如今的新闻头条常有报道,美国最著名公司的首席执行官们每天天不亮就起床,打造“极度硬核”的工作环境,这时读到像沃伦·巴菲特这样的首席执行官的工作方式,不由让人耳目一新——他做交易的方式没有那么狂热:没有电脑,开最少的会议,确保充足的休息。
当然,巴菲特也不是懒汉。刚刚于今年8月30日过了93岁生日的巴菲特被誉为有史以来最成功的投资者之一,根据彭博亿万富翁指数(Bloomberg Billionaires Index),他目前的身价约为1,200亿美元,在世界富豪榜上排名第七位(尽管他的净资产和排名每天都不一样)。他的伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)的业务范围广泛综合,该公司在今年的《财富》美国500强排行榜中排名第七位,拥有近70家子公司,包括保险公司、珠宝商以及冰淇淋连锁店等等。这些年来,他为投资者赚了很多钱。
但在阅读2005年《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)的一篇专题文章时,我最羡慕的是他花在“阅读和思考”上的时间,以及他可以关机离线、不参加自己不感兴趣的会议的能力。这让他能够深度工作,而不用受到现代办公室里无处不在的持续干扰(电子邮件、Slack消息、可能以电子邮件形式召开的会议等),这是很多人(包括我自己)都渴望不可得的。所有这些清晰的精神空间让他可以相信自己的直觉。“我创造了一个良好的环境。”他对《华尔街日报》表示。“我所要做的就是思考,不受别人的影响。”
对于像巴菲特这样高知名度的人来说,他的日常生活显得出奇低调。没有凌晨四点的冷冻疗法、营养品养生或每日身体脂肪扫描。巴菲特称,他每天早上6点45分起床(很合理),读读新闻,再去办公室,有时甚至是在股市开盘后才去办公室。众所周知,他的饮食里也不包括其他首席执行官热衷的富含营养的奶昔或一盘一盘的西兰花,而是麦当劳(McDonald’s)、冰雪皇后(Dairy Queen)和罐装可乐。在空闲时间,他会读书、打桥牌以保持思维敏捷,还会弹弹尤克里里。
“我觉很多。我喜欢睡觉。”巴菲特在2017年接受美国公共广播公司《新闻一小时》(PBS NewsHour)的采访(这篇采访被广为引用)时说,“我一般每晚睡八个小时,而且——不,我可不想凌晨四点就去上班。”
他听起来是一位相当不错的老板,尤其是对那些鄙视微观管理的人而言。《华尔街日报》的报道称:“他能够迅速做出投资决策,避开会议和顾问,避开既定程序,也不需要经理经常汇报。”
这篇故事还讲道:“巴菲特告诉他的业务部门负责人,不要为他准备任何特别报告。”其他一些出版物详细介绍了他去中心化的放手式管理,这在美国的大公司中独一无二。“我们几乎把权力下放到了放弃权力的地步。”巴菲特说。《财富》杂志的资深记者、巴菲特的朋友卡罗尔·卢米斯在1988年写道,他喜欢让员工高高兴兴的。“‘优秀的企业由优秀的人经营’,这是他作为首席执行官想要看到的景象。”她写道。
《华尔街日报》的这篇报道已经发表快20年了,所以在此期间,事情很可能发生了变化(巴菲特从那以后没有给任何人发过电子邮件,这可能吗?)但巴菲特是按照习惯行事的人,巴菲特的密友、微软(Microsoft)的联合创始人比尔·盖茨在1996年写道。他一直保持着同样的生活习惯。
“我很欣赏沃伦的一个习惯是,他的日程表上没有会议。”盖茨写道,“他擅长说不……他喜欢坐在办公室里读书和思考。除此之外,他也会做一些其他事情,但不太多。”
作为一名在Slack已经接管办公室通讯和超高速连接已经成为常态的环境中成长起来的千禧一代,因为各种各样的原因,巴菲特非数字化的复古工作方式对我充满了吸引力。当然,作为一名记者,我需要打电话,确保自己了解最新的新闻和全球突发事件(事实上,巴菲特在他的工作时间里一直第一时间了解最新的新闻)。而且,没有巴菲特雄厚的资产作为保障,也很少有人可以像他那样保持不插电的状态。
但他的方法提醒了我们,我们许多人真正渴望的是:在我们觉得充实的职业中做有意义的工作,并且在工作允许的情况下,对越来越占用我们注意力的噪音加以限制。
“我告诉学生们,找工作时要找你不需要工作时也愿意做的工作。”巴菲特在2017年接受美国公共广播公司采访时说,“我的意思是,就是这么简单。”(财富中文网)
译者:Agatha
如今的新闻头条常有报道,美国最著名公司的首席执行官们每天天不亮就起床,打造“极度硬核”的工作环境,这时读到像沃伦·巴菲特这样的首席执行官的工作方式,不由让人耳目一新——他做交易的方式没有那么狂热:没有电脑,开最少的会议,确保充足的休息。
