243Conclusion: The V Culture
R
eaders with an arbitrage orientation may regret that the exem-
plars of great modern CEOs covered in the last chapter, apart
from Warren Buffett, consist of one who is dead, one who has an-
nounced his retirement, and only one who is likely to reign for the
foreseeable future. Who’s next, and why not name them?
If I knew, I would not say. Not so much because I want to gain
a competitive edge. No, my reticence is precisely because of an in-
sight in this book: Judgment is the key, and my judgment will invar-
iably differ from yours. Our circles of competence are necessarily
different. Our interpretation of the past differs, and our prognosis
for the future must as well. It contradicts the whole point of this
boo kfor me to tell you who I believe are the up-and-coming star
CEOs. My picks are irrelevant to your judgments.
Go bac kto the masters mentioned in Chapter 1 and you’ll see
that it was precisely their independence of thought, their utter and
profound common sense, which led to their remarkable success. I
condense these ideas and insights in the spirit of a teacher and pro-
fessor, not an investment adviser. I hope you’ll use these pages as a
foundation for picking stocks as a savvy, sophisticated investor (or,
failing that, picking advisers who share respect for the basic philos-
ophy of outstanding investors such as Graham and Buffett).
The basic philosophy of business analysis investing integrates
three branches: finance, accounting, and governance. Finance is
commonly defined as “the science of management of money and
other assets.” So much for this definition, if you agree that finance
is one part science and the other part art. Behavioral economics, a
field that draws on numerous disciplines, including psychology, sta-
tistics, history, and sociology, may deserve to be called a social sci-Copyright 2001 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use