Buffett believes that bad habits, such as irrational behaviour, are not inborn but are developed at a young age, and become harder to dislodge with advancing years.
Stuck in their ways
Middle-aged managers are frequently guilty of stubbornly refusing to make changes that would provide great benefits and even avert disaster. They become stuck in a mental bahit or "mind-set". These fixed attitudes are often revealed in ritual phrases, such as:
* "That's not the way we do things around here."
* "If that is such a good idea, why isn't anybody else doing it?"
* "That's been tried before, and it didn't work."
Reject such statements as denials of rationality. They prevent serious, rational investigation that might lead to change for people who irrationally prefer an unsatisfactory status quo.
Develop your strengths
Whatever your age, welcome positive change and use Buffett's "role model" plan to align your performance to that of your hero. There is no reason why even the old dogs cannot learn new tricks.
Role Model Plan
Choose the person you most admire.
Write down why you admire them.
Choose the person you most dislike.
Write down why you dislike them.
Imitate the qualities of the role model.
Never imitate the qualities of your anti-hero.
Role models are useful for everybody, but always remember that you have innate and unique strengths and weknesses; only an identical twin has the same genes. Your genetic inheritance determines your personality as well as your physique. You can improve both with practice and techniques as long as you are honest with yourself about your qualities. Try to be objective and seek to build on your strengths and minimize your weaknesses.
Assess Your Qualities
Which qualities do you admire in yourself?
Which qualities do you dislike most?
How can you strengthen the qualities you admire?
How can you reform the ones you dislike?
Be positive
Being completely honest about yourself is not always easy, especially when it comes to acknowledging your weaknesses. But do not turn inherited difficulties into impossibilities. It is all too tempting to allow what you consider a flaw in your personality or a weakness in your intellect to prevent you from achieving a desired goal.
Remember that:
* The fact that you find learning foreign languages difficult does not mean that you cannot learn one.
* The fact that financial figuring comes hard does not mean that you cannot master accounts, budgets and balance sheets.
* The fact thtat you often act impulsively and emotionally does not mean that you cannot learn to act rationally at all, or at least most times.
Overcoming Your Weaknesses
Slow learners need more time but if allowed they can learn well enough to excel. Taking your weak areas as opportunities can turn them into strengths.
The owner-manager of a company wanted to hand over management to his top-performing sales director who was "figure-blind". So, the boss made the director draw up budgets and management accounts, even though this resulted in lost sales revenue while the man wrestled with the figures. But he learnt, and made a fortune for his old boss as a manager whose grasp of accounts became one of his key strengths.
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