这个忠告就是“Keep Things Simple” － “别将事情复杂化”或者“让事情尽量保持简单”，这就是巴菲特化繁为简的神奇之技。其实也是中国道家思想的大智若愚，很多聪明人想办法去发明很多复杂的制度、程序或者政策，到最后都无法达到其想要的目的，就是因为他们把事情复杂化了，搞了太多关联，最后祸人祸己。所以政府每出一项政策，也要考虑到相关的效应，比如不让一个人买太多房子，人家就搞假名字，然后可能带来很多法律纠纷和亲友反目，甚至还弄出假离婚危害社会。还有在很多城市已经悄然取缔的90/70政策也由于不符合实际以及开发商把好好一套住宅分成两套卖，还要配两个厨房的管线等灵活措施，造成浪费和不方便。还有就是反贪机构成立越多，可贪的部门和人员更加增加等等。

还是试着用一下笨办法吧，那些在研究院里用复杂公式和理论搞出来的政策和措施也许是真正的祸害。走到群众中听听大家的意见，有些小事不管自平，有些大事用笨的老办法管可能更好。企业管理也一样，就是选人、用人，发挥大家的潜力在有前途的行业中赚钱，不赚钱或者不能增加赚钱的事不做。

下文来自CNBC的“巴菲特观察”栏目：

Fortune magazine asked a "host of influential leaders" for the "wise words that changed their lives forever."

Fortune's Andy Serwer interviewed Gates and his father, Bill Gates Sr.

"Q: What's the best advice Warren Buffett has ever given you?

Gates Jr: Well, I've gotten a lot of great advice from Warren. I'd say one of the most interesting is how he keeps things simple. You look at his calendar, it's pretty simple. You talk to him about a case where he thinks a business is attractive, and he knows a few basic numbers and facts about it. And [if] it gets less complicated, he feels like then it's something he'll choose to invest in. He picks the things that he's got a model of, a model that really is predictive and that's going to continue to work over a long-term period. And so his ability to boil things down, to just work on the things that really count, to think through the basics -- it's so amazing that he can do that. It's a special form of genius."

Gates also admires how "Warren is so nice to everybody" even when he's turning down their requests or questioning their logic.  "You know, that's a special talent, and I do find myself thining, Hmm, how would Warren say this is a friendly fashion?"