Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway offers three rules for a successful career

| 29 Aug 2017

Mr Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, offers some straightforward career advice.

Berkshire, the American multinational conglomerate holding company, is of course best known for its control and leadership by Mr Warren Buffett, the company’s Chairman, President & CEO. They have been long term business partners and are regarded as some of the world’s most successful investors.


Photo credit: Creative Commons

Mr Munger’s three rules for a career:

  1. Don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself.
  2. Don’t work for anyone you don’t respect and admire.
  3. Work only with people you enjoy.

In many aspects, these rules apply to having a successful as an insurance adviser or agency leader in the insurance industry. Here are some thoughts when applying Mr Munger’s career advice:

Don’t sell anything you wouldn’t buy yourself
There are plenty of insurance and financial products offered by your company and in the market. If you do not understand or believe in the product, do not sell it. Putting yourself in your client’s shoes, if you would not purchase the product, do not recommend it.

Great insurance advisers always place the interests of their clients at the centre of what they do and believe in the products that they recommend for a long-term win-win relationship.

Don’t work for anyone you don’t respect and admire
If you are looking for an agency leader to join, make sure that he or she is someone you look up to and wish to emulate. Some people achieve success through a “success at all costs” mentality. Others may opt to help others along the way or pursue success holistically even if it means taking a longer time.

Success comes in many forms, make sure you work for and work with someone you respect and admire.

Work only with people you enjoy
When and if you embark on the journey to move from being an insurance adviser to an agency leader, recruitment often feels daunting in the initial stages. It may be tempting to recruit just about anybody who shows the slightest interest even if deep inside you feel that you will not enjoy working with this person. But doing so may do more harm than good as the wrong recruit may disrupt your team synergy and set a toxic team culture which will take a long time to repair.  

When temptation sets in, it is worth remembering to work only with people you enjoy!

Subscribe to AgentsWIN here and get it delivered to your inbox weekly - free