"The business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective"
About this Quote
Buffett is needling an entire industry with the politest knife: the MBA ecosystem doesn’t just teach complexity, it pays it. “Reward” is the tell. He’s pointing at incentives, not intelligence. Business schools, consulting firms, even corporate promotion ladders tend to prize what can be credentialed and displayed: dense frameworks, elaborate models, jargon that sounds like control. Complexity photographs well. It fills slides. It creates the aura of expertise that justifies high fees and high status.
Buffett’s subtext is that this is often theater. Simple behavior, in his world, is not simplistic; it’s disciplined. Buy wonderful businesses at fair prices. Keep costs low. Avoid leverage you don’t need. Stay within your circle of competence. Wait. None of that is sexy, and none of it flatters the performer. It’s also harder to sell because it offers fewer moving parts to point at when things go wrong.
The line works because it exposes a cultural mismatch between learning and doing. Schools train you to look busy and sophisticated; markets reward outcomes, patience, and clear thinking under uncertainty. Complexity feels like progress because it gives you something to tweak. Simplicity feels like stagnation because it often looks like “doing nothing.” Buffett’s jab lands in an era of financial engineering and quarterly storytelling, where elaborate narratives can temporarily substitute for durable results.
He isn’t arguing against rigor. He’s warning that when complexity becomes the badge of competence, organizations start optimizing for impressive behavior instead of effective behavior. That’s how smart people build fragile systems and call it strategy.
Buffett’s subtext is that this is often theater. Simple behavior, in his world, is not simplistic; it’s disciplined. Buy wonderful businesses at fair prices. Keep costs low. Avoid leverage you don’t need. Stay within your circle of competence. Wait. None of that is sexy, and none of it flatters the performer. It’s also harder to sell because it offers fewer moving parts to point at when things go wrong.
The line works because it exposes a cultural mismatch between learning and doing. Schools train you to look busy and sophisticated; markets reward outcomes, patience, and clear thinking under uncertainty. Complexity feels like progress because it gives you something to tweak. Simplicity feels like stagnation because it often looks like “doing nothing.” Buffett’s jab lands in an era of financial engineering and quarterly storytelling, where elaborate narratives can temporarily substitute for durable results.
He isn’t arguing against rigor. He’s warning that when complexity becomes the badge of competence, organizations start optimizing for impressive behavior instead of effective behavior. That’s how smart people build fragile systems and call it strategy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Decision-Making |
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