Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B): Charlie Munger Gets Less Attention Than He Deserves

The above quote from Charlie Munger came when responding to a challenge over whether GEICO should adopt a tool similar to The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)‘s Snapshot — a system that uses drivers’ actual driving in setting their insurance rate.

This response may, on its own, seem somewhat trite. “Obviously,” as Munger might say. But the great travesties of global finance, history, and economic disaster are often predicated upon mindless follower-ship: The credit crisis, Nifty Fifty, and Tech Bubble, to name a few.

Interestingly, Munger’s response dismissed a change that — in my view — GEICO would probably benefit from adapting. But the wisdom remains. Independent thought, alongside appropriate doses of humility and open-mindedness, are precious commodities in this world. Amid the purported need for action, inertia, or desire to leave one’s imprint, many-a-folk stupidly trod a path blazed by someone else… only to find it was a very stupid error.

Don’t take my word. Just ask former Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) CEO Chuck Prince. In a now infamous remark of about Citi’s credit crisis dealings, Prince quipped: “[A]s long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing.” I bet he wishes he’d imbibed one less drink and stopped dancing, because the hangover’s sucked, and he wasn’t such a great dancer to start with.

Sometimes, doing nothing is OK.

The article Charlie Munger’s Brilliant Moment originally appeared on Fool.com.

Matt Koppenheffer owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway. The Motley Fool recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Progressive. The Motley Fool owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway and Citigroup.

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