Warren Buffet’s best investment 📈💥
I don’t know about you, but when I think of Warren Buffett, I picture analytical genius, financial mastery, and a legendary calm in decision-making… Back in 2008, working at a hedge fund, I got to watch my firm make a big bet with Buffett, gracing the cover of Fortune Magazine and making a big splash in the investment management world. (Spoiler alert, we lost). I learned a lot about him during that time, but this week I discovered something that shifted my whole perspective… and made me smile.
Fun fact!
What’s the only diploma Buffett still has on display in his office? Not economics, finance, or business. It’s his 1952 communications diploma from the Dale Carnegie Institute. Out of all of his achievements, THIS is what he chooses to highlight and keep squarely in perspective every day. For someone with so much success that seems clearly linked to stock strategies and market analysis, he emphasizes communication as the one skill he considers irreplaceable.
“You’ve got to be able to communicate in life, and it’s enormously important. Schools, to some extent, underemphasize that. If you can’t communicate and talk to other people and get across your ideas, you’re giving up your potential.” - Warren Buffet
So, according to one of the most successful men on earth, if you can’t communicate effectively, you're giving up your potential.
Connecting the dots
Once I learned about his commitment to developing his communication skills, I started connected some dots. It all made sense! That legendary calm in decision-making that he is known for, I believe it most certainly came from the work he did learning the art of communication! Let me explain…
If you’ve come to any trainings with me you’ve heard me talk about the concept of “internal noise.” It’s those beliefs, doubts, judgments and internal dialogue that cloud our ability to see, hear, think and respond clearly to others, but also to make decisions. Our internal noise is the thief of our clarity.
When you truly master communication, the first thing you learn to do is quiet your internal noise. With that, your interactions stop being reactive. And interestingly, decision-making stops being so stressful. When you know how to identify and address your internal noise, you begin to possess a deeper sense of calm, no matter the storm you might be navigating. It’s like making friends with the monster under the bed, once you befriend your internal dialogue, it can’t hurt you. Then, you can become the leader you intend to be and start having the impact you know you’re capable of. You gain an unshakable centeredness and sense of calm that makes so much more possible — both for you and the people around you.
I’d be willing to bet that Warren’s legendary calm in decision-making, arguably one of the characteristics that landed him in the top 10 richest humans alive, came from his commitment to mastering the art of communication!
Little known results of mastering communication
When we think about working on communication, we think of the words we say to others, but there’s so much more that falls into the bucket of communication and we are entirely unaware of it. (We’re talking about this in the Masterclass I’m running on Dec 5th)! There are so many, lesser known gifts that come with growing your communication skillset. Other than calm and clarity in decision making, here are three more:
Stress management - Like Warren, with self awareness and clarity over your internal dialogue, you stay focused under pressure and can manage your state. Too many leaders project their stressed-out-state onto their people (or their family) unintentionally, which decreases our brains ability to perform. When leaders get the hang of BRAVE communication, I’ve watched them go from being the cause of stress to the antidote, allowing people the opportunity to do their best work.
Confidence, in any conversation - When you know how to read a room, you’re better able to articulate your ideas clearly, in a way that meets people where they are. Remember, the most impactful messages are the ones that LAND. As a leader, that’s on you, not your audience. When you hone your skill in active listening (part of communication and the A in The BRAVE Framework), every interaction becomes an opportunity—not a risk. When you can read the room, shift the energy, and elevate those who need to be heard, anything is possible.
Momentum in execution - Companies always want to move faster. But for some reason they think speed comes from cutting corners in communication. Wrong! Great communication fuels action. In fact, I often describe BRAVE as the flywheel of momentum. When your team understands the vision and feels seen and empowered, things move faster and with greater purpose. Communication directly impacts the velocity of your execution and ability to grow.
So if you want to amplify every other skill you’re working on? Follow Buffett’s lead and make communication your secret weapon.
A framework for action
Communication is more than what meets the eye. It shifts your internal state AND your external state. If you’re not focused on making your interactions BRAVE, you could be unintentionally undermining both what’s going on internally as well as what you see in the people around you. You truly have more control than you think. But it all starts with your inner game.
Before creating BRAVE, I tried so many other communication tools, strategies, theories, books, personality tests, you name it, but they mainly focused on the external. How to reply to this kind of person, what to say when this happens. And inasmuch as the theories worked now and then, they didn’t create the internal shift that made any success repeatable. I didn’t grow. So I was constantly looking for “the next thing” — again notice, I was looking “out there” for the next thing, but the answer was always coming back to working on what’s happening inside of me.
I created the BRAVE framework to give people like us who passionately and relentlessly go after the things we want a step by step guide that uses the internal to create results in the external, to turn goals into reality. Because when you think about it, everything you want is on the other side of a conversation… right?
That’s one of my favorite things about BRAVE, it remedies the surface issues like: improving communication in a remote environment (our masterclass topic on Dec 5th!), having tough conversations, turning around underperformance, resolving conflict, creating necessary things like alignment, buy in, engagement and improving morale during hard times. It also addresses some of the things we don’t talk about often, like: doubting ourselves, wanting to prove our value, judgment, wondering if we’re the kind of person who can make the difference, how to get our needs met, etc. It helps us navigate the internal noise so that we can create an outer world that we’re proud of.
The modern Dale Carnegie?
Might BRAVE be the modern day Dale Carnegie diploma?? (Can I proclaim this myself or does someone else need to say it?) Too bold? Yeah, maybe, but maybe not. Could a BRAVE Certification be the thing that you are most proud of one day? The thing you want to show or tell others about? I already have leaders who say that it is! They tell me that BRAVE gave them the confidence to go after and land the biggest promotion of their life, turn around underperformance that no one else could, deepen the relationship they have with their kids, reinvent their relationship with their partner, rip up divorce papers… I could go on.
The framework is already proudly displayed on so many desks and refrigerators around the world. Dare I say, it’s already the thing that people want to remind themselves of daily, because it makes them better. And we’re just getting started. Move over, Dale! ;)
The quality of your life
Research says that the quality of our life is determined by the quality of our relationships. And think about it, the quality of our relationships are determined by the quality of our conversations. So if sneaky little thoughts like: I don’t have time or I can’t afford to improve my communication crept into your mind, is it actually true? Because it seems like you can’t afford NOT to invest in yourself — in your calm, your confidence, your momentum, your relationships, your impact. Investing in your communication skills is an investment in the quality of your life. I didn’t mean for that to sound like a Mastercard commercial, but honestly, is it not priceless?! ;)
But don’t take it from me, take it from one of the most successful humans on the planet, “If you can’t communicate, you're giving up your potential.” And people like us don’t give up. Thanks, Warren.
Have a great weekend!
Bravely,
Elisabeth
P.S. it would mean the world to me if you forwarded this to someone who might enjoy it... And, if this was forwarded to you, join us for these weekly leadership love notes here :)
P.P.S. Ticket prices for our masterclass rise next week, because we want to reward you for being decisive and committing to yourself and the quality of your life :) Get tickets here!