Warren Buffett Just Summed Up the Essence of Leadership In 2 Sentences

For seven years on every first weekend in May, I find myself in Omaha along with thousands who've traveled around the world.

The event, of course, is the Berkshire annual meeting. It's the one chance Warren Buffett's thousands of shareholders get to mix, mingle and hopefully meet the billionaire godfather of modern investing.

In the few years I've been attending, I've been amazed at the way the meeting has turned into an all-out Coachella festival. One author joked that he makes his best book sales at the meeting, second to Christmas. And the number of international visitors - particularly from China - has ballooned. This year, there was real-time Mandarin Chinese translation of the meeting. At the airport, I was greeted by signs from Sina News - for a moment, it seemed I'd landed in Shanghai. (see photo below) 

But one thing that remains timeless: the snippets of wisdom Buffett dispels in his hours-long talk with shareholders. On Saturday, while Buffett and his partner, Charlie Munger, were discussing the controversy around drugmaker Valeant, the billionaire gave what is probably one of the most succinct description of great leadership:  

"If you're looking for a manager, find somebody that's intelligent, energetic and has integrity...if they don't have the last, be sure they don't have the first two. If you have somebody who lacks integrity, you want them to be dumb and lazy."

Buffett's answer is "pattern recognition" - over time, he and his partner have come to recognize the telltale signs of a Trojan horse leader. Although hardly perfect, Buffett said this pattern recognition is why he never bought into Valeant, despite pleas from others around him to do so.

Often, it pays to be the outlier and skeptic - you can rise above the noise and look above the forest and the trees. And what better place to do that than in Omaha.