{"id":8303,"date":"2025-12-31T16:57:41","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=8303"},"modified":"2025-12-31T16:57:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T16:57:41","slug":"warren-buffetts-career-advice-to-young-professionals-is-to-hang-out-with-people-better-than-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=8303","title":{"rendered":"Warren Buffett\u2019s career advice to young professionals is to \u2018hang out with people better than you\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Today marks the end of the epic 60-year reign of legendary investor Warren Buffett as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett is placing his trust in his successor, Greg Abel, who will lead the $1.2 trillion empire. But the Oracle of Omaha leaves behind a wealth of knowledge, past learnings, wins and losses\u2014and sage career advice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One piece of lasting career advice from Buffett came during Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s 2004 annual shareholders meeting, when a 14-year-old boy from California posed a question.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat advice would you give a young person like me on how to be successful?” asked Justin Fong, a young shareholder at the time. <\/p>\n

Buffett offered a simple, yet thought-provoking answer: \u201cIt’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.”<\/p>\n

This follows other common leadership advice: surround yourself with people you admire. But Buffett took that advice one step further, saying young professionals should spend time with people who are \u201cbetter\u201d than them, although he didn\u2019t expand on what exactly that meant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Still, Buffett\u2019s former business partner and Berkshire Hathaway vice chairman Charlie Munger echoed the sentiment. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf this gives you a little temporary unpopularity with your peer group, the hell with ’em,\u201d Munger said. <\/p>\n

Buffett said in his final shareholder letter this fall that he\u2019d be \u201cgoing quiet\u201d after his retirement, but his endless career advice will continue to live on.<\/p>\n

What other executives and researchers say about Buffett\u2019s advice<\/h2>\n

Several other executives and successful businesspeople have given similar advice to younger generations: to spend time with people you wish to emulate. <\/p>\n

Billionaire Virgin Atlantic cofounder Richard Branson wrote in a 2023 LinkedIn post that people should surround themselves with people who are \u201csmarter than you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGive them everything they need to grow, and your business will thrive,\u201d he continued. <\/p>\n

Apple cofounder Steve Jobs also gave similar advice in a 1992 lecture, saying it just makes plain sense to hire smart people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Academic research also shows it can be beneficial for working professionals to surround themselves with high achievers. A 2017 study by Northwestern University\u2019s Kellogg School of Management found that sitting within 25 feet of a high performer improved coworkers’ speed or quality by up to 15%, generating an estimated $1 million in annual profits per firm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beautiful part of it is that when we put these people together, they\u2019re not going to materially suffer on the area of strength,\u201d said Dylan Minor, one of the researchers on the study and a former Kellogg faculty member. \u201cThey\u2019re only going to improve on their area of weakness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Researchers surveyed more than 2,000 tech workers for the study, and call this phenomenon \u201cpositive spillover,\u201d but also warned it can work in the opposite way, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce a toxic person shows up next to you, your risk of becoming toxic yourself has gone up,\u201d Minor warned. With toxic workers, \u201cwe see their imprint and negative effect across an entire floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com<\/p>\n

#Warren #Buffetts #career #advice #young #professionals #hang #people<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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