Hard Work Won't Make You Rich Ep 454

In this discussion, the speaker, who is working towards building a billion-dollar enterprise with acquisition.com, challenges the popular mantra "no one can outwork me," arguing that hard work alone doesn't equate to wealth or business success. Instead, the speaker emphasizes the importance of leverage and strategic thinking. They compare business roles to a well-rounded team in a video game or sports, where each player has a unique and complementary skill set. The speaker underscores the significance of knowing one's role in a business, mastering it, and then scaling by recruiting the right team. They criticize the overvaluation of sheer work volume and advocate for focusing on high-leverage activities that yield greater returns on time invested. The ultimate goal is to evolve from a hands-on contributor to a coach or CEO who orchestrates a winning team, emphasizing that the true measure of a leader's value is the impact they have on their team's performance.

• Hard work alone is not a guarantee of wealth.
• The "no one can outwork me" mantra is challenged as being objectively false.
• Many people work long hours without achieving wealth, questioning the value of hard work as a metric for success.
• The importance of other metrics and factors in achieving success is highlighted.

"Hard work will not make you rich, which is why I get driven nuts by the amount of gurus and influencers and whatever who want to brag and say, no one can outwork me, I'm the best in the world, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. When it's objectively a false b."

This quote criticizes the popular belief that hard work is the sole path to riches, pointing out that many people work hard without becoming wealthy, thus debunking the notion that hard work is enough.

• Success is not solely about the volume of work but also about the leverage of activities.
• High leverage activities can yield more output than numerous low leverage ones.
• The idea that working smarter, not just harder, is often more effective.

"Now, the leverage that we have on that activity is going to dictate how much we get out of it. And if we do a low leverage activity many, many times, we might get more than a high leverage activity that gets done once. But with enough leverage, one move can do more than thousands of low leverage activity moves."

The speaker emphasizes the concept of leverage, where the impact of an action is magnified, suggesting that strategic, high-impact activities can lead to greater success than repetitive, low-impact work.

• The claim that "no one can outwork me" is seen as negating objective reality.
• The speaker dislikes the negation of reality and the overemphasis on work as a measure of success.
• Success at the highest levels often involves smart decision-making, not just hard work.

"And why are we bragging about work? Because work has nothing to do, very little to do with the highest levels of the game."

This quote questions the glorification of hard work when it comes to achieving high levels of success, suggesting that factors other than sheer work volume, such as smart decision-making, are more critical.

• Success is likened to a team game where different roles and skills are necessary.
• The entrepreneur should act as a coach, organizing and optimizing the team for success.
• A well-coordinated team with complementary skills can outperform a team relying on a single star player.

"So many people outwork me. I still make more money than them. Why are we talking about this? Like, what's the point, right? And so what this realization has brought to me is that it's about organizing the pieces of the players on the field and how well they play together."

This quote reflects the speaker's realization that success is more about the strategic organization of a team's skills and how well they work together, rather than individual hard work.

• The entrepreneur's role is to organize and lead the team to victory.
• Success is achieved through the combined efforts of a team with diverse skills, not just the actions of one individual.
• The concept of "no one can outwork me" is flawed because it ignores the importance of teamwork and strategy.

"And so the reason no one can outwork me is, first off, that it's objectively false, because many people, a, outwork you today, b, outwork you in the past, c, you haven't met everyone, and d, it doesn't fucking matter anyways, all right?"

The speaker argues that the "no one can outwork me" mentality is factually incorrect and irrelevant, emphasizing that success is more about effective team organization and strategy than individual effort.

• The podcast is about selling more products to more people in more ways and building valuable businesses.
• The speaker is documenting their journey with acquisition.com, wishing that successful figures like Bezos, Musk, and Buffett had done the same.

"Welcome to the game, where we talk about how to sell more stuff to more people in more ways and build businesses worth owning."

The introduction to the podcast sets the stage for discussions on business strategies and the speaker's personal entrepreneurial journey, aiming to provide insights similar to those that could have been shared by renowned business leaders.

