrage) Opportunities Swiftly—but Sparingly
- When a corporate event (merger, takeover) fixes a future price, commonsense probability work (e.g. Activision at $95/share) can yield attractive returns.
- Keep these stakes moderate: profits are capped if deals close, but losses can be large if they unravel.
7. Steer Clear of Non-Productive “Store-of-Value” Assets
- Only a currency backed by an issuing government with tax power can truly circulate as money; bitcoin lacks proprietary return streams.
- If someone offered you a slice of all the farmland in America for cheap, you’d pay up—because land produces crops; assets that produce nothing should trade at—or toward—zero.
8. Leverage Insurance “Float” as Cost-Free Capital
- Float—the premiums held before claims are paid—can be deployed like an interest-free loan, provided underwriting remains disciplined.
- Guard against catastrophe risk: only build float in lines of business where you understand and can price rare, large losses.
9. Repurchase Shares Only When They Trade Below Your Intrinsic-Value Estimate
- Buying back stock at a discount concentrates ownership in remaining shareholders and is economically akin to investing in your own best asset.
- If you’d rather deploy capital into an acquisition with higher expected return, defer repurchases until repurchase yields beat your next best opportunity.
10. Think of Your Enterprise as a Growing Canvas—Paint Sparingly, but Boldly
- View capital allocation as extending an ever-expanding “painting”: you must choose each added brushstroke (acquisition, buyback) carefully.
- Over time, natural winners (high-ROIC businesses) occupy more of your canvas; lean into what works, and prune what doesn’t without second-guessing every move.
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