Q&A with Alice Schroeder
More, October, 2008

Imagine you're a Texas girl–Alice from Dallas, no less. You earn your MBA, move east, and work your way up to Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. Wait. It gets better. You work on a project for Warren Buffett, the second-wealthiest man in America. Wowed by your business smarts, he taps you to write his one and only authorized biography. Before you can say, "Dream come true," a top literary agent signs you up and sells your book to Bantam for $7 million; first printing, one million copies.

Tall Texas tale? Nope–the true-life story of 51-year-old Alice Schroeder, who granted More her very first pre-publication interview.

M.M.: (with barely concealed envy) Of all the people Buffett could have chosen–why you?

A.S.: After we'd worked together for about five years, I suggested that he write a book. He liked the idea, but insisted that someone else should write it. "Who do you think it should be, Alice?" he kept asking me. Finally, I took the hint. (She laughs.)

M.M.: What was it like, hanging out with Warren Buffett?

A.S.: It was amazing. And fun. If Warren wasn't an investment wizard, he might have made it as a comedian.

M.M.: He's worth $62 billion, and he's funny?

A.S.: When we started working on the book, every single night he took me to dinner at a different Omaha steakhouse–the kind of places with a giant plaster steer out front. After I gained seven pounds, I broke down and begged him to take me someplace else. He laughed and admitted he'd been testing me to see how long I'd suffer before I complained.

M.M.: What surprised you most about Buffett?

A.S.: Warren Buffett has a pleasant life. He's never overscheduled, never hurried, and yet he manages to do everything he wants to do. He's a master of time management and saying no without turning people off. It was a profound experience to watch someone so successful make his way through his day with such good cheer, and such effortlessness.

M.M.: Did you pick up any investment tips you'd care to share?

A.S.: Warren's investment ideas mirror his ideas about life. He believes in focus and concentration–the powerful compounding effect of concentrating on a few critical areas over a long period of time, rather than dispersing your money, or your energy, over many pursuits along the way.

M.M.: Did he tell you what to do with the $7 mil?

A.S.: (laughing again) I spent a lot of years on Wall Street. I never made a lot of silly investments. But I've gotten much more disciplined about investing only when I know what I'm doing. I make many fewer investments now. It's been a good change.