 这是我的第375篇原创文章 作者按： 巴菲特在2006年宣布捐出自己99%以上的财富，以巴菲特当时持有的伯克希尔股票计算，如果巴菲特没有进行慈善捐赠的话，其现在的持仓市值已经高达2449亿美元（截至2023年6月），是当之无愧的世界首富。即便是在捐献了超过半数的财富之后，如今的巴菲特依然坐拥千亿美元身家，常年位居“福布斯富豪榜”前5名。 1 Day145：工作是一种享受 巴神原文：At Berkshire, only Charlie and I have the managerial responsibility for the entire business. Therefore, we are the only parties who should logically be compensated on the basis of what the enterprise does as a whole. Even so, that is not a compensation arrangement we desire. We have carefully designed both the company and our jobs so that we do things we enjoy with people we like. Equally important, we are forced to do very few boring or unpleasant tasks. We are the beneficiaries as well of the abundant array of material and psychic perks that flow to the heads of corporations. Under such idyllic conditions, we don’t expect shareholders to ante up loads of compensation for which we have no possible need. Indeed, if we were not paid at all, Charlie and I would be delighted with the cushy jobs we hold. At bottom, we subscribe to Ronald Reagan’s creed: “It’s probably true that hard work never killed anyone, but I figure why take the chance.” 英文释义：1.“parties”意为“当事人”； 2.“beneficiaries”意为“受益者”；“perks”意为“补贴”； 3.“idyllic”意为“田园诗般的”；“ante up”意为“预付”； 4.“cushy”意为“安逸的”； 5.“subscribe to”意为“赞同”；“creed”意为“信条”。 投资解读：在伯克希尔，只有我和芒格对整体业务负有管理之责。因此，只有我和芒格理应根据公司整体表现来定薪。即便如此，这样的薪酬安排也并不是我们想要的。我们谨慎地制定公司蓝图和职业规划，以确保我们能和喜欢的人，一起做喜欢的事。 同样重要的是，我们很少被迫去做乏味或无趣的事情。作为公司首脑，我们也是大量的额外物质和精神奖励的受益者。享受着如此田园诗般的生活，我们也不期望股东能给我们预支巨额薪酬，我们也根本不需要。 事实上，哪怕我和芒格没有领薪，我们也很高兴能从事如此安逸的工作。最后，我们赞同罗纳德·里根总统的信条：“或许没有谁因为艰难的工作而被扼杀，但我想何必去冒这个险呢？” 手抄原文：  @癫老 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特展现出了自己的“高风亮节”：作为伯克希尔的董事长，巴菲特明明可以给自己发高薪，但是他却并没有这么做。时至今日，巴菲特的年薪依然只有区区10万美元。 2 Day146：鞋业是一门艰难的生意 巴神原文：We made a sizable acquisition in 1991—the H. H. Brown Company，the leading North American manufacturer of work shoes and boots, and it has a history of earning unusually fine margins on sales and assets. Shoes are a tough business—of the billion pairs purchased in the United States each year, about 85% are imported —and most manufacturers in the industry do poorly. The wide range of styles and sizes that producers offer causes inventories to be heavy; substantial capital is also tied up in receivables. 英文释义：1.“sizable”意为“可观的”； 2.“tough”意为“艰难的”； 3.“inventories”意为“存货”；“tied up”意为“束缚”；“receivables”意为“应收账款”。 投资解读：1991年，我们做了一笔大额收购，买下北美地区工作鞋与工作靴的领先制造商——布朗鞋业。无论是从资产还是营收的角度讲，这家企业过去都拥有异常丰厚的利润率。鞋业是一门艰难的生意，美国人每年要买十亿双鞋子，其中85%都有赖于进口，大多数鞋厂都面临窘境。鞋子的款式和尺码很多，导致鞋厂库存积压严重；鞋厂的大量资本都被应收账款所占用。 手抄原文：  @我爱红薯 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特讲到了鞋业在商业模式的弊端：库存积压严重，应收账款高企。然而，巴菲特还是决意买下布朗鞋业，可谓是“明知山有虎，偏向虎山行”。
