Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger said he has achieved personal and professional success in his life by adhering to one rule of behavior, according to Yahoo! Finance.
Mr. Munger, 94, serves as Berkshire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett's right-hand man, and was instrumental in paving the way for Mr. Buffett — along with the CEOs of Amazon and JPMorgan Chase — to appoint Atul Gawande, MD, CEO of the companies' joint healthcare venture in June.
During the 2007 commencement address for the Los Angeles-based University of Southern California Gould School of Law, Mr. Munger said the core ideology that has served him throughout his life is the knowledge that "the safest way to try and get what you want is to try and deserve what you want," the report states.
"By and large the people who have this ethos win in life, and they don't win just money [or] just honors and emolument. They win the respect, the deserved trust, of the people they deal with, and there is huge pleasure in life to be obtained from getting deserved trust," he reportedly said.
Social psychology experts have reportedly found the notion of reciprocity in a relationship plays a large role in determining human behavior, as humans have a psychological need to be even with others. Yahoo! Finance cites a 2006 study published in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology that found restaurant diners who received mints along with their checks increased the amount they tipped their servers by up to 21 percent.
Mr. Munger reportedly told graduates the ethos of reciprocity should be an overall way of life rather than a rule to abide by during business interactions.
"There is no ethos in my opinion, that is better for any lawyer or any other person to have," he said during his speech, according to the report.
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