the person i'm thinking about had done a remarkable amount -- david sokol-- had done a remarkable amountof berkshire hathaway and so i don't think it was something that warren could have known that presented with a certain set of facts that david sokol acted in a way that didn't work. >> i bet you asked yourself that question, didn't you. >> rose: yeah. >> how could i have not seen -- >> i don't know the answer. and he did a lot of good thing for berkshire. >> rose: of course. but you've said the hardest thing to do-- and it doesn't happen that often-- is to fire somebody. >> yeah. it's absolutely miserable. and, you know, i don't have to do it very often. but i'd pay a lot of money to have a designated firer. but the trouble is i can't do it because these are people that are friends of mine. >> rose: one of these cover stories-- and you have to remind me which one it was-- signal, i think it was the one you wrote, the big profile, of the transition from investor to c.e.o. and manager. showing that warren buffett had those skills as well. >> right. well, there are several articles in the