John R. Brandt's Blog

Urban Meyer on management

"Errors are 90 percent anticipation. That's an Earle Bruce-ism. If you see something that isn't right, you go like a torpedo, blow it up and put it back together."

"Innovation sticks for about 18 months..."

Excellent interview with Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the non-profit Harlem Children's Zone, in yesterday's New York Times. A couple of his management tips:

• "Convincing people to give your way a try will work if you neutralize – and sometimes you have to cauterize – the ones who are really against change. They're the kind of person who, if you tell them it's raining outside, will fight you tooth and nail. You'll take them outside in the rain, and they'll say, “But it wasn't raining five seconds ago.” I spent a year trying to convince those people to change and give me a chance [at a school, early in his career]. Then I realized that was a wasted year.

• "Innovation sticks for about 18 months.So let's say you put a great innovative program in place. You put the right people on it, you get everything organized, and if you don't come back and do anything with it for 18 months, that program's half as good as when you started. They just start decaying."

It would have been more fun if he had named his distant cousin Jimmy to the post...

Warren Buffett today announced that his successor at Berkshire Hathaway, at least as far as its values, will be... after an exhaustive, years-long, global search... his son, Howie Buffett. Howie, in case you haven't followed his career closely, is a 56-year-old corn and soybean farmer.

Really? Really?

It would have at least been funny if he'd named distant cousin Jimmy to the position —imagine Wasted away again at Berskshire Hathaway or Why don't we get drunk, and invest? — but this is just... strange.

Can't wait to hear investor reaction at the next BH Annual meeting.