The Dukedom of Aberdeen 香港仔公國

這是股神畢菲特（Warren Buffett）最近寫給他企業王國巴郡哈撒韋（Berkshire Hathaway Inc.）旗下高層管理人員的備忘錄。今天讀報，新聞說巴郡的股價已突破每股十萬美元。

To: Berkshire Hathaway Managers (”The All-Stars”)

From: Warren E. Buffett

Date: September 27, 2006

The five most dangerous words in business may be “Everybody else is doing it.” A lot of banks and insurance companies have suffered earnings disasters after relying on that rationale.

Even worse have been the consequences from using that phrase to justify the morality of proposed actions. More than 100 companies so far have been drawn into the stock option backdating scandal and the number is sure to go higher. My guess is that a great many of the people involved would not have behaved in the manner they did except for the fact that they felt others were doing so as well. The same goes for all of the accounting gimmicks to manipulate earnings – and deceive investors – that has taken place in recent years.

You would have been happy to have as an executor of your will or your son-in-law most of the people who engaged in these ill-conceived activities. But somewhere along the line they picked up the notion – perhaps suggested to them by their auditor or consultant – that a number of well-respected managers were engaging in such practices and therefore it must be OK to do so. It’s a seductive argument.

But it couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, every time you hear the phrase “Everybody else is doing it” it should raise a huge red flag. Why would somebody offer such a rationale for an act if there were a good reason available? Clearly the advocate harbors at least a small doubt about the act if he utilizes this verbal crutch.

So, at Berkshire, let’s start with what is legal, but always go on to what we would feel comfortable about being printed on the front page of our local paper, and never proceed forward simply on the basis of the fact that other people are doing it.

A final note: Somebody is doing something today at Berkshire that you and I would be unhappy about if we knew of it. That’s inevitable: We now employ well over 200,000 people and the chances of that number getting through the day without any bad behavior occurring is nil. But we can have a huge effect in minimizing such activities by jumping on anything immediately when there is the slightest odor of impropriety. Your attitude on such matters, expressed by behavior as well as words, will be the most important factor in how the culture of your business develops. And culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.

Thanks for your help on this. Berkshire’s reputation is in your hands.

每當你聽到有人說：「他們都是這樣做法。」其實這就是響起了警號。要是他們有更好的理由，何需用上這句借口。

75歲的畢菲特是全球第二最富有的人（第一是Bill Gates）。數月前他把八成半身家捐了給慈善基金，總值達370億美元。

370億美元是多少呢？最近黃子華又做棟篤笑，我買了票卻要上課不能去看。有去的朋友告訴我這樣的一段：370億美元，就是你每天中二千萬港元六合彩金多寶，也要連中二十年才夠此數。子華說：「很累呀，天天都中金多寶，停一天可以嗎？」

其實上面這封備忘錄不過是舊調重彈，好幾年前他就跟他的CEO們說：

We can afford to lose money. We can afford to lose a lot of money. But we cannot afford to lose one shed of our reputation. Make sure everything you do can be reported on the front page of your local newspaper, written by an unfriendly but intelligent reporter.

畢菲特講的其賓不是投資法門，而是最基本最純粹的做人道理，放諸處事待人、愛情倫理，皆合用。