From: alexhormozi
Companies often have two distinct visions: an internal vision relevant to the team, employees, vendors, and customers, and an external vision focused on affecting the greater community [00:05:13]. The core mission of acquisition.com is to make real business education available to everybody [00:05:08]. The ultimate goal is to build acquisition.com into a multi-billion dollar entity [00:04:51] and then teach other CEOs how to achieve similar success [00:05:01]. This represents a “shining beacon of a different way to do business” [00:00:05] that is more profitable [00:05:43].
Praise Over Punishment: A Foundational Growth Strategy
A key philosophy underpinning the company’s approach to growth is “praise over punishment” [00:05:47]. This approach aims to create an environment where individuals are motivated by reward or reinforcement, leading them to utilize all of their discretionary effort [00:06:01].
Impact on Employee Performance
- Reward-based motivation means individuals go beyond the minimum effort required to not get fired, putting in extra work because they feel reinforced and safe [00:06:08].
- Punishment-based systems can lead people to operate at the “law of least effort,” doing just enough to avoid termination, thereby losing out on valuable discretionary effort [00:06:17]. While companies like McKinsey and Goldman Sachs may achieve high performance by raising the bar, their employees are often driven by anxiety and stress [00:06:28]. The goal is to build an environment where everyone works even harder than that without the negative consequences of a punishment-driven system [00:07:07].
Investment Approach: Builders vs. Bettors
There are two primary schools of thought in investing [00:08:52]:
- Bettors seek mispriced companies, hoping to invest at less than intrinsic value and see growth over time [00:08:55]. This is often associated with the Warren Buffett style [00:09:03].
- Builders possess a unique set of skills and playbooks which they deploy into companies, with the expectation of tripling, 5x, or 10x growth [00:09:08]. Private equity often combines both approaches [00:09:23].
The company leans towards the “building” side, focusing on finding companies where their playbooks can immediately 10x the business [00:09:25].
Acquisition Strategy
The company actively reviews potential acquisitions through a “pipeline review” [00:03:25] [00:08:34]. A high level of selectivity is maintained, with 95% of potential deals not being pursued [00:08:42]. The primary criteria for acquisition is not just the company’s inherent value, but whether “we can add value to the company” [00:08:48].
Growth through Content and Branding
The company’s content strategy aims to maximize reach and impact.
- Broader Appeal: Videos and content are edited more heavily and produced to a higher standard to reach a wider audience [00:13:30] [00:14:09]. This is a common strategy for bands moving to a mass market, ensuring the message reaches the most people without dilution [00:13:41].
- Audience-Driven Content: The audience influences content creation through their clicks and viewership, effectively training the creator to produce what they find most interesting [00:14:17].
- Branding: A strong brand is built by associating positive experiences and rewards (derived from valuable content like a book) with the brand itself. This creates positive feelings that transfer to anyone associated with the brand, such as a team member wearing company merchandise [00:07:44].
Book Publishing Strategy
The company is publishing a book, with significant personal investment (over a million dollars) to avoid typical publishing timelines [00:12:05]. This allows for a much faster release (16 weeks after completion, compared to 9 months for traditional publishers) [00:12:20]. The book is being translated into multiple languages, including French and Spanish, with plans for Mandarin, Japanese, Portuguese, and German [00:10:59]. Funds generated from the book (which costs 1 going to the company) support the Mosey media team to create more content [00:12:44].
Personal Productivity for Company Growth
The CEO maintains a rigorous personal routine and workspace setup to maximize productivity:
- Morning Routine: Includes a three-hour routine with meditation, journaling, red light therapy, and affirmations [00:01:01].
- Workday Structure: Daily activities include a leadership meeting, pipeline review, and book meetings, with an aim to block out the calendar until noon or one to focus on work [00:03:25].
- Focused Workstation: Utilizes an iPad for drawing, earplugs, Nicorette, and a work timer to maintain focus during tasks [00:04:07].
- Productivity Combination: Finds that headphones, earmuffs, nicotine, caffeine, and a timer create a highly effective combination for productivity [00:04:30].
The CEO’s personal obsessiveness with iterating things until they are “just right” has been reinforced by the rewards received from this behavior [00:10:04]. This reflects a personal application of the praise/reward principle.