Subtitles section Play video Print subtitles STATION TEN. >> HI,ARREN, HI, CHARLIE MY NAME IS ANDERSON FULLER, AND I'M FROM DAVENPORT, NOVA SCOTIA, IN CANADA. BEFORE I ASK MY QUESTION, I NT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUE DONE TO GIVE US INSIGHT INTO YOUR GUYS' EMASIS AND SUCCESSFUL UR USE OF PROPERLY ALIGNED INCENTIVES IN MY VIEW, OWNING AND LEADING A BUSINE HAS TWO CENTRAL BENEFITS FIT, YOU DIRECTLY BENEFIT AS THE MPANY GOES THROUGH YOUR EQUITY IN IT, AND SECOND, YOU HAVE AUTONOMY. INCENTIVES FOR EMPLOYEES ARE A BIT EAER TO UNDERSTAND SUCAS OFFERING BENEFITS, FAIR PAY, AND CREATING A STRONG CULTURE. UNDERSTAND THEM AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. EVENHOUGH YOU SAY BERKSHIRE GIVES ITS MANAGERS SIGNIFICA FLEXIBILITY, IT MUST BE LESS THAN WHAT THEY H WHEN THEY RE INDEPENDENT ADDITIONALLY, YOU WOULD THIN PASSION AND A WILLINGNESS TO SELL WOU BE INVERSELY CORRELATED SO HOW EXACTLY DOES BERKSHIRE BRIDGE TS GAP AND INCENTIVE OWNERS OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES TO GI UP THESE BENEFITS TO BERKSHIRE? THANK YOU. >> WHAT WE REALLY HOPE TO FIND IS MANAGERS WHO LOVE THEIR BUSINESS BUT DON'T LIKE A LOT OF WHAT COMES WITH IT AA PUBLIC COMPANY. MEAN, IF THEY HAVE TO END A LOT OF TIME LISTENING TO PPLE TELL THEM WHAT TO DO ABOUT THIS OR TT, AND THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO IRRITE THEM OR THEY HAVE TO GO ALONG WITH THR TRADE ASSOCIATION, WHATEVER THEY MAY CALL IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T WANT TOOOK LIKE A FREE RIDER, THE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS, COMPROMISES THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE IN ST JOBS. AND CHARLIE AND I SOLVED THAT PRLEM. I HAD FIVE BOSSES INY LIFE AND I LIKED ALL FIVE OF THEM, D TWO OF THEM WERE JUST HUGE FACTORS MAKING MY LIFE BETTER BUT I LIKED ALL FIVE OF THEM A COUPLE OF THEM WERE -- SOME PEOPLE AT JJCPENNEY, COOPER SMET SMITH, I LOVED WORKING AT -- I DIDN'T LE PARKING AT PENNEY'S, BUT I LOVED WORKFOR COOPER HOURH AND, YOU KNOW,5 CENTS AN BUT I HAD -- I HAD TO DO WHAT THEY TOLD ME TO DO WHICH WAS TO SELL MEN'S SHIRTS FIRST, THEN MEN ALLEGES CLOTHING, THEN CHILDREN'S CLOTHING AND SO ON. AND I LOVED WORKING FOR THE NEWSPAPER. AND I HAD A GREAT MANAGER WHEN I WAS IN NEBRASK GOT TO THE WORK FOR BEN GRAHAM I MEAN, EVERYTHING WORKED OUT, T -- THERE'S NOTHING LIKE WORKING FOR YOURSELF AND IF YOU CAN'TWN A BIG COMPANY, WORKING AT BERKIRE HATHAWAY AND RUNNING A COMPANY IS THE CLOSEST THING YOU WILL GET. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND TIME COURTING ANALYS WHO YOU'LL PROBABLY HAVE CONTEMPT FOR IN MANY CASES YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND ME WITH BANKS, YOU KNOW, GETTING MONEY AND PARTICULARLY IN TERRIBLE TIM THERE'S ALL KINDS OF -- YOU GET A LOT IN THE WAY OF FREEDOM. I WOULD THINK WOULD BE MEANGFUL TO ME, AND MIGHT BE BETTER IF YOU OWNED THE WHOLE PLE YOURSELF BUT MAYBE YOU'VE GOT SIBLINGS THAT -- THERE'S A MILLION REASONS Y YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO ACHIEVEHAT UNLESS YOU SL THEM TO BERKSHIRE. THAT'S EASIER PROBABLY IF THEY HAVE A FAMILY BUSINE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO GO IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS THAN IT IS FOR THE PUBLIC COMPANY BUT THERE'S STILL POSSIBILITIES THERE. SO THAT'S -- THAT'S WHY -- THAT'S WHY I THINK IF I OWNED A PUBLIC COMPANY AND IT WAS WORTH GREAT MANY BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY WANTED BUY IT, AND THE SHAREHOLDERS WERE WILLING TO VOTET, I WOULD, YOU KNOW, CONSIDER THE WAY I WOULD FEEL ABOUT LIFE. FOR ONE THING, I WOULDN'T WANT TO RETIRE AT 65. I'D WANT TO KEEP WORKING AND YOU KNOWWE -- WE JUST -- THERARE REASONS TO SELL TO BERKSHIRE WHICH CHARLIE AND I IN CERTAIN POSITIONS IF WE WERE ON THE OTHER SIDE WOULD TAKE THE DEAL BUT IT ISN'T FOR EVERYBODY CHARLIE? >> I THINK WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD ONE. WE'VE BEEN VERY LUCKY, AND I THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO END UP THE WAY WE DID, THEY ALMOST ALREADY KNOW HOW TO DO IT. >> THE MOST IMPORTANT PUHASE IN RETROSPECT THAT WE MAY HAVE MADE WAS NATIONAL ENDEMOCRATITY IN NOW BECAUSE SPECIFICALLY WHAT IT LED TO, AND JACK RINGWALD CONTROLLED T COMPANY AND I KNEW HIM AND LIKED HIM, AND HE KNEW ME AND ONCE A YEAR HE'D GET IRRITATED WHEN T NEBRASKA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE OR SOMEBODY WOULD COME AROUND AND ID -- THEY ALWAYS CAME AROUND WHEN THE RACE TRACK WAS OPEN HE H ALL THESE THEORIES ABOUT WHY IT WAS A PAIN IN THE NECK TO AND I -- AND I TOLD CHARLIE HYDER NEXT TIME JACK IS IN THAT MOOD WHERE HE'S READY TO SELL JUST BECAUSE HE'S TIRED OF FOOLING AROUND WITH ALL THES GUYS, BE SURE AND FIND HIM AND SO CHARLIE CALLED ME ONE DAY, AND HE SAYS JACK IS I HEAT, I SAID BRING HEM IM OVER WE MADE A DEAL HE WAS HPY AFTER WE MADE THE DEAL I WAS HAPPY AFTER WE MADE THE AL TO CONTROL THE BUSINESS, THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T SEEM TO BOTHER THEM AS MUCH ONCE THEY WERE MY PROBLEM AND NOT HIS. AND YOU JUSTAN'T TELL WHEN LIGHTNING WILL STRIKE. AND THAT DIDN'T DO MAGNIFICENT THINGS FOR UINITIALLY, BUT JUST LOOAT WHAT IT LED TO, YOU