A Weekend with Warren Buffett: And Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures

It's always great to to get a behind-the-scenes view of a segment of the world from an entertaining writer, and this is definitely that. If you're at all interested in the machinations of publicly traded companies, you'll enjoy this peek into how businesses treat their shareholders once a year at their annual meeting. Mr. Cepuch personally attended all the gatherings that he writes about, and it's fun to read about the varying philosophies (not to mention which freebies and refreshments are or aren't provided) that drive each company. I even came away with an interest in a few that I'd never considered trading. This book will be a fun read for anybody who's already an investor and for anyone who's thinking about investing and wants a good look at how it all works and where shareholders fit into the equation. Big thumbs up.

I always figured shareholder meetings were pretty much the last place I'd want to spend my time. I envisioned a bunch of finance types throwing numbers at each other in dueling PowerPoint presentations, all while thinking about how to bring in more hired help for their third home in Aruba. Yawn. Who needs it? After reading Cepuch's book, A Weekend with Warren Buffett: And Other Shareholder Adventures, I've decided I'm missing out on a cultural must-do. The book covers a wide array of public companies that throw open their doors once a year (like it or not) to every single stockholder. Some are gracious; some are annoyed. Some are freaking bizarre. But many are hugely entertaining. Walmart's annual meeting proves they're indeed from another, much wealthier, planet. Playboy's meeting is shockingly dull (no bunnies to be found!). Bowling never looked sexier than at Bowl America. Throughout the book, Cepuch's human values light the way. He clearly admires Buffett, and looks to the non-Berkshire Hathaway organizations to be led by executives with wisdom, vision and (gulp) ethics. In a world where Enron didn't really surprise any of us (c'mon, it didn't), it's heartening to see there is hope for corporate America. America's corporations are a big ol' mystery. This book provides a glimpse into how they're run and, more important, how they SHOULD be run. Now I'm off to purchase shares of Bowl America and wait for their next shareholder meeting!

By all measures, this is a great book. The author has a wonderful sense of humor and uses it to poke fun at himself as well as those running and attending a number of annual shareholder meetings. Like another reviewer, I found myself laughing out loud at times. For those of us who have never attended an annual meeting, this book provides an inside look at the process. It is quite remarkable how this annual event can provide such a clear picture of a company's management as well its corporate culture. This book provides individual shareholders with an understanding of the institution of the annual meeting without having to attend a single one. What I expect will happen is that all of the readers of this book will be attending at least one annual meeting in the near future just to experience it for themselves. Attendance will soar at this year's annual meetings! Thanks to the author for taking us along on his pilgrimage.

A great book -- I loved it. Fast moving, informative, and a whole lot of fun to read. You don't have to be a shareholder to read this. I'm not a shareholder and I'm not going to any shareholder meetings, but I really enjoyed this. If you're interested in companies like Google and Wal-Mart and Microsoft and Disney and Starbucks (and who isn't?), I think you'll like this book. These are all the biggest, most interesting companies, and this book gave me a unique look at them. Kind of like being invited into their living rooms for a day. It also covers a lot of companies I hadn't heard of, and those were very interesting too. Mainly because it's so well written. I found it entertaining all the way through. I'm not a Warren Buffett freak, by the way. I know a little about him, but only a little. But the first chapter got me hooked. If you're looking for a business book that covers a lot of America's great (and not-so-great) companies and is really fun to read, this is it. Highly recommended.

Last year an associate and I attended the Tootsie Roll meeting with her 11-year old son, Will...thinking it would be a good educational experience for him as well as a real treat since Tootsie Roll hands out Halloween -size goodie bags with all their new candies in it along with bags and boxes of long-time Tootsie Roll favorites. Before the meeting began, a fellow behind us tapped us on the shoulder and asked if it might be possible for him to interview Will. He said he was writing a book about annual meetings and would like to get a kid's perspective. Will was happy to oblige especially after he was given a gigantic jar of Cry Baby gumballs by Ellen Gordon, Tootsie Roll's CEO. Will exclaimed, "There are three hundred in there. They should last a week!" When asked after the meeting by the author if the meeting was worth skipping school for, Will responded affirmatively and was quoted as saying, "All I had to do was wear my spiffy shoes and I get a bag full of candy. It's a no-brainer!" A couple of days later as I was getting on the plane to head out to Berkshire's annual meeting, I find myself behind the same fellow, Randy Cepuch, who was also going to Omaha to write about Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting. I just finished reading his book, "A Weekend with Warren Buffett And Other Shareholder Meeting Adventures." I'd highly recommend the book to anyone who hasn't attended a Berkshire annual meeting because you'll certainly want to after reading the first chapter in his book "Off to See the Wizard"...which captures the spirit of the Berkshire meeting beautifully. The delightful book is wonderfully written, and I found myself laughing out loud all the way through the tales of the various meetings Randy covered. Berkshire's meeting stands out not only for its educational value but also its entertainment value as all of us "regulars" know. The book also provides great lessons on corporate governance as Randy engagingly details the last annual meetings Michael Eisner and Sandy Weill presided over at Disney and Citigroup, respectively. The contrast between Microsoft and Google's annual meetings also provides some interesting insights about corporate cultures. Randy's description of the Wal-Mart annual meeting was priceless and may finally get me to head out to Arkansas to witness the spectacle firsthand. At other meetings, he runs into Evelyn Davis, the noted gadfly, along with her counterpart in Australia, Jack Tilburn. I'm still laughing at how the CEO's handled questions from that dynamic duo on opposite sides of the world. Anyway, those going to spend the weekend with Warren this year may want to pick up a copy of the book for the flight out. It'll make the time fly!