‘A Great Life Lesson’ from Charlie Munger: Eliminate Toxic People

American businessman and Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, Charlie Munger, passed away on Tuesday. In addition to his business success, he was known for his realistic and unvarnished life advice.

Earlier this year, he stated that success can depend on the company you keep, and toxic people can hinder one’s path to success.

– A great lesson in life is to eliminate them from your life – and do it quickly – Munger said about toxic people.

– It is so simple to spend less than you earn, invest wisely, avoid toxic people and toxic activities, and try to keep learning throughout your life, and do a lot of delayed gratification. If you do all these things, it is almost certain that you will succeed. If you don’t, you will need a lot of luck. – Munger said at the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting.

Before Munger’s comments, Buffett expressed similar thoughts at the annual meeting. He said that people must recognize that others can manipulate them and avoid such behavior.

– I have never known anyone who was fundamentally kind who died without friends. And I have known many people with money who died without friends. – Buffett said.

The friendship between Buffett and Munger can be a good example of this. Buffett told CNBC in 2021 that at the beginning of their careers, both of them made an effort to associate with people they wanted to be associated with, and if they hung out with jerks, that was their problem.

– What is really great is if you can do what you want in life and associate with the people you want to associate with in life – Buffett told CNBC, referring to Munger.

Munger made it clear that toxicity can stop someone’s personal success and that this attitude can be detrimental to the work environment. According to research from the MIT Sloan School of Management, a toxic work culture is the most significant factor that can drive an employee to resign.

Low pay and job insecurity can also drive employees away, but the study showed that these factors are not as influential as a toxic work culture. One in nine American workers reported experiencing a toxic workplace, which amounts to about 30 million people in the U.S. workforce.

To encourage a healthier work environment, according to the research, leaders and managers can play a key role in setting the tone of the company culture and encouraging these attitudes to be transmitted to the rest of the company.

And if it seems that the toxic manager or employee is not changing, according to Munger’s advice, it may be time to let them go.