Tributum Newsletter #57

Hello

Close but no cigar, again. While many would not have given the Proteas a chance to reach the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup, they produced some good cricket to reach the top 4, just to fall at the second last hurdle to old foe Australia…it is hard to lose. But it’s also hard to win…just ask Siya and Rassie.

And until 29 November the newsletter was dealing with that issue – life is hard. Like peanut brittle it can break your teeth, but you have to keep on chewing. Then Charlie Munger died at the ripe age of 99.

Hopefully not too many of you went “Who?”. He was the right-hand man to Warren Buffet. They were almost inseparable, both at business and as friends.  For more than 60 years they steered the Berkshire Hathaway ship, not always agreeing on the day to day, but always in agreement with the long-term strategy and vision. And they were friends.

Over and above the many business and life musings that Charlie (and Warren Buffet) shared, and which undoubtedly will now again make its rounds on social media, there are two lessons I take away from their symbiotic relationship:

First, you need true friends. And if you can have one for life that’s even better. Friends who believe in you, but who also question you. Who challenge you, not for argument’s sake, but for you to be better. Like iron forges iron, so friends shape should shape each other.

Secondly, things that are valuable are worth time. Easy come, easy go. Nothing worthwhile appears in an instant. Diamonds and pearls take years to form, that beautiful sunset took around 12 hours to arrive after sunrise, with your living and breathing in between (how did you fill those many sixty seconds?). Reading a good book or cooking and eating a good meal. And yes, building that friendship. It takes time and effort.

In this instant gratification, get rich quick and “everyone I connect with is my friend” world the values of real friendship (in business and in life) and patience displayed by Charlie Munger seems out of place and useless…and that is why I think they are even more important. It an antidote to today’s diseases of fatigue and loneliness.

Because the more and faster we are gratified the more tired we seem to get by chasing the next dopamine hit, and the more connections we have the lonelier we seem as many of them have no meaning. A

As the festive season nears maybe it’s time to refocus on some of those real friendships and relationships, and for 2024 maybe we need to rethink what is really worth our effort and time while knowing that part of the joy is in the journey, not just the result. Until next time, keep breathing.