The way to become rich is to put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket.
We regard using [a stock's] volatility as a measure of risk is nuts. Risk to us is 1) the risk of permanent loss of capital, or 2) the risk of inadequate return. Some great businesses have very volatile returns - for example, See's [a candy company owned by Berkshire] usually loses money in two quarters of each year - and some terrible businesses can have steady results.
While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially I consider it an impossibility.
We can afford to lose money - even a lot of money. But we can't afford to lose reputation - even a shred of reputation.
Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing.
Starting a business is not for everyone. Starting a business - I'd say, number one is have a high pain threshold.
There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
When people come and invest in India, they invest on a certain premise, and the fact that the very premise can change worries them a lot.
Being an entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. It is a high-risk, high-reward proposition.
The actions of hedge fund managers in exercising their fiduciary responsibilities to their investors is not the reason why Chrysler is in jeopardy.
All economic activity is by definition "high risk." And defending yesterday--that is, not innovating--is far more risky than making tomorrow.
True entrepreneurs have to really forego almost everything; they have to put it all on the line.
Our experience is that it is not terribly difficult to do business in China. But the issue is, how much stability do you have in terms of what you negotiate up front and when you've got your feet and your investments on the ground.
The U.K.'s reputation as a business destination will suffer if its authorities cannot be relied on to enforce the law.
Over the very long term, history shows that the chances of any business surviving in a manner agreeable to a company's owners are slim at best.
We have found in a long life that one competitor is frequently enough to ruin a business.
When I was president of the company, I said, 'Okay, I can do this - piece of cake.' Then when you are the CEO, the responsibilities multiply enormously because you worry about everything.
You can enforce a contract in China, but not through the legal route. You have to put pressure on in various ways.
That cotton trade was almost the deal breaker for me. It was at that point that I said, “Mr. Stupid, why risk everything on one trade? Why not make your life a pursuit of happiness rather than pain?
Every business makes big mistakes along the way.
Movie promotions - as with all business, it is an important part of any release because of the inherent high financial risk, and sometimes they tend to equal anywhere between half or three times the production budget.
When you lose control of risk at a financial institution, you do a variety of unfortunate credit extensions or purchases - and all of a sudden, you've blown up your business.
I was terrified the first time that I had a big problem in my business. I was obviously terrified when they diagnosed me with cancer in 1994. I was terrified when my son used to drive too fast. But I do believe in the fact that fear is not an option, so I always try to face it and not be afraid.
I'm generally risk averse, and most great entrepreneurs I know are as well.
Uncertainty about sales impedes business planning and could harm capital formation just as much as uncertainty about inflation can create uncertainty about relative prices and harm business planning.
