Henry Singleton
Summary
- Singleton transformed Teledyne into a huge business with 20% over nearly 3 decades, outperforming even buffett himself
Details
- Warren Buffett was an admirer of Singleton
- Singleton was more interested in value per share rather than ego
- He was indifferent to criticism when the math was on his side.
- he was flexible "I reserve the right to change my position when the facts change."
- When the facts changed, he acted differently.
- He focussed on the metric that counts and optimized that metric
- he allowed his subsidiaries to run their organisations as they wished, but the accounts had to be accurate
References
Outliers: Henry Singleton—Distant Force The Knowledge Project Ep. #225
Quotes
Most people look to Warren Buffett as being the king of capital allocation, but Warren Buffett looks to Henry Singleton.
Singleton built one of the most successful conglomerates in American history, transforming business while remaining virtually unknown. While Wall Street chased fads, Singleton quietly turned the industrial conglomerate Teledyne into a business juggernaut with 20.4% annual returns over nearly three decades—outperforming Buffett, outmaneuvering rivals, and outlasting the hype. Charlie Munger said Singleton had “the best operating and capital deployment record in American business—bar none.”