• Business success requires understanding various roles within the organization.
• Each role has specific functions and skill sets.
• Individuals should identify which role aligns with their characteristics and skills.
• The evolution through entrepreneurship involves progressing through different roles and specializations.

"What is more valuable is to know what are each of the roles that exist within the business."

This quote emphasizes the importance of understanding the different roles within a business in order to contribute effectively to its success.

• Marketing involves promoting, storytelling, building a brand, and providing value across different platforms.
• Sales is about converting attention and interest into actual sales, which varies depending on the business type.
• Direct response ads, sales pages, and video sales letters are some methods of monetization.
• As businesses grow, marketing and sales functions often require more specialization.

"Somebody who has to promote, who's got to be a good marketer... Sales is being able to convert that raw attention and interest into a sale."

This quote distinguishes between the roles of marketing and sales, highlighting the marketer's role in promotion and the salesperson's role in closing deals.

• Product developers focus on creating high-quality products.
• The founder of Shopify, for example, excels as head of product due to his specific skill set.
• Product-focused individuals need a supportive team to succeed, including those skilled in marketing and sales.

"Then you've got somebody who understands product. How do we make something beautiful?"

This quote outlines the importance of having a team member dedicated to the development and aesthetic of the product.

• Customer experience managers ensure customers engage positively with the company.
• They focus on providing value, ensuring customer success, and offering support.
• This role requires a different skill set than those who work on the product, sales, or marketing.

"And you've got the experienced people who are, who are managing everything outside of the actual product itself."

This quote highlights the role of customer experience professionals in managing interactions and satisfaction outside the core product offering.

• As a business grows, roles become more specialized and require deeper experience.
• Entrepreneurs should focus on recruiting and managing effectively rather than simply working harder.
• Building a strong culture and leading effectively are high-leverage activities for an organization.

"But that Mantra will kill you. And so when people are like, I can't be outworked, you're bragging about the wrong thing."

This quote criticizes the notion that working harder is the key to success, suggesting instead that strategic recruitment and management are more important.

• Being relentless can be beneficial, as demonstrated by a business owner's persistence in following up for a deal.
• Different people have different approaches to business; some may focus on relentless pursuit while others leverage their activities for greater impact.
• Understanding one's own approach and skill set is crucial for success.

"If I had his level of relentlessness and perspicacity, we'd be ten times bigger than we are right now. That's just not my vibe."

This quote reflects on the speaker's personal style and how different approaches to business can yield different results.

• It's important to know which role you play best in a business.
• Specializing in a particular area allows you to become an expert and take on a leadership position such as CMO, CFO, or CEO.
• Businesses require a range of specialized skills, not just one champion.

"Level two is knowing which player you are."

This quote emphasizes the importance of self-awareness in identifying and specializing in the role that best suits one's skills within a business.

• Being an effective coach involves recruiting and developing the best team members.
• The success of a business is not about individual players but how well the team works together.

"It's about how the team works together, which then gets to the third level of this."

This quote underscores the significance of teamwork and leadership in orchestrating a successful business strategy.

• Businesses like Google invest heavily in recruiting top talent from various levels: recent college graduates, MBA graduates, and high-level executives.
• This approach is similar to sports teams that recruit the best players for their teams.
• The idea is that each player, like an employee, represents a function or department within the organization.

"They have huge influxes and resources dedicated to getting the best and smartest people out of college, right? And they have another ring for the best and smartest people come out of business school."

This quote highlights the strategic approach of companies like Google in targeting talent at different educational levels to fill specific roles within the organization.

• The speaker emphasizes moving beyond basic measures of success like the number of activities performed.
• Billionaires like Warren Buffett measure success differently, focusing on leverage and output rather than effort alone.
• The speaker encourages entrepreneurs to adopt a similar mindset to achieve significant results.

"Our activity in terms of number of activities that we are doing is a very newbie measure of success. In the beginning. Warren Buffett doesn't say, I sent a thousand emails today."

This quote criticizes the use of activity volume as a primary measure of success, suggesting that successful entrepreneurs prioritize more impactful actions.

