From: alexhormozi
The popular mantra among some gurus and influencers, “no one can outwork me,” is often misleading when it comes to building wealth [00:00:00]. This statement is objectively false, as many people have either outworked or continue to outwork those who make such claims [00:00:20]. Bragging about the sheer volume of work is misplaced because hard work, by itself, has little to do with achieving the highest levels of success in business and finance [00:00:53]. Everyone operates within the same 24 hours in a day, meaning that simply working more hours quickly reaches a ceiling [00:01:13].
Leverage Over Volume
True output and wealth creation stem from a combination of the volume of activity and the leverage of that activity [00:01:26]. While initial effort is crucial for a “newbie” to get started and overcome inertia [00:02:05], there’s a quick capacity limit to how much one person can work [00:02:12].
High-level figures, such as Warren Buffett, don’t measure their success by the number of emails sent or hours worked [00:01:43]. Buffett, for instance, focuses on making a couple of good decisions a year [00:00:57]. Similarly, Jeff Bezos isn’t known for waking up at 4 AM as the primary metric of his success [00:01:49]. Waking up early, staying up late, or minimizing sleep are “superstitious” metrics that don’t inherently create significant output [00:01:54]. The focus should instead be on inputs that have the most leverage to generate the highest output [00:02:00].
For individuals already working at their capacity, the only remaining lever for greater output is to change what they work on, shifting towards higher-leverage activities [00:02:37]. This often involves delegating low-leverage tasks to others within an organization or hiring new roles [00:03:01].
Business as a Team Sport
The concept that one person can “outwork” everyone else ignores the diverse nature of winning strategies [00:03:06]. Likening business success to a video game quest or a football game, a winning team comprises individuals with complementary skills, not just multiple players doing the same thing [00:03:14].
An entrepreneur’s role should ideally be that of a coach, organizing the team and ensuring the pieces play well together [00:03:37]. Teams with star players but poor supporting casts often lose to overall better-organized teams, illustrating that individual effort isn’t the sole determinant of success [00:03:44]. Many entrepreneurs err by trying to be the sole “star player,” losing to companies like Apple that operate as cohesive teams [00:03:51].
Instead of bragging about being “un-outworkable,” it’s more valuable to focus on being “un-outrecruitable” or “un-outmanaged,” or building an unparalleled culture [00:05:40]. These are high-leverage activities that impact the entire organization [00:05:50].
Key Roles within a Business Team
Understanding the different functional roles within a business is critical:
- Promoter/Marketer - Responsible for making things known, telling stories, building brands, and providing value to an audience [00:04:28].
- Sales - Converts attention into sales, whether through direct response ads, sales pages, or one-on-one interactions [00:04:39]. These individuals also train and lead others in sales [00:04:53].
- Product - Focuses on creating something valuable and well-designed, like the founder of Shopify who started as a product expert [00:05:04].
- Customer Experience/Success - Manages how customers engage with the business, ensures value delivery, and facilitates an amazing experience [00:05:14].
As an enterprise grows, skills become more specialized, requiring deeper expertise in specific areas [00:05:33].
Evolution of the Entrepreneur: From Player to Coach
The entrepreneurial journey can be seen in levels, shifting focus from individual effort to strategic leadership:
- The Newbie (Volume): In the beginning, the primary goal is to simply get active and put in the volume of effort necessary to start [00:02:05].
- The Specialist (Middle Run): As one progresses, they often segregate themselves into a specific area of expertise within the business, becoming a Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Sales Officer, or Chief Product Officer [00:06:10]. This stage emphasizes the team’s combined effort rather than a single champion [00:06:21].
- The Coach (Highest Leverage): The ultimate stage involves becoming the coach or CEO, focusing on recruiting the best talent, from college to executive levels [00:06:26]. This role involves creating a high-performance culture and building a “farm system” for sustained competitive advantage, leading to a dynasty [00:07:09].
The value of an amazing coach or CEO is the “delta” between what players would achieve without leadership versus what they achieve with the best leadership [00:07:27]. The CEO must always aim for the highest return on time, continuously solving the next problem and making strategic trades that further build the business through high-leverage activities [00:07:42]. The standards and values set by a CEO can transform an entire organization, representing the greatest form of leverage [00:07:54].