Staying on my Warren Buffet topic from yesterday I thought I’d post another interesting piece of Buffett news. This is a few months old, but, since nothing has come of it yet I figured it would make a nice update. A few months back Warren Buffett announced that he will be seeking to hire a “replacement” for himself. Obviously the new person will have to meet extremely high standards in order to actually replace what Buffet brings to the table.

Buffet stated that the ideal candidate should be somebody who can “avoid serious risks, including those never before encountered”. Somebody who is independent thinking, emotionally stable, as well as having a keen understanding of both human and institutional behavior.

This got me thinking. If the world’s second richest man is looking for those traits in the next “Buffett”, these are traits that I want to work on for myself. Of course I don’t plan on applying for his “apprentice” position, but even so, if those are the traits he is looking for in his ideal replacement candidate, then obviously those are traits that he feels will be necessary in an individual in order to get the job done. As the world’s second richest man, any traits that he feels are needed are traits that I want to pay attention to.

I agree with the traits he is looking for. Avoiding serious risks is always a good thing. Basically he is looking for somebody who isn’t afraid to try new things, but, has the common sense to not necessarily be the first guinea pig. Independent thinking will be important as the company continues to expand it’s investments and market reach. He will need somebody who can come up with new strategies and ideas while staying away from serious risks. Both of these traits tie into emotional stability. If you aren’t able to control your emotions and keep a solid head on your shoulders then high level investment is probably not for you. In order to make the best decisions, you would need to be able to think constructively at all times, while putting your emotions on the shelf. In order to follow and make decisions based on human and institutional behaviors, the ideal candidate will need to exhibit all of the above traits to a “T” and maybe then some. These traits are not simply beneficial for the next Warren Buffett, but for anybody in business today. I recommend taking time to evaluate your own positive and negative traits and see how you match up.

Source: CNN