TL;DR
To get good things done, we need to be both profound thinkers and aggresive doers. That was so hard for me to say until I met Warren Buffet
It recently occurred to me that Charlie Munger’s passing must be hard on Warren Buffet as is often the case with very close male partnerships. I imagine the same for Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede as he deals with the loss of Herbert O. Wigwe. And so I decided to find out if Warren Buffet had made any public eulogy for Charlie Munger.
What I found was an instruction in simplicity; a reminder that genius has few moving parts with superhuman efficiency. I realised that Warren Buffet had written in fewer words and with more clarity the essence of a rather complicated article I recently published in “The One Thing & Why You Should Fear Some Philosophers”
What I unsuccessfully tried to say was that the one thing we needed to succeed in the world was a combination of profound critical thinking and situational analysis, and a bias to action that bordered on the maniacal. By using the archetype of the philosopher, I sought to convey an inclination towards clear and accurate critical thinking, with a penchant for criticism and continuous refinement. The archetype of the mafia boss, I hoped, was the perfect representation for a bias to action that bordered on the instinctive and maniacal. I also hoped that the polarity between both archetypes would reinforce the idea that a combination was very rare and should be dreaded once identified. I only realised how much what I eventually published had been lacking the clarity that the axiomatic driver of the same idea had in my mind when a good friend came to discuss the article with me.
It comes as no surprise to me, that Warren Buffet, being the master that he is, achieved all I couldn’t and more in his beautiful eulogy for his long-time business partner, Charlie Munger.
And it is a result of reflecting on this eulogy that I picked the title of this article.
Every great building is a result of great architecture and building, it needs for its realisation, a master architect and a master builder. However, the high levels of expertise that are demanded of great architects and great builders make it very rare to find a combination of both skills in an individual. Great buildings exist because the architect thinks, designs, guides, and the builder finds the best way to execute these designs with perfection, sometimes calling them into question based on their superior appreciation of feasibility.
Put this way, Buffet’s eulogy says everything I wanted to say in a much more concise and comprehensive way; the one thing we need for success is a merger of superior building and architecture.
But Buffet corrects me. In the same way that it may not be wise to seek mastery both in philosophy and the operations of the mafia, it may not be wise to seek mastery in building and architecture. We may be better off forging a mutually-respecting and complementary partnership that endures.
I am grateful for Warren Buffet’s eulogy; it was both a delightful thing to read and an instruction in clarity.
“Builders and Architects”, thanks to Buffet, that sounds better than “Philosophers in the mafia”.