Warren Buffett On the Best Book He Read Last Year by John Szramiak was originally published on Vintage Value Investing
Warren Buffett released his 2016 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Letter this morning.
[bffett]In the letter, Buffett covers many topics – from America’s future economic prospects, to accounting policies.
Hidden in the letter, however, Buffett also briefly discusses the best book he read last year:
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike – by Phil Knight
Here’s what Warren had to say about the book:
Interestingly, Warren Buffett is actually mentioned near the end of Phil Knight’s book:
In 2007 Phil and his wife go to see The Bucket List at the movies. After the credits roll and the lights go up, Phil Knight sees a few familiar faces in the theatre lobby:
“At first we can’t place them. We’re still seeing Nicholson and Freeman in our minds. But these faces are equally familiar — equally famous. Now we realize. It’s Bill and Warren. Gates and Buffett.We stroll over.
Neither man is what you’d call a close friend, but we’ve met them several times, at social events and conferences. And we have common causes, common interests, a few mutual acquaintances. ‘Fancy meeting you here!’ I say. Then I cringe. Did I really just say that? Is it possible that I’m still shy and awkward in the presence of celebrities?”
Knight’s then wife asks if Buffett and Gates enjoyed the movie.
“Yes, they both say, looking down at their shoes, though it was a bit depressing. What’s on your bucket lists? I nearly ask, but I don’t. Gates and Buffett seem to have done everything they’ve ever wanted in this life. They have no bucket lists, surely.Which makes me ask myself: Have I?”
I wonder if this mean Buffett will soon be investing in Nike stock?
For more information on Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike read on below:
In this candid and riveting memoir, for the first time ever, Nike founder and board chairman Phil Knight shares the inside story of the company’s early days as an intrepid start-up and its evolution into one of the world’s most iconic, game-changing, and profitable brands.
Young, searching, fresh out of business school, Phil Knight borrowed fifty dollars from his father and launched a company with one simple mission: import high-quality, low-cost running shoes from Japan. Selling the shoes from the trunk of his Plymouth Valiant, Knight grossed eight thousand dollars that first year, 1963. Today, Nike’s annual sales top $30 billion. In this age of start-ups, Knight’s Nike is the gold standard, and its swoosh is more than a logo. A symbol of grace and greatness, it’s one of the few icons instantly recognized in every corner of the world.
But Knight, the man behind the swoosh, has always been a mystery. Now, in a memoir that’s surprising, humble, unfiltered, funny, and beautifully crafted, he tells his story at last. It all begins with a classic crossroads moment. Twenty-four years old, backpacking through Asia and Europe and Africa, wrestling with life’s Great Questions, Knight decides the unconventional path is the only one for him. Rather than work for a big corporation, he will create something all his own, something new, dynamic, different. Knight details the many terrifying risks he encountered along the way, the crushing setbacks, the ruthless competitors, the countless doubters and haters and hostile bankers—as well as his many thrilling triumphs and narrow escapes. Above all, he recalls the foundational relationships that formed the heart and soul of Nike, with his former track coach, the irascible and charismatic Bill Bowerman, and with his first employees, a ragtag group of misfits and savants who quickly became a band of swoosh-crazed brothers.
Together, harnessing the electrifying power of a bold vision and a shared belief in the redemptive, transformative power of sports, they created a brand, and a culture, that changed everything.