当然,巴菲特也不是懒汉。刚刚于今年8月30日过了93岁生日的巴菲特被誉为有史以来最成功的投资者之一,根据彭博亿万富翁指数(Bloomberg Billionaires Index),他目前的身价约为1,200亿美元,在世界富豪榜上排名第七位(尽管他的净资产和排名每天都不一样)。他的伯克希尔-哈撒韦公司(Berkshire Hathaway)的业务范围广泛综合,该公司在今年的《财富》美国500强排行榜中排名第七位,拥有近70家子公司,包括保险公司、珠宝商以及冰淇淋连锁店等等。这些年来,他为投资者赚了很多钱。
但在阅读2005年《华尔街日报》(Wall Street Journal)的一篇专题文章时,我最羡慕的是他花在“阅读和思考”上的时间,以及他可以关机离线、不参加自己不感兴趣的会议的能力。这让他能够深度工作,而不用受到现代办公室里无处不在的持续干扰(电子邮件、Slack消息、可能以电子邮件形式召开的会议等),这是很多人(包括我自己)都渴望不可得的。所有这些清晰的精神空间让他可以相信自己的直觉。“我创造了一个良好的环境。”他对《华尔街日报》表示。“我所要做的就是思考,不受别人的影响。”
对于像巴菲特这样高知名度的人来说,他的日常生活显得出奇低调。没有凌晨四点的冷冻疗法、营养品养生或每日身体脂肪扫描。巴菲特称,他每天早上6点45分起床(很合理),读读新闻,再去办公室,有时甚至是在股市开盘后才去办公室。众所周知,他的饮食里也不包括其他首席执行官热衷的富含营养的奶昔或一盘一盘的西兰花,而是麦当劳(McDonald’s)、冰雪皇后(Dairy Queen)和罐装可乐。在空闲时间,他会读书、打桥牌以保持思维敏捷,还会弹弹尤克里里。
“我觉很多。我喜欢睡觉。”巴菲特在2017年接受美国公共广播公司《新闻一小时》(PBS NewsHour)的采访(这篇采访被广为引用)时说,“我一般每晚睡八个小时,而且——不,我可不想凌晨四点就去上班。”
他听起来是一位相当不错的老板,尤其是对那些鄙视微观管理的人而言。《华尔街日报》的报道称:“他能够迅速做出投资决策,避开会议和顾问,避开既定程序,也不需要经理经常汇报。”
这篇故事还讲道:“巴菲特告诉他的业务部门负责人,不要为他准备任何特别报告。”其他一些出版物详细介绍了他去中心化的放手式管理,这在美国的大公司中独一无二。“我们几乎把权力下放到了放弃权力的地步。”巴菲特说。《财富》杂志的资深记者、巴菲特的朋友卡罗尔·卢米斯在1988年写道,他喜欢让员工高高兴兴的。“‘优秀的企业由优秀的人经营’,这是他作为首席执行官想要看到的景象。”她写道。
《华尔街日报》的这篇报道已经发表快20年了,所以在此期间,事情很可能发生了变化(巴菲特从那以后没有给任何人发过电子邮件,这可能吗?)但巴菲特是按照习惯行事的人,巴菲特的密友、微软(Microsoft)的联合创始人比尔·盖茨在1996年写道。他一直保持着同样的生活习惯。
“我很欣赏沃伦的一个习惯是,他的日程表上没有会议。”盖茨写道,“他擅长说不……他喜欢坐在办公室里读书和思考。除此之外,他也会做一些其他事情,但不太多。”
作为一名在Slack已经接管办公室通讯和超高速连接已经成为常态的环境中成长起来的千禧一代,因为各种各样的原因,巴菲特非数字化的复古工作方式对我充满了吸引力。当然,作为一名记者,我需要打电话,确保自己了解最新的新闻和全球突发事件(事实上,巴菲特在他的工作时间里一直第一时间了解最新的新闻)。而且,没有巴菲特雄厚的资产作为保障,也很少有人可以像他那样保持不插电的状态。
但他的方法提醒了我们,我们许多人真正渴望的是:在我们觉得充实的职业中做有意义的工作,并且在工作允许的情况下,对越来越占用我们注意力的噪音加以限制。
“我告诉学生们,找工作时要找你不需要工作时也愿意做的工作。”巴菲特在2017年接受美国公共广播公司采访时说,“我的意思是,就是这么简单。”(财富中文网)
译者:Agatha
When America’s most famous CEOs make headlines for waking up before dawn and cultivating “extremely hardcore” work environments, it’s refreshing to read about a CEO like Warren Buffett, who embraces a less frenetic brand of deal making: no computer, minimal meetings, and plenty of rest.