• The highest level of leadership involves recruiting top executives and developing a pipeline of talent.
• Building a culture of high performance is crucial to maximize the potential of each team member.
• The speaker highlights the significant impact a CEO can have on a company's success.

"Being the coach is recruiting the top level executives and creating a farm system underneath to feed into the company that you have so that you can have a sustained competitive advantage and create a dynasty for the team."

This quote emphasizes the role of leadership in talent development and strategic hiring to maintain a competitive edge in the market.

• The value of a coach or CEO is measured by the difference in performance they can inspire compared to having no leadership.
• Leaders set standards and values that can turn around even large companies.
• The speaker stresses the importance of engagement and discretionary effort across the organization.

"The delta between those two is the value of the coach, the value of the CEO."

The quote explains that the difference in team performance under different levels of leadership reflects the true value of a coach or CEO.

• Entrepreneurs should aim to move beyond initial activities to focus on recruiting talent and shaping the team's culture.
• The speaker compares the growth of an entrepreneur to the career progression of a football player becoming a coach.
• The goal is to transition from being a player to a coach, and eventually, an owner who hires a coach.

"The small business owner is the defensive tackle that also has to run the ball and figure it out."

This quote draws a parallel between entrepreneurs and athletes, emphasizing the need to evolve from hands-on work to strategic leadership.

• The speaker expresses frustration with false claims of being the best or hardest working.
• He advocates for honesty and self-trust, focusing on domain expertise and team building.
• The ultimate aim is to ascend the "coaching ladder" and potentially own the team.

"But if you start claiming that you are the best, you cannot be outworked. You are making statements that you know are not true."

This quote criticizes the practice of making unfounded claims about one's work ethic or status, suggesting a more grounded and truthful approach to entrepreneurship.

• Apple's corporate structure involves shareholders, a board of directors, and a CEO, similar to a sports team with a head coach.
• Effective time management is critical as time is the only controllable resource.
• Defining work in terms of activities that generate income is crucial for understanding productivity.

"Apple is owned by shareholders and then the shareholders hire a board to oversee the head coach, head coach to CEO, same thing."

This quote outlines the hierarchical structure of a corporation like Apple, drawing a parallel to a sports team's structure.

"The way you spend your time is the only thing that is controllable."

The speaker emphasizes the importance of time management, highlighting it as the sole controllable factor in one's productivity.

• Working more hours can lead to more income, but everyone has the same number of hours in a day.
• The key to increasing productivity is not just working longer hours but finding leverage in the activities one does.

"If we define work as the amount of time allocated to activities that make us money directly or indirectly, then yes, people who work more in general will make more money in general."

This quote defines work in terms of income-generating activities and suggests a correlation between time spent working and money earned.

"In order to increase your capacity, you must increase the leverage you have on the activities you do."

The speaker introduces the concept of leverage as a means to increase productivity beyond just working additional hours.

• Once a person has maximized the number of working hours, the focus should shift to high-leverage activities.
• High-leverage activities can provide greater returns for the same or less time invested.
• The goal is to identify and prioritize activities with the highest leverage to maximize income over time.

"Once you know how to do something, you will give out the activities in reverse order of your efficacy."

The speaker suggests delegating tasks based on one's proficiency, starting with tasks they are least effective at.

"The question for leverage of any activity is, what do I get back for what I put in?"

This quote encapsulates the essence of leverage—measuring the return on time invested in an activity.

• CEOs and entrepreneurs often work to their maximum capacity, but growth requires changing the nature of their work.
• Analyzing time spent and organizational structure helps identify low-leverage activities to delegate.
• Delegating effectively frees up time for the entrepreneur to focus on high-leverage activities that grow the business.

"The CEO needs to have the highest return on time out of anyone in the organization because they need to always be solving the next problem."

The speaker argues that the CEO should focus on the most impactful activities, as their time has the highest value for problem-solving and business growth.

"Where people get into trouble is where they trade the time they pay the person and then they don't refill their time, clock up with stuff that's high leverage or higher leverage than what they just outsourced."

This quote warns against the pitfall of delegating tasks without replacing that time with higher-leverage activities, which is crucial for continued business growth.