Buffett is one of the world’s wealthiest individuals known for his investment prowess, but it is his integrity and commitment to corporate values that distinguish him as an authentic and effective leader. What I find most prominent about Buffett's leadership is how he employs three key strategies: personable written style, congenial verbal communications, and reinforcement of corporate integrity, to convince and set an example for internal and external stakeholders. Buffett’s investment acumen, integrated with these three rhetorical strategies, educates, influences and directs his audience towards issues of importance, such as social responsibility, as seen in his “Giving Pledge” campaign. Buffett has proved that credible leadership is not …show more content…
By calibrating his discourse, he conveys he is genuinely interested and tuned into the public’s needs by creating an accessible and meaningful experience. In Buffett’s speeches to college students, he uses a familiar opening phrase, “The highlight for me will be getting your questions in a few minutes. I want to talk about what’s on your mind” (YouTube). Buffett’s invitation presents a welcoming tone aimed towards young, impressionable students. Stressing the word ‘your’ disarms any reservations they may have and creates a platform for comfortable dialogue. It sends the message that for Buffett to communicate effectively, he must listen effectively. Consider Buffett’s appearance on the television talk show Charlie Rose as an example. In 2010, Buffett’s donation of 600 million US dollars to "The Giving Pledge” Foundation, headed by Bill and Melinda Gates, garnered massive media attention (GPF). The roundtable discussion featured a dialogue between Rose, Buffett, and the Gateses. Even though the audience is not physically present, Buffett can be seen listening to the rally of philanthropic verbiage that escalates to the point of audience exclusion. Rather than continuing with a parade of accolades, Buffett cleverly steers Gates and Rose towards plain English so as to not exclude viewers on opposite ends of the financial …show more content…
By taking rhetorical strategy to a new level, i.e. by being one who can reach into the deepest of pockets, he can better impact society on a global scale. Following his 2006 pledge to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Lowenstein, 1082), Buffett began targeting America’s billionaires (Rose, 2006). By 2010, the Gates Foundation, alongside Buffett, had enough support to start “The Giving Pledge,” a foundation “inviting the world’s wealthiest individuals” to commit their wealth to bettering society through funding for education and research (TGP, 2017). Buffett’s lead-by-example approach persuades fellow billionaires to follow suit: “I believe somebody in my position, who has everything they could ever want, who has a charmed life… would be mad not to do it” (The Economist). Furthermore, Buffett concludes donors are not “solicited” (Rose, 2010), but rather invited to share personal stories of importance in a casual setting, without pressure (Rose, 2010). This interactive approach removes the shiny exterior of philanthropic giving and instead focuses on relationships and human interactions. Proof of his success is seen on “The Giving Pledge” website, which lists numerous donors together with their reasons for giving. Most impressive is Buffett’s sensitivity to those at the opposite end of the financial spectrum, claiming in a non-condescending tone that one can make a
John P. Kotter, a worldwide famous expert on leadership at Harvard Business School, was a graduate of MIT and Harvard. He joined the Harvard Business School faculty in 1972 and who was voted tenure and a full professorship at the age of thirty-three in 1980. Kotter's honors include an Exxon Award for Innovation in Graduate Business School Curriculum Design and a Johnson, Smith and Knisely Award for New Perspectives in Business Leadership. He again gained the title as the #1 ¡§Leadership Guru¡¨ from a survey for 504 enterprises that was conducted by Business Week magazine. Outline of this book
In June 1889, Andrew Carnegie wrote an article known as, “The Gospel of Wealth,” or “Wealth,” which portrays the responsibility of philanthropy. In the article, Carnegie acknowledges the “three modes in which wealth can be disposed of, which are, “it can be left to the families of the decedents; or it can be bequeathed for public purposes… or, finally, it can be administered by its possessors during their lives…” Moreover, Carnegie believes a rich man shouldn’t leave a fortune to their families and men shouldn’t wait until death to donate money for public uses. In addition, Carnegie (1889) portrays that, the only mode for a rich man to use their fortune is, “to produce the most beneficial results for the community- the man of wealth thus becoming the … agent for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience, and ability to administer; doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves… The man who dies rich dies disgraced,” (doc 8). Nevertheless, Carnegie believes that a man of wealth should donate as much money as possible during his life to become much good in the world while living. This evidence helps explain why Andrew Carnegie was a hero because he acknowledges that a man of wealth should donate to those in need while living which makes Carnegie a courageous
The imperfection of Singer’s solution to end world poverty exceeds its convenience in the average American. While the wealthy is targeted and responsible for the lack of donations to the less fortunate, singer gives poor supporting details in why the wealthy should donate a large portion of their wealth to only help a few individuals for a certain period of time.
