# The occasional good decision

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2023-03-01

berkshire-hathaway, business, decision-making, finance, letter-to-shareholders, mistakes, warren-buffet

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Perhaps the greatest lesson from Warren Buffet's [most recent letter to Berkshire shareholders](https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2022ltr.pdf) is that, to be wildly successful, you only have to be right _sometimes_:

> _In 58 years of Berkshire management, most of my capital-allocation decisions have been no better than so-so. In some cases, also, bad moves by me have been rescued by very large doses of luck._

> _Our satisfactory results have been the product of about a dozen truly good decisions – that would be about one every five years – and a sometimes-forgotten advantage that favors long-term investors such as Berkshire._

> _The lesson for investors: The weeds wither away in significance as the flowers bloom. Over time, it takes just a few winners to work wonders. And, yes, it helps to start early and live into your 90s as well._

So-so decisions. Periodic moments of brilliance. And a long-term patient outlook. These are, I think, important things to keep in mind. It's okay to make mistakes; you just have to keep going.

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/the-occasional-good-decision)*