When asked why he didn’t invest in technology stocks, Warren Buffett famously replied that he didn’t invest in companies he didn’t understand. He now admits that might have been a mistake.
Through his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett’s been bulking up on two of the biggest names in tech: Amazon and Apple. Berkshire is now one of Apple’s biggest shareholders, with a stake worth about $40 billion. But Buffett’s change of heart doesn’t just have financial implications. Experts say the famed investor’s reversal is indicative of his learning agility and adaptability, in this case recognizing that the world has changed and adjusting his philosophy to take advantage of it.
“The most effective and innovative leaders have a potent, paradoxical mixture of both confidence and humility,” says Kevin Cashman, global leader for CEO and executive development at Korn Ferry. “Confidence allows us to follow the contrarian view required to innovate and invest with creativity, while humility allows us to admit mistakes, learn, and pivot to changing realities.”