“The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” published in the New York Times Magazine is an essay that focuses on convincing the reader to donate their extra income to charities. Singer's solution suggests that every American should stop using their money to buy luxuries but rather donate that money to charities, including UNICEF and over sea aid organizations. The opening of the piece starts with a hypothetical scenario, where Dora is put into a situation where she can choose between gaining extra cash verses saving a child’s life. The essay continues to another scenario where Bob, who is also put into a critical decision making choice, has to choose between saving his valuable car and saving a child’s life. Singer then ties together these scenarios and how
Duane Windsor, via the aforementioned article regarding the future of social responsibility, purports “there are three emerging alternatives or competitors to responsibility: (1) an economic conception of responsibility; (2) global corporate citizenship; and (3) stakeholder management practices (pg. 225).” Windsor first provides a historical reflection of social responsibility beginning in the Progressive Era through the twentieth century and concludes with predictions for the future of corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility, although not widely discussed or defined until post World War II, can be dated back to Ancient Rome as citizens exhibited a sense of civic responsibility. Andrew Carnegie, a man now compared to modern business tycoons/philanthropists such as Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, published this concept in the 19th century. Windsor does note, however, Carnegie’s philanthropic acts and published views followed his extensive success and wealth as a business mogul. Despite early literature discussing the importance of businesses responsibility to societal success rather than solely on shareholder profits, Windsor shares his interpretation of “anti-responsibility trends” in recent literature. He emphasizes, throughout this article, a concern regarding “wealth-oriented practices” dominating the future of corporate social responsibility. Windsor reviews prominent corporate social responsibility theorists who all contributed greatly to the distinctions between responsibility and responsiveness businesses have to ...
Gates’s idea regarding philanthropy due to the fact that upon setting up his foundation in 2000, he already was aware of the widespread criticism of existing programs to help the less fortunate. Moreover, successful programs, such as the Green Revolution, were overshadowed by growing awareness of their negative side effects on the environment and local cultures. Mr. Gates had growing awareness of such limits sparking new ideas on how businesses could approach poor countries. However, there is little evidence of benefit from the $2.3 trillion given in foreign aid over the past five decades. For example, all the aid given to Africa over the years has failed to stimulate economic growth on the continent. One might argue that there are just as many needy individuals in America, why not try to critically think of way to innovate to embody the struggling Americans, rather than poor countries around the
Having great financial success throughout his life, Buffet strives to share his wisdom throughout his essay. Some find Buffet’s claims unreasonable and others agree with him. Experiencing similar worries of business failure as Buffet once did, I have come to conclude, like Buffet, that the financial success of a business is much more a function of the type of business in which you enter, than the way in which you try to operate the business.
1994 is a sharp increase, but even if the growth rate for 1994 is not
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
A wealthy person, with the desire to do well with their fortune, could benefit society in a number of ways. Carnegie has verbally laid a blueprint for the wealthy to build from. His message is simple: Work hard and you will have results; educate yourself, live a meaningful life, and bestow upon others the magnificent jewels life has to offer. He stresses the importance of doing charity during one’s lifetime, and states “…the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was his to administer during life, will pass away ‘unwept, unhonored, and unsung’…” (401). He is saying a wealthy person, with millions at their disposal, should spend their money on the betterment of society, during their lifetime, because it will benefit us all as a race.
Singer’s argument may have swayed many people to donate their dispensable income to children in need despite the fact that it has many fundamental flaws. He argues that we should give away the majority of our earnings to charity. Since Singer wants the reader to donate such a large amount of money, the readers are given no choice but to contribute nothing whatsoever. His solution is not realistic and does not take into account the long-term financial impact this type of donation contribution system would have on a country’s economy.
Milton Friedman presents a compelling argument in “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits” by arguing that businesses need to focus only on increasing their profits and integrating social responsibility will only hurt them as a company. Since “only people can have responsibilities” (Friedman 52), Friedman argues that businesses as a whole do not have any type of real responsibilities because there is not a singular person for these responsibilities to fall on. Corporate executives are people as well and may feel they have social responsibilities to society but these “are the social responsibilities of individuals, not of business” (51). In terms of corporations, the businessmen are the ones that hold the responsibility of the company. Friedman argues that the only responsibility these managers hold is to those who own the corporation, the shareholders. If the individuals themselves want to contribute to social responsibility they must do it with their own money in their personal lives, but they should not use social responsibility in
Entering the world of entrepreneurship opens up a world of opportunities for businessmen. One of these people is Warren Buffett, who through investments and partnerships has become one of the richest men and one of the most inspirational people on this planet. His investments, philosophy and philanthropic work have made him a leader and an admirable person in the business world.
The significance of Richard Branson’s leadership is illustrated in the success of his company. Branson’s leadership sets the to...
"Bill Gates is a modern business phenomenon: the greatest of the cyber-tycoons. His is not simply a story of technical brilliance and enormous wealth; it is one of remarkable business vision and an obsessive desire to win. It is also about a leadership style that is radically different to anything the business world has seen before."