Business Advice Links

The purpose of this post: just sharing a couple of interesting business advice links with you.

The first is Paul Stamatiou’s recent article with his thoughts on startups. I chuckled in reading the end of it, because Paul adds the following “disclaimer:”

Disclaimer: You realize I’m only 21 right? Think twice before taking business advice from me.

In a way it is a good reminder from Paul on the importance of knowing the credibility of those advising you. But, contrary to Paul’s implication, if I were doing a startup, I would want to learn what I could from him. He has studied the subject a good bit, and he now has some experience with his own startup.

I do not consider his age to be a negative. It does mean that he lacks some experience, and some judgment and discernment that comes with age and from making lots of mistakes. But young people have a lot of great insights and are more open to thinking outside the box than old farts like me.

Anyway, his article is worth a read for anyone who has interest in startups.

The second link is a summary of a recent meeting between the legendary Warren Buffett and students from Emory’s Goizueta Business School and the McCombs School of Business at UT Austin. It is a fantastic read with a lot of good business advice.

Mr. Buffett also shares some insights on life in general, and seems to me to be as good in this area as he is in business. For example, a few quotes:

If you have a 500 HP engine and only get 50 HP out of it, you’ll be beat by someone else that has a 300 HP engine but gets 250 HP output.

The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.

And in response to the question “If you could have lunch with one person you have never met, who would it be and why?”

I would have to say Isaac Newton or Benjamin Franklin. I’ve met a lot of interesting people and some uninteresting ones, too. The two men had a bigger grasp of the world they lived in. But I don’t think I would pass up an opportunity with Sophia Loren.

It will take some time to read the Buffett Q&A session, but I enjoyed it and think most of you will find it worth your time. I think that if I were given an hour to spend with Mr. Buffett, I would most want to hear his views on life, rather than his views on business. (I probably would not understand a lot of the latter, anyway.)