I'll put up some of the better transcripts that start to appear over the next few days, but until then, here are a few highlights from the notes that I took during the meeting. These are based on my scribbling and aren't exact quotes, just summaries of what I thought were interesting remarks.
Munger: People accomplish more if they pick their spots for public disapproval. You should be suspect of people that go around shouting their disapproval about everything.
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Buffett: Charlie and I view our cost of capital as what can be produced by our second best idea.
Munger: I've never heard an intelligent cost of capital discussion. Warren's way of having every dollar retained having to produce at least a dollar of market value is the best way to describe our cost of capital. But that's not what people mean when they say it, especially in business schools. But it's simple; our way is right and their's is wrong.
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Munger: If there's any secret at Berkshire, it's that we're pretty good at ignorance removal [i.e. learning machines]. We were pretty stupid when we bought Sees [because we almost said no]....we were just barely smart enough to buy it. Sees' main contribution to Berkshire was some ignorance removal [i.e. taught them first hand the value of a great brand and a great business].
Munger: We've been quite good at both removing ignorance and scrambling out of mistakes. Both are quite useful. [He used Diversified Retailing and Berkshire textile mills as examples of scrambling out of mistakes].
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Buffett: I've ventured outside of my circle of competence in retail more than anywhere else. It's easy to think you understand a certain retail business and then find out you don't.
Munger: Competency is a relative thing. What I needed to get ahead was to compete against idiots. And luckily there's a large supply.
Buffett: When trying to learn an industry, I'd talk to maybe 8-10 CEOs to help gain an understanding, and then I'd also ask them: 1) If they had to put all of their money in one company in their industry and couldn't touch it for 10 years, what company would it be?; and 2) Alternatively, if you had to sell one company short and hold the position for 10 years, which company would it be?
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Munger: Selling a wonderful product at a very low price is a good model [e.g. Costco and Geico]. A lot of people say they have that, but few do. It's easy to talk the game, but hard to live it. It's against human nature to want to lower price and increase quality.
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Munger: I think it's better to have slow growth than extremely high inflation as a result of some politicians deciding to keep printing money. I'll never forget [the example and lessons of] Weimer Germany.
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Buffett and Munger: The prosecution of individuals has more effect than the prosecution of corporations in changing behavior; though it is easier to go after companies [because they just write a check to settle, so the prosecutor has an easier case. The individuals are a tougher case because they are fighting to stay out of jail instead of just being able to write a settlement check].
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Buffett: It's probably not a good idea for super rich people and companies to own businesses that are liability targets [e.g. helmet companies, airport security companies].
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Munger: The greatest way to get a spouse is to deserve one. The same goes for getting a good business partner.