<<<<The railroad is next to be fixed.
......
I look for a leaner, and for certain, meaner BRK to display latent earnings potential in the years ahead.
Charlie and Warren were not operators, but Abel is.>>>>>

Indeed the positive side of the upcoming change, even acknowledged by Warren. We know his distaste for taking bad news, especially big bad news downwards.

In fact, at the annual meeting, my ears perked up wide and caught something Abel said when answering a question about the railroad's cost problem.

"What BNSF needs is a culture of continuous cost reduction, not based on coal or oil of lumber loadings in the current period." aka Lean culture.

Prior answers on this subject in previous meetings were of the variety "We are adjusting the costs to the current demand" - or such bromide. Wall Street driven companies pander to the rallying cries for organ replacement, amputations and such.

This was music to my ears.