The usual requirement for an acquisition is that there be management already in place that is deemed smart, hard working (read: full time) and trustworthy. As the witty saying goes, if you don't have the third one you don't actually want the first two...no applicability here, I just enjoy the quip.


This is certainly part of Berkshire lore, as it has often been said by Buffett. For example:

"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.

You think about it, it’s true. If you hire somebody without the first, you really want them dumb and lazy."

This quote appeared in the Omaha World Herald, after a talk Buffett gave in 1994 to students at the Business School of Columbia University. Apparently Buffett has said he did not invent the aphorism, but didn't say where he got it from. quoteinvestigator.com - Three qualities

And here's another similar version, that he said a year later to another group of students:

"We look for three things when we hire people. We look for intelligence, we look for initiative or energy, and we look for integrity. And if they don't have the latter, the first two will kill you, because if you're going to get someone without integrity, you want them lazy and dumb."
inc.com - Warren buffett says if you hire somebody without this trait you really want them to be dumb lazy

DTB