Buffett is, of course, no slouch. The 93-year-old, celebrating his birthday on August 30, is revered as one of the most successful investors of all time and is currently worth around $120 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the seventh-richest person in the world (though his net worth and rank vary depending on the day). He runs a complex business in Berkshire Hathaway, which ranked number seven on the Fortune 500 this year and operates close to 70 subsidiaries, ranging from insurance companies to jewelers to ice cream chains. He’s made investors a lot of money over the years.
But reading through a 2005 feature in the Wall Street Journal, I couldn’t help but envy his hours spent “reading and thinking,” his ability to stay offline and skirt meetings he has no interest in attending. That allows him to do the type of deep work many people, including myself, aspire to do without the constant interruptions (emails, Slack messages, meetings that could have been emails, etc.) omnipresent in the modern office job. All this clear mental space allows him to trust his own gut. “I’ve created a good environment,” he told the Journal. “All I have to do is think and not be influenced by others.”
For someone as well known as Buffett is, his routines are surprisingly low-key. There is also no 4 a.m. cryotherapy routine, supplement regimen, or daily body fat scan here. Buffett has said he wakes up at a reasonable 6:45 a.m., reads the news, and gets to the office, sometimes after the market opens, even. His diet famously consists of nothing like the nutrient-packed smoothies or mountains of broccoli beloved by other CEOs, but McDonald’s, Dairy Queen and cans of Coke. In his spare time, he reads, plays bridge to keep his mind sharp, and strums the ukulele.
“I get quite a bit of sleep. I like to sleep,” Buffett said in a widely quoted 2017 interview with PBS NewsHour. “I will usually sleep eight hours a night, and that—no, I have no desire to get to work at four in the morning.”
He doesn’t sound like a half-bad boss, either, especially for those who disdain micromanagement. “He makes swift investment decisions, steers clear of meetings and advisers, eschews set procedures and doesn’t require frequent reports from managers,” the Journal’s report reads.
“Mr. Buffett tells the chiefs of his business units not to produce any special reports for him,” the story continues. Other publications have detailed his decentralized, hands-off management approach, unique among the largest companies in the U.S. “We delegate almost to the point of abdication,” Buffett has said. He likes to keep his people happy, the longtime Fortune reporter, and friend of Buffett’s, Carol Loomis wrote in 1988. “‘Wonderful businesses run by wonderful people’ is his description of the scene he wants to look down on as a chief executive,” she wrote.
It’s been almost 20 years since the Journal published its report, so it seems likely that some things have changed in the interim (is it possible Buffett has not emailed a single person since then?). But Buffett is a creature of habit, Microsoft co-founder and close friend Bill Gates wrote in 1996. He’s long kept the same routine.
“One habit of Warren’s that I admire is that he keeps his schedule free of meetings,” Gates wrote. “He’s good at saying no to things … He likes to sit in his office and read and think. There are a few things he’ll do beyond that, but not many.”
As a millennial who came of age as Slack took over workplace communications and hyper-connectivity was already the norm, Buffett’s analog approach to his work is appealing to this author for myriad reasons. Of course, as a journalist I need to make calls and ensure that I’m up to date on the latest news and world events (indeed, Buffett keeps abreast of the news throughout his work day). And it’s also true that few people can be as regularly unplugged as Buffett without the security of his billions to fall back on.
But his approach is a reminder of what many of us aspire to: Doing meaningful work at a job we find fulfilling, and limiting the noise that increasingly demands ever more of our attention—if our jobs allow it.
“I tell the students, look for the job that you would take if you didn’t need a job,” Buffett told PBS in the 2017 interview. “I mean, it’s that simple.”