https://youtu.be/1CCcheNC1sw
Do you wish to become friends and have influence with your pastor, boss, the successful head coach, or perhaps someone with a very large platform? If so, the following story is for you.
A July 5, 1991 meeting between two business titans became the catalyst for an enduring friendship which changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Interestingly, it almost never happened.
On that summer day, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates was invited to meet with the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett at the Gates family home. He was reluctant to do so because he did not have much interest in discussing the buying and selling of stocks. After all, he was too busy running Microsoft. However, when pressed by his mother Mary, Gates acquiesced.
Once Gates arrived, both men immediately connected on multiple levels and knew they would become best friends. As I listened to their January 29, 2017 Columbia University interview with Charlie Rose shown above, I discovered the following 6 Things High Profile Leaders Want In A Friend:
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Are Curious – They discovered they had the a similar reason for their success – curiosity.
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Are Continual Learners – Both are readers. Buffett spends 5-6 hours a day reading. Gates told Rose, “It is an incredible time to be a learner.”
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Value Hard Work – Nothing came easy for either. Both work very hard.
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Understand The Value Of Time – Neither is interested in frivolous things.
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Are Optimists – Both are positive individuals and possibility thinkers.
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Are Focused – Both are extremely focused. During their initial meeting, Bill’s dad asked each to right down the one word to help them most. Each wrote the word “Focus”.
When asked by Rose what makes the friendship with Gates so strong, Buffett said, “I wanted people with similar values, similar objectives, (people who could) pour in intelligence, energy and their own funds. – every life is of equal value, (people who) see the world as I do. They want meaning and persuasive powers and getting many governments and people involved.”
As I break down his statement I gleaned 7 Additional Things High Profile Leaders Want In A Friend:
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People With Similar Values
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People With Similar Objectives
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Are Smart
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Give Them Energy Rather Than Suck Energy Out Of Them
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Don’t Want Anything From Them
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Can Connect Them With Other High Profile Leaders
- High Profile Leaders Want To Form Friendships With People Who Can Make A Difference In The Lives Of Others
As I watched these two iconic leaders interact, I want to also add that What High Profile Leaders Want In A Friend Is Someone Who Makes Them Laugh and They Can Have Fun With.
Regarding the subject of friendship, Buffett added, “You move in the direction of the people you associate with. Therefore, you should move towards people you who represent what you would like to be. The friends you have will form you. Make good friends and keep them for the rest of your life.”
The following are 4 lessons I take from Buffett on the subject of friendship:
- You become like the people you hang around.
- Therefore, you should strive to build strong friendships with people who are representative of the type of person you wish to become.
- Conversely, you should strive to become the type of person others wish to build a friendship with.
- You should keep friends like this for a lifetime.
So what happens when high profile leaders form strong friendships?
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the world’s largest philanthropic organization. Their desire to bring innovation to help the world’s poorest and most under-resourced individuals. As a result, 86% of the world’s children now have access to vaccines.
In the form of Berkshire Hathaway shares, Buffett signed papers that give $31 billion of his fortune to fund the Gates Foundation’s work in fighting infectious diseases and reforming education. Over time, most of his $44 billion in stock holdings will be given to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
As they witnessed the power of partnership, Gates and Buffett invited other high profile leaders into this process. Today through The Giving Pledge initiative, 156 billionaires are pooling their resources to solve the world’s most pressing issues.
What is one thing you learned from this list which can help you build a strong friendship with a high profile leader?