'Narrative Rationality' in Warren Buffett’s Letters to Shareholders

• In Event: The Rhetorical Analysis of Corporate Speakers: Three Approaches to Warren Buffett’s Letters to Shareholders

Abstract

Forman (2007) and Jameson (2001) have analyzed CEOs’ occasional use of a brief narrative, using Fisher’s (1987) concept of “narrative rationality.” However, narrative criticism has not been applied to the overarching narrative frameworks corporate speakers use over time. Extending the work of Forman (2007) and Jameson (2001), I analyze narratives found in Warren Buffett’s letters to his shareholders. The analysis shows how the narratives are used to construct Buffett’s “humanity” as a CEO, and narrative also offers “warrants for accepting another person’s advocated position” and the “good reasons” (Jameson, 2001) behind his decisions, associations, beliefs, and values as a corporate leader.

Author

• Anish Dave, Iowa State University