Volume Times Leverage
Define work as output, and output as how many reps times how much each returns
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 82%
Hormozi rejects the smart-versus-hard-work dichotomy: you do both. He defines work strictly by output, and output as volume times leverage — how many times you do the thing multiplied by how much you get for each time. Most business owners actually work a fair amount; they just work on the wrong things in the wrong way, so their output is tiny and they end up empty-handed wondering why. Volume and leverage feed each other: the only way to raise your leverage (skill, so each rep returns more) is to accumulate more volume. That produces a virtuous cycle of doing more and getting better, until each action returns far more than a less-practiced person gets for the same move.
Origin
Extracted from Modern Wisdom, where Hormozi lays out his working definition of work in dialogue with Chris Williamson, citing Andy Grove on the gap between inputs and outcomes.
Core principles
- 01Work is output, not hours or effort
- 02Output equals volume times leverage
- 03Volume is how many times you do the thing; leverage is how much you get each time
- 04The only way to gain leverage is to do more volume
- 05Working smart and working hard are the same instruction
How to run it
- 1
Redefine work as output
Stop counting hours or effort. Judge a day of work by what it actually produced.
Watch out Feeling busy is not the same as producing output; many people work hard on the wrong stuff.
- 2
Maximize volume
Do as many reps of the productive action as you possibly can.
- 3
Maximize leverage
Increase how much you get for each rep by raising your skill at it.
Pro tip A skilled operator can get ten times more from 100 calls than an unskilled one.
- 4
Feed the virtuous cycle
Recognize that skill only comes from doing more reps, so volume and leverage compound each other over time.
In the wild
Hormozi illustrates with cold calls: if you make 100 calls, your leverage is how skilled you are. A skilled caller might get ten times more from the same 100 calls than an unskilled one. But the only way to get skilled is to make more calls in the first place — so working more both raises volume and, over time, raises the return per rep.
→ Higher output than someone who made the same number of calls with less skill.
Common mistakes
Working hard on the wrong things
Most owners work a fair amount but on low-output tasks done the wrong way, so effort yields almost nothing.
Treating smart and hard work as a choice
You do not pick one; output requires both maximum reps and maximum leverage per rep.
Is it for you?
Best for
Operators who confuse busyness with results and want a clean definition of productive work.
Not ideal for
Contexts where the goal is presence or satisfaction rather than measurable achievement.
From the transcript
“I define work by output. And in order to get output, it's volume times leverage. So how many times you do the thing times how…”
“The only way you get skilled is by doing more inputs, by working more... it's this virtuous cycle of doing more and getting better.”
From the episode
24 Controversial Truths About Success & Failure - Alex Hormozi - #830
Alex Hormozi