Buffett isn’t slow—he’s strategic. Here’s how to prepare patiently and act decisively when real opportunity strikes.
“When the opportunity comes, we move fast. Faster than anyone.”
— Warren Buffett, 2025 Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting
At this year’s Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, someone stood up and asked a pointed question:
“You always talk about long-term investing. But aren’t there times when you have to move fast?
What about cutting losses? Changing your mind quickly?”
It’s a fair question.
Buffett has said things like:
“If you’re not willing to hold a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about holding it for 10 minutes.”
But here’s what he replied:
“There are moments when we move very fast.
People misunderstand—we’re not slow.
We’ve made a lot of money by being ready and acting quickly when it counted.”
Patience Isn’t Inaction. It’s Preparation.
Buffett’s genius isn’t just in picking the right stocks.
It’s in knowing when to wait—and when to strike.
In 2008, during the financial crisis, Buffett invested billions in Goldman Sachs and GE when no one else dared.
In 2020, during the pandemic crash, he doubled down on Apple and Bank of America.
And in frothy bull markets? He often does nothing.
“The trick is to do very little most of the time… and a lot very quickly when the time is right.”
Cash Is Not Laziness. It’s Ammunition.
As of Q1 2025, Berkshire Hathaway holds over $167 billion in cash and short-term securities,
making it one of the largest corporate cash piles in the world【Berkshire Q1 2025 Report】.
To some, that looks like inaction.
To Buffett, it’s a loaded spring—ready to fire when others freeze.
“If you don’t have cash when the opportunity comes, it doesn’t matter how smart you are.”
This is why timing the market is less important than being ready when it times you.
What Behavioral Economics Tells Us About Timing
According to Nobel laureate Richard Thaler,
most investors react emotionally—buying during hype, panicking during crashes.
Buffett, in contrast, builds a system:
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He watches.
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He waits.
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Then, in rare windows of mispricing, he moves—fast.
Because fast action without preparation is recklessness.
But fast action after deliberate preparation is power.
My Personal Strategy: Prepared Stillness
I’ve been applying this to my own investing.
While the world rushes into AI stocks and tech ETFs,
I’m sitting still—but not passively.
I’m building:
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A watchlist of great companies
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Target price levels
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A strategy for staged entry
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A healthy cash cushion
So when the market offers that rare 20–30% dip on a quality company,
I won’t hesitate. I’ll be ready—not scrambling to decide.
“We made a lot of money not by being slow,
but by being ready to move when the moment came.”
— Buffett
Most of the Time, You Wait. But When It’s Time, You Run.
That’s the balance.
You don’t need to be active every week.
In fact, you shouldn’t be.
But when the signal shows up—when price and value diverge—you act.
Not with doubt. Not with panic.
But with clarity, because you’ve been preparing for that moment all along.
This post was inspired by Warren Buffett’s remarks at the 2025 Shareholders Meeting,
where he reminded us that patience isn’t about standing still—it’s about being ready to sprint.
In the next post,
we’ll explore Buffett’s belief that the greatest asset in life isn’t a stock or a bond—it’s people.
“Surround yourself with people better than you.”
We’ll look at how to build a career, a team, and a network by choosing the right mentors, partners, and relationships.
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