Buffett's Two Lists (2024)

Buffett's Two Lists (4)

Popular searches

Categories

Learn & Achieve

Collaborate & Lead

Deliver Value

Make Better Decisions

Industry Knowledge

Live Well

Sub categories

Be more productive

Learn & grow

Behavioural economics

Collaborate & influence

Manage projects

Innovate

Buffett's Two Lists (5)

Buffett's Two Lists (6)

Overview

"The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." – Warren Buffett.

Like Charles Munger, Warren Buffett advocates for and uses the Latticework of Mental Models approach that drives ModelThinkers. Buffett’s Two Lists model speaks to his ability to ruthlessly prioritise and say 'no' to tempting, even important tasks that take away from his main focus.

Buffett’s Two Listsis a productivity, prioritisation and focusing approach where you write down your top 25 goals; circle your 5 highest priorities; then focus on those 5 while ‘avoiding at all costs’ doing anything on the remaining 20.

BACKSTORY: BUFFETT'S PILOT.

This model comes from a post by Scott Dinsmore who described a conversation between a Buffett and his pilot. According to Scott, when ‘Steve’, Buffett’s pilot sought Buffett’s advice, Buffett asked Steve to list the top 25 things he wanted to do in the next few years or even his lifetime. Once done, Buffetttt told Steve to circle his absolute top 5 priorities.

Steve assumed that he would focus on the top 5 but that he’d still find a way to work on some of the remaining 20, even in small ways.

RUTHLESS PRIORITISATION.

Buffett reportedly replied by saying: “No. You’ve got it wrong Steve. Everything you didn’t circle just became your ‘avoid at all cost list’. No matter what, these things get no attention from you until you’ve succeeded with your top 5.

IN YOUR LATTICEWORK.

Buffett’s Two Lists is a prioritisation model, so has some connections to other prioritisation models including the Pareto Principle and Impact vs Effort Matrix.

You can combine it with the Circle of Competence to focuson and improving your strengths, indeed that combination is something that is a favourite of both Buffett and Charles Munger.

If you're finding it too hard to implement, you might also try and combinethis model with Parkinson's Law to Timebox or implement Forced Functions on your list before rotating them — though I suspect Buffett wouldn't recommend that.

Share this model with your network to be smarter, faster, together!

Actionable Takeaways

  • Make a list of your top 25 priorities.

You might apply this to a specific project or timeframe, or consider your broader life goals.

  • Circle your highest 5 priorities.

These are the things that must be accomplished and drive you.

  • Focus on your top 5 and avoid the other 20 at all costs.

This isn’t just about what you do, it’s about how you say no to those tempting secondary priorities to achieve real focus.

  • When you achieve 1 of your top 5, add a new goal from the 20.

This list is a work in progress, something on the ‘avoid at all cost’ list might become a priority as you achieve your top 5.

Limitations

While this dedicated focus is potentially powerful, by avoiding the 20 lesser priorities you might miss opportunities to find links or move them forward in the process of working on your ‘big 5’. It might also be too inflexible, and not allow for updating priorities or taking advantage of opportunities that might open up making your ‘20 list’ more possible or desirable.

In Practice

Buffett.

In some ways, this seems to link with the way Buffett and Munger apply the circle of competence. They seem to practice ruthless prioritisation. That said, it’s hard to track down specific examples of this model as it would involve what Buffett has not done.

Build your latticework

This model will help you to:

Buffettt’s two list model is a simple mental model that can be life changing if applied to life goals.

Use the following examples of connected and complementary models to weave Buffett’s two list model into your broader latticework of mental models. Alternatively, discover your own connections by exploring the category list above.

Connected models:

  • The pareto principle: in identifying highest value options, or your ‘top 5’.
  • Eisenhower matrix: in identifying high priority and high importance.
  • Kano or RICE score: in applying prioritisation to product development.

Complementary models:

  • Kanban: tracking priorities in a more dynamic, iterative approach.
  • Golden circle and Ikigai: in establishing purpose.

Origins & Resources

As noted in the overview, this model comes from Scott Dinsmore’s post here. I’m aware that it’s essentially a third-hand story - from the pilot to Scott, to us. But it’s grown in popularity and Buffett hasn’t corrected it. Either way, it’s a useful model for prioritisation so worth the inclusion.

Buffett's Two Lists (13) My Notes

    Nothing here yet. Join ModelThinkers and login to be the first to comment.

Already a ModelThinkers member?

Please log in here.

Oops, That’s Members’ Only!

Fortunately, it only costs US$5/month to Join ModelThinkers and access everything so that you can rapidly discover, learn, and apply the world’s most powerful ideas.

ModelThinkers membership at a glance:

Buffett's Two Lists (14)

UNLOCK EVERYTHING

Access all mental models and premium content.

Buffett's Two Lists (15)

BUILD YOUR LATTICEWORK

Save models to your personal list.

Buffett's Two Lists (16)

QUICKLY MEMORISE MODELS

Use our Learn function to embed models to memory

Buffett's Two Lists (17)

PERSONALISE MODELS

Add your own notes and reminders.

Buffett's Two Lists (18)

BUILD YOUR ‘EXTERNAL BRAIN’

Discover a new idea? Capture it by adding a new model.

Buffett's Two Lists (19)

JOIN THE MT COMMUNITY

Rate models, comment and access exclusive events.