3 Day147：与众不同的布朗鞋业 巴神原文：A distinguishing characteristic of H. H. Brown is one of the most unusual compensation systems I’ve encountered—but one that warms my heart: A number of key managers are paid an annual salary of $7,800, to which is added a designated percentage of the profits of the company after these are reduced by a charge for capital employed. These managers therefore truly stand in the shoes of owners. In contrast, most managers talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, choosing instead to employ compensation systems that are long on carrots but short on sticks (and that almost invariably treat equity capital as if it were cost-free). The arrangement at Brown, in any case, has served both the company and its managers exceptionally well, which should be no surprise: Managers eager to bet heavily on their abilities usually have plenty of ability to bet on. 英文释义：1.“encountered”意为“遇见”； 2.“designated”意为“指定的”； 3.“stand in the shoes”意为“设身处地”； 4.“talk the talk”意为“头头是道”；“walk the walk”意为“说到做到”； 5.“exceptionally”意为“罕见”、“特别”； 6.“plenty”意为“大量”。 投资解读：布朗鞋业的与众不同之处在于，它的薪酬体系是我见过的最非同寻常的，但是深得我心：一众高管的年薪只有7800美元，并加上公司一定的利润分红；在分红前，要先扣除资金成本。因此，这些高管真的是跟股东同心同德。 相比之下，绝大多数高管都是说一套做一套，选择“重奖轻罚”的薪酬制度，几乎总是将权益资本视同零成本资金。不管怎样，布朗鞋业的薪酬安排对公司和高管都产生了极佳的效果。这并不奇怪：敢于对自己能力下重注的高管，通常自身的能力都很强。 手抄原文：  @小娜 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特再次告诉我们：要想有效激励或约束人性，要诉诸利益而非道理。
4 Day148：薪酬管理缘何走向失控？ 巴神原文：It’s understandable how pay got out of hand. When management hires employees, or when companies bargain with a vendor, the intensity of interest is equal on both sides of the table. One party’s gain is the other party’s loss, and the money involved has real meaning to both. The result is an honest-to-God negotiation. But when CEOs (or their representatives) have met with compensation committees, too often one side — the CEO’s — has cared far more than the other about what bargain is struck. A CEO, for example, will always regard the difference between receiving options for 100,000 shares or for 500,000 as monumental. To a comp committee, however, the difference may seem unimportant — particularly if, as has been the case at most companies, neither grant will have any effect on reported earnings. Under these conditions, the negotiation often has a “play-money” quality. 英文释义：1.“got out of hand”意为“失控”； 2.“intensity”意为“强度”； 3.“honest-to-God”意为“真正的”； 4.“monumental”意为“重要的”； 5.“comp”意为“补偿”、“薪酬”； 6.“play-money”意为“金钱游戏”。 投资解读：薪酬管理走向失控是很好理解的。当管理层雇佣员工，或者当公司与供应商讨价还价时，双方对自身利益都非常关切。一方的利益就是另一方的损失，这笔钱对双方而言都有实际意义，双方会展开一场实打实的谈判。 但是，当CEO或者他们的代表与薪酬委员会交换意见时，通常CEO对自身利益的关切程度远远超过对方。举个例子，对于一名CEO来说，收到的期权是10万股还是50万股，他会非常看重这两者之间的差异。而对于薪酬委员会来说，这种差异根本无关紧要。特别是在绝大多数公司，授予多少期权都对报告盈利毫无影响。在这种情况下，谈判就像是玩关于金钱的数字游戏。 手抄原文：  @弹着吉他的少年 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特点名了薪酬管理走向失控的根本原因：谈判双方的利益关切程度不同，导致薪酬委员会无所谓，而CEO肯定会全力争取，结果就可想而知啦！
