📖Duan Yongping
Do the Right Things
The most important thing is to do the right thing first, then do things right.
The most important thing is to do the right thing, then do things right. Many people focus on efficiency while doing the wrong thing. First make sure you're on the right path.
🏠 Everyday Analogy
📖 Core Interpretation
Strategic direction matters more than tactical execution
💎 Key Insight：Duan emphasizes that strategic direction (choosing the right business, investment, or project) matters more than operational execution. Even perfect execution of the wrong strategy leads nowhere. Investors must first identify fundamentally sound, valuable opportunities with durable competitive advantages. Only after ensuring the "what" is right should they focus on the "how." This requires deep thinking before acting.
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❓ Why It Matters
Duan built BBK by focusing on the right products rather than competing on price
🎯 How to Practice
Before optimizing, verify you're solving the right problem
🎙️ Master's Voice
Invest in companies you understand. If you cannot explain it simply, you do not understand it well enough.
Duan Yongping, founder of BBK Electronics and successful investor, emphasizes deep understanding before investing. His investments in Apple and others came from truly understanding their business models.
⚔️ Practical Guide
✅ Decision Checklist
- Can I explain this business simply?
- Do I truly understand how it makes money?
- Could I explain it to someone with no background?
📋 Action Steps
- Invest only in what you understand deeply
- Test understanding by explaining simply
- Avoid investments you cannot explain
🚨 Warning Signs
- Investing in complex businesses you do not understand
- Unable to explain your investments simply
- Relying on others' understanding
⚠️ Common Pitfalls
Having opinions without execution criteria
Reviewing outcomes but not decisions
Abandoning rules during volatility spikes
📚 Case Studies
1
Investing in NetEase (1995)
Duan Yongping invested early in NetEase after leaving BBK, recognizing its potential in China’s emerging internet sector.
✨ Outcome：Held long term; investment multiplied many times as NetEase became a leading Chinese internet company.
2
Charity Lunch with Buffett (2006)
Paid over USD 600,000 for a charity lunch with Warren Buffett to learn value investing and long-term thinking.
✨ Outcome：Reinforced focus on intrinsic value, circle of competence, and doing the right things over chasing short-term gains.
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