“Yeah, we hate pop ups too. But we wanted to let you know that, with ModelThinkers, we’re making it easier for you to adapt, innovate and create value. We hope you’ll join us and the growing community of ModelThinkers today.”

Arun Pradhan & Shai Desai

CoFounders, ModelThinkers.

Buffett's Two Lists (24)

6 ESSENTIAL THINKING HACKS TO BOOST INNOVATION & IMPACT

Subscribe now and download this practical guide to transform your thinking, plus recieve one short, powerful and actionable idea in your inbox each week.

Buffett's Two Lists (2024)

FAQs

What is the Buffett 25 5 rule? ›

The rule is simple: identify the 25 most important things on your to-do list, prioritize them, and then focus on the top five items while ignoring the rest.

What are the two rules of Warren Buffett? ›

Warren Buffett once said, “The first rule of an investment is don't lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule. And that's all the rules there are.”

What is the rule 70/30 Buffett? ›

The .The 70/30 rule is a guideline for managing money that says you should invest 70% of your money and save 30%. This rule is also known as the Warren Buffett Rule .The 30% of the 30/70 rule should be put towards savings and debt, although it can be divided into 20% and 10%.

What are Warren Buffett's 5 rules? ›

A: Five rules drawn from Warren Buffett's wisdom for potentially building wealth include investing for the long term, staying informed, maintaining a competitive advantage, focusing on quality, and managing risk.

What is the Warren Buffett way formula? ›

Buffett uses the average rate of return on equity and average retention ratio (1 - average payout ratio) to calculate the sustainable growth rate [ ROE * ( 1 - payout ratio)]. The sustainable growth rate is used to calculate the book value per share in year 10 [BVPS ((1 + sustainable growth rate )^10)].

How many hours a day does Warren Buffett read? ›

Indeed, the Oracle of Omaha has said that he spends “five or six hours a day” reading books and newspapers. And while it may be difficult to set aside nearly a full work day's worth of hours to read, it recently got a little bit easier to consume information like Warren Buffett.

What did Warren Buffett tell his wife to invest in? ›

Buffett said he revises his will every three years, and he still advises his wife to allocate 10% of her inheritance to short-term government bonds and 90% to a low-cost S&P 500 index fund.

Why Warren Buffett never split? ›

Warren Buffet has stated that he would never split the class-A shares of Berkshire Hathaway, even though they trade at almost $530,000 per share. His reasoning is that he wants to only attract long-term, high-quality buy-and-hold investors (like himself) and to discourage scalpers and day traders.

What is the Buffett's two list rule? ›

Buffett's Two Lists is a productivity, prioritisation and focusing approach where you write down your top 25 goals; circle your 5 highest priorities; then focus on those 5 while 'avoiding at all costs' doing anything on the remaining 20.

Is 80/20 better than 60/40? ›

Which Mix Is Right for You? If you're a younger investor with a long time horizon and are comfortable taking on more risk, the 80/20 portfolio may be a good fit. However, if you're closer to retirement or prefer a more conservative approach, the 60/40 portfolio may be a better option.

Is 80/20 aggressive? ›

Consider an aggressive investment example: A portfolio that is 80/20 would be considered aggressive as opposed to a portfolio that is 60/40, which would be considered conservative. An 80/20 portfolio invests 80% of the wealth in stocks and 20% in bonds. Whereas a 60/40 portfolio invests 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds.

What is Warren Buffett's golden rule? ›

1 – Never lose money. Let's kick it off with some timeless advice from legendary investor Warren Buffett, who said “Rule No. 1 is never lose money.

What is Buffett's first rule of investing? ›

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett famously said: “The first rule of an investment is don't lose money. And the second rule is don't forget the first rule.” Being honest, I've never quite got it. Anybody who buys individual stocks surely has to accept they'll lose money at some point.

What's Warren Buffett's diet? ›

Warren Buffett eats McDonald's for breakfast, drinks 5 co*kes a day, and devours cookies and ice cream. Here are the investor's 11 best quotes about his iconic diet. Warren Buffett may be a billionaire businessman in his 90s, but he eats like a child.

What is the 5 25 rule for productivity? ›

The Origin of the 5/25 Rule

This productivity strategy is said to have originated from advice Buffett gave to his pilot, Mike Flint. The essence of the rule is not just about focusing on the top 5 goals but also about actively avoiding the remaining 20 goals until the priority ones are achieved.

What is the 25-5 rule in eq? ›

First, Buffett told Flint to make a list of his top 25 career goals. Then, Buffett said to circle the top five goals. But here comes the interesting part. The idea is, to remain focused on accomplishing goals 1 through 5, you have to stay completely away from working on goals 6 through 25.

What is the 5 25 rule for life? ›

The 5/25 rule is a tool that you can use to prioritize your goals so that you can realistically focus your efforts and succeed. The rule says to narrow down a list of your top 25 goals to 5 that truly speaks to you. Keep a list of the other 20 goals as reminders that these goals are distractions from your true goal.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner

Last Updated:

Views: 5811

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (53 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner

Birthday: 1994-06-25

Address: Suite 153 582 Lubowitz Walks, Port Alfredoborough, IN 72879-2838

Phone: +128413562823324

Job: IT Strategist

Hobby: Video gaming, Basketball, Web surfing, Book restoration, Jogging, Shooting, Fishing

Introduction: My name is Rev. Porsche Oberbrunner, I am a zany, graceful, talented, witty, determined, shiny, enchanting person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.