5 Day149：不受制约的高管薪酬 巴神原文：Overreaching by CEOs greatly accelerated in the 1990s as compensation packages gained by the most avaricious— a title for which there was vigorous competition — were promptly replicated elsewhere. The couriers for this epidemic of greed were usually consultants and human relations departments, which had no trouble perceiving who buttered their bread. As one compensation consultant commented: “There are two classes of clients you don’t want to offend — actual and potential.” 英文释义：1.“overreaching”意为“不自量力”、“做得过头”；“accelerated”意为“加速”；“avaricious”意为“贪婪的”； 2.“vigorous”意为“精力充沛的”； 3.“promptly”意为“立即”；“replicated”意为“复制”；“elsewhere”意为“别处”； 4.“couriers”意为“信使”；“epidemic”意为“流行病”；“perceiving”意为“认为”；“buttered their bread”意为“对他们有利”； 5.“offend”意为“冒犯”。 投资解读：20世纪90年代，大家都在竞逐“最贪婪者”的头衔，CEO手伸得过长的行为愈加变本加厉，并四处扩散。这种贪婪的传染病通常是由顾问或公关部门引起的，他们非常清楚谁才是他们的衣食父母。正如一位薪酬顾问所评论的那样：“有两类客户是你不想得罪的——实际的和潜在的。” 手抄原文：  @艳军 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特指出了顾问或公关部门在薪酬管理中所扮演的角色，他们出于讨好CEO的意图，对CEO滥发高薪的行为非但不制止，反而常常“助纣为虐”。 6 Day150：形同虚设的薪酬委员会 巴神原文：In recent years compensation committees too often have been tail-wagging puppy dogs meekly following recommendations by consultants, a breed not known for allegiance to the faceless shareholders who pay their fees. (If you can’t tell whose side someone is on, they are not on yours.) True, each committee is required by the SEC to state its reasoning about pay in the proxy. But the words are usually boilerplate written by the company’s lawyers or its human-relations department. This costly charade should cease. Directors should not serve on compensation committees unless they are themselves capable of negotiating on behalf of owners. They should explain both how they think about pay and how they measure performance. Dealing with shareholders’ money, moreover, they should behave as they would were it their own. 英文释义：1.“tail-wagging”意为“摇动尾巴的”；“puppy”意为“小狗”；“meekly”意为“温顺地”；“breed”意为“类型”；“allegiance”意为“效忠”；“faceless”意为“缺乏个性的”； 2.“boilerplate”意为“文件范例”； 3.“charade”意为“猜字谜”；“cease”意为“终止”； 4.“on behalf of”意为“代表”。 投资解读：近年来，薪酬委员会就像温顺的小狗一样，完全听任咨询顾问的推荐方案。这些咨询顾问从一众股东那里收费，但从没听说过他们对股东忠心耿耿。如果你不知道他们站在哪边，那肯定不是站在你这边。诚然，按照美国证券交易委员会要求，每个委员会都须在股东委托文件中说明支付薪酬的理由。不过，这些文字通常都是由公司的律师或者公关部门起草，基本上都是例行公事。 这种劳民伤财的文字游戏理应终结。董事不应在薪酬委员会任职，除非他们有能力代表股东去谈判。他们应就以下两点做出解释：1.他们对支付薪酬是怎么看的？2.他们是如何衡量绩效的？此外，董事是在打理股东的钱，他们的所作所为要有老板的样子。 手抄原文：  @淑娟 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，开头就是从句套从句，不太易懂。读了这么多天，相信大家对巴菲特的行文风格也略知一二。巴菲特写的长难句不少，反映了他思维的跳跃性，咱们也要努力跟上节奏呀！ （2023年11月6日） 7 Day151：再多一点 or 再少一点 巴神原文：In the 1890s, Samuel Gompers described the goal of organized labor as “More!” In the 1990s, America’s CEOs adopted his battle cry. The upshot is that CEOs have often amassed riches while their shareholders have experienced financial disasters. Directors should stop such piracy. There’s nothing wrong with paying well for truly exceptional business performance. But, for anything short of that, it’s time for directors to shout “Less!” It would be a travesty if the bloated pay of recent years became a baseline for future compensation. Compensation committees should go back to the drawing boards. 