Want to be a Billionaire? Hone your Emotional Quotient

Jun 30, 2010: We all dream of possessing the visionary power of Warren Buffet, the Oracle of Omaha and one of the world's greatest stock market investors. What is it that makes him so successful?

Journalist Roger Lowenstein, author of "Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist," makes the case that it's Buffett's strength of character, as much as his smarts, that has made him so successful. To quote him:

If you think he's got different chemicals flowing around in his cranium, you've got it all wrong. It's a combination of hard work and good judgment, and having the disposition to go with your call whether it's popular or not.

Warren Buffet himself has repeatedly discounted the importance of a big brain. According to the Oracle of Omaha:

Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with a 130 IQ. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing. Don't do equations with Greek letters in them.

To quote Alex Markels analysis of Buffet's ability to stay focused:

But it's not just financial intelligence at play here. Buffett has plenty of behavioral intelligence as well, most notably a Zen-like patience to sit on the sidelines while other investors are greedily buying and then to pounce on bargains only after the rest have lost their heads and sold. Indeed, a group of academics called "behavioral economists" points to Buffett as the ultimate example of how a properly trained mind can overcome the sorts of emotions and flawed reasoning that can derail even the brainiest investors.

Markels has covered various behavioral aspects and reasons behind Buffet's success, check it out here.

Built to Make Billions? Emotional IQ just as important as brainpower for Buffett

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