Why Did K.C. Irving Count the Trees Before Buying a Forest?

Shane Parrish says K.C. Irving counted the trees himself because he would not buy a defunct railway's forest until his own count matched the inspectors.

The railway still owned nearly 700,000 acres, an area almost the size of Rhode Island. He could have hired a timber expert, read the report, and made the decision from the office. He hired an expert, put on snowshoes, and spent days walking the property counting trees. At night, back at camp, he compared his count with the inspectors. When the numbers disagreed, they went back into the woods and counted again. He wrote the check only when the two counts matched.

He used experts, managers, accountants, and reports throughout his businesses, and he refused to outsource his own judgment. He wanted to see and understand things for himself. The same habit brought him through his companies after dark, often without warning. Night visits are the best way to find out what is going on. If you know both ends and the middle of a business, you should be able to make the right decisions. His advantage was knowing the business from A to Z.