英文释义：1.“battle cry”意为“战斗口号”； 2.“upshot”意为“结果”；“amassed”意为“积累”； 3.“piracy”意为“抢劫”； 4.“for anything short of that”意为“否则”； 5.“travesty”意为“嘲弄”；“bloated”意为“膨胀的”； 6.“drawing boards”意为“制图板”。 投资解读：19世纪90年代，美国工会领袖塞缪尔·龚帕斯形容劳工组织的目标就是“再多一点”！如今到了20世纪90年代，美国各大企业的CEO采纳了他的战斗口号。结果，CEO攫取了巨额财富，公司股东却仍在遭受财务灾难。 公司董事应制止这种“抢劫”行为。如果高管真的取得了突出的商业成就，那么给他们发高薪没问题。问题是，若是情况并非如此，现在董事应大喊一声“再少一点”！如果近些年来日益膨胀的薪酬支付水平成为未来薪酬的基准，这简直就是个笑话。薪酬委员会应当回到起点，重新规划蓝图。 手抄原文：  @小雪 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特道出了工会和股东之间的博弈：关于薪酬问题，工会总是想“再多点”，股东总是想“再少点”。巴菲特认为，多少都不是关键，关键是高管做出的成绩，要对得起他拿的奖金。
8 Day152：风控管理的最终责任人 巴神原文：Charlie and I believe that a CEO must not delegate risk control. It’s simply too important. At Berkshire, I both initiate and monitor every derivatives contract on our books, with the exception of operations-related contracts at a few of our subsidiaries, such as MidAmerican, and the minor runoff contracts at General Re. If Berkshire ever gets in trouble, it will be my fault. It will not be because of misjudgments made by a Risk Committee or Chief Risk Officer. In my view a board of directors of a huge financial institution is derelict if it does not insist that its CEO bear full responsibility for risk control. If he’s incapable of handling that job, he should look for other employment. And if he fails at it — with the government thereupon required to step in with funds or guarantees — the financial consequences for him and his board should be severe. 英文释义：1.“delegate”意为“代表”，此处是指授权给下级； 2.“initiate”意为“开始”；“monitor”意为“检查”；“derivatives”意为“衍生品”；“exception”意为“例外”；“minor”意为“少数的”；“runoff”意为“决胜赛”，此处是指保险的续存业务； 3.“derelict”意为“被遗弃的”； 4.“thereupon”意为“随即”； 5.“severe”意为“严峻的”。 投资解读：我和芒格坚信，CEO千万不要将风控管理交给别人负责，因为它简直太重要了！在伯克希尔，由我来负责启动和监控账簿上的每一款衍生品合同。唯一例外的是我们极个别子公司（如中美能源）的运营合同，以及通用再保险的少量续存合同。如果伯克希尔陷入困境，那将是我的责任。我们不会归咎于风险委员会或首席风险官的误判。 在我看来，如果一家大型金融机构没有让CEO对风控负全责，那么其董事会就形同虚设。如果CEO没有能力胜任岗位，他就应当另谋高就。如果CEO没能做好风控，政府随即被迫向公司提供援助或担保，那么他和董事会面临的财务状况就会非常严峻。 手抄原文：  @Linda 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特强调，CEO是公司风控管理的第一责任人。出了任何风险事故，CEO都不能径自甩锅给风险管理委员会或首席风险官，而要担起领导之责。 9 Day153：企业与高管迥然不同的命运 巴神原文：It has not been shareholders who have botched the operations of some of our country’s largest financial institutions. Yet they have borne the burden, with 90% or more of the value of their holdings wiped out in most cases of failure. Collectively, they have lost more than $500 billion in just the four largest financial fiascos of the last two years. To say these owners have been “bailed-out” is to make a mockery of the term. The CEOs and directors of the failed companies, however, have largely gone unscathed. Their fortunes may have been diminished by the disasters they oversaw, but they still live in grand style. It is the behavior of these CEOs and directors that needs to be changed: If their institutions and the country are harmed by their recklessness, they should pay a heavy price — one not reimbursable by the companies they’ve damaged nor by insurance. CEOs and, in many cases, directors have long benefitted from oversized financial carrots; some meaningful sticks now need to be part of their employment picture as well. 