The Best Investment Buffett Ever Made

This article was contributed by author Scott Snider, EPI Vice President

A trait consistently seen among the ultra-successful?  They self-educate by reading.

This simple habit is powerful and the stories from some of the world’s most successful minds reinforce how making a commitment to reading is one of the best investments a professional can make.

In a CNBC article on his live Facebook broadcast from Columbia University, Billionaire Warren Buffett discussed the book that changed his life: The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham published in 1949, sharing his philosophy on “value investing” and the development of long-term strategies.  Buffett picked this book up at the age of 19 and attributes the direction of career to the introduction of this written work.

There is almost too much literature on the power reading has on success.  According to HuffPost’s research, Bill Gates reads about one book per week, Mark Cuban reads three hours a day, Elon Musk learned how to build rockets by reading books…[read full article “The Reading Habits of the Ultra-Successful People”]  In an old article by Business Insider diving deeper into Steve Siebold’s study of 1,200 wealthy people, research showed that all of them shared reading as a pastime and that they leaned heavily toward business and improvement books versus entertainment and fiction…[read full Business Insider article]

Whether you are an entrepreneur, advisor, or both, the big takeaway is you should invest in your success by reading.  Read more!  Read often!  As I plan my November reading list, I wanted to share four books you might find worthwhile, including some great reads from my bookshelf, along with others I’ll be picking up, that come highly recommended in the business community: 

The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing by Benjamin Graham (arguably Buffett’s best investment)

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz (Talk about getting inside the mind of the owner. This one was written by one Silicon Valley’s most respected and experienced entrepreneurs, and is an honest look at how difficult it is to run a business, regardless of how successful)

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne (a great book I read often; a book CEPAs should certainly digest as you launch yourself into the market as an exit planner)

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger (This is a “Brooke” pick. EPI’s Marketing Vice President, Brooke Norman, references this book frequently when coaching advisors and owners on developing their brand, messaging, and strategy)

One of the fundamental core values of the Exit Planning Institute (and frankly, all Snider Premier Growth companies) is “Building Value.” To build value, EPI must always be learning, growing, challenging ourselves, challenging the market norms, and expanding our perspectives so we can support and foster an elite community of advisors who are changing an industry and shaping owner outcomes worldwide.  The experts apart of EPI contribute books, whitepapers, and content constantly to help each other develop best practices and a message that resonates.  If you are interested in any exit-planning-specific books for your reading list or to share with your owner clients, contact me and I’ll happily make recommendations or you can check out Chris Snider’s recommended reading list by clicking here

About Exit Planning Institute:

The Exit Planning Institute (EPI) is an education company that provides exit planning education to advisors and middle market business owners.  We view exit planning as a strategy, not an event.

EPI leads the professional services profession with the best industry content, ongoing support, and owner education platform, all of which align with our mission: Change the outcome.

Only 2 out of every 10 businesses that come to market actually sell.  We want to increase the number of saleable businesses.

Only 30% of family businesses successfully transition to the second generation, only 12% transfer to the third, and the success rates diminish from there.  We want to improve those intergenerational transitions.

Of those that succeed in the sale of their business, 75% experience “profound regret” within one year of exiting their business.  We want to understand why and create strategies that achieve profound success, wealth, and satisfaction.

EPI is an education company, powered by an elite community of top advisors and owners, all focused toward creating a valuable, transferable future for the business marketplace.

• Change your outcome.  Learn more at www.Exit-Planning-Institute.org.
• Educate business owners.  Learn more at www.OwnerReadiness.com.
• Become the Advisor of the Future.  Learn more at www.EarnCEPA.com.