英文释义：1.“botched”意为“做事糟糕”、“一团糟的”； 2.“borne”意为“忍受”；“wiped out”意为“精疲力竭”； 3.“collectively”意为“总的来说”；“fiascos”意为“惨败”； 4.“bailed-out”意为“救助”；“mockery”意为“嘲笑”； 5.“unscathed”意为“毫发无损的”； 6.“oversaw”意为“监督”； 7.“recklessness”意为“粗心大意”； 8.“reimbursable”意为“可偿还的”。 投资解读：美国最大的一些金融机构，其运营并不是被股东搞得一团糟的。然而，最后却是由股东来“背锅”。在大多数失败的案例中，股东的持仓市值损失了90%甚至更多。总的来说，在过去两年，四起最大的金融“大败局”给股东造成了超过5000亿美元的损失。说这些股东“获得救助”，简直是滑天下之大稽。 然而，这些遭受失败的企业，其CEO和董事却基本上毫发无损。他们的财富本应随着他们目睹的金融灾难而缩水，但是他们却依然过着衣食无忧的生活。我们需要改变这些CEO和董事的行为方式：如果他们的草率给机构和国家造成伤害，他们必须付出沉重的代价。这一代价不应由被他们伤害的企业或者保险公司来承担。在很多时候，CEO和董事赚钱了就获得巨额奖金，现在我们希望他们亏钱了也能受到相应的惩罚。 手抄原文：  @淡事 打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，巴菲特强调：高管和董事造成的损失，不应由股东来“背锅”。对高管和董事的薪酬考核，要做到“奖优罚劣，奖罚分明”。
10 Day154：巴菲特致经理人的信 巴神原文：This is my biennial letter to reemphasize Berkshire’s top priority which is that all of us continue to zealously guard Berkshire’s reputation. We can’t be perfect but we can try to be. As I’ve said in these memos for more than 25 years: “We can afford to lose money — even a lot of money. But we can’t afford to lose reputation — even a shred of reputation.” We must continue to measure every act against not only what is legal but also what we would be happy to have written about on the front page of a national newspaper in an article written by an unfriendly but intelligent reporter. Sometimes your associates will say “Everybody else is doing it.” This rationale is almost always a bad one if it is the main justification for a business action. It is totally unacceptable when evaluating a moral decision. Whenever somebody offers that phrase as a rationale, in effect they are saying that they can’t come up with a good reason. If anyone gives this explanation, tell them to try using it with a reporter or a judge and see how far it gets them. 英文释义：1.“biennial”意为“两年一次的”；“zealously”意为“积极地”； 2.“shred”意为“极少量”； 3.“rationale”意为“基本原理”。 投资解读：这是我每两年一度的信，旨在强调伯克希尔的最高原则，那就是：我们所有人都要继续积极地守护伯克希尔的荣誉。我们也许并不完美，但我们却心向往之。“我们可以损失金钱，哪怕是亿万财富也在所不惜；但我们绝不能损失声誉，哪怕一丝一毫也不可以。”上面这句话，我至少说过25个年头啦。 我们必须继续坚持这条原则，以此作为我们一切行动的准绳：我们做的每件事，不仅仅要遵守法律，还要考虑到——如果一位不太友善但很聪明的记者，写了一篇关于我们的报道，发表在一份全国性报纸的头版头条，我们会不会乐见其文？ 有时你的同事会说：“别人都是这么做的。”如果以此作为商业活动的评价标准，那就糟糕透了。当评价一项决策是否道德时，“法不责众”的想法是完全不可接受的。无论什么时候，如果有人以此作为行事准则，事实上他们是在说，他们编不出合适的理由。如果任何人给出这种解释，告诉他们：试试从记者或法官的角度衡量，看看离他们要求的差距有多远。 手抄原文：  我的打卡作品 大声朗读：大家请自由发挥，哈哈哈！大家的手抄原文，也可以在评论区上传打卡。今天的内容，有巴菲特的很多著名金句，大家可以好好品味一番。
11 荐书
冠亚说 从2016年开通公众号以来，我一直保持着写作的习惯。现在每逢下笔，写到1000字的时候，就发现才刚刚写了个开头。遥想当年的中考作文，只要写600字的篇幅，却有很多同学抓耳挠腮，无处下笔。无他，只怪平时积累太少。 |
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