Podcast Summary: Build with Leila Hormozi – "Throwback: How I Handled Over 120 Employees at 24 | Ep 301"
Host: Leila Hormozi
Release Date: July 25, 2025
Podcast Description: Leila Hormozi, who amassed a $100M net worth by age 28 and is now scaling acquisition.com into a billion-dollar portfolio, shares valuable lessons on building unshakeable businesses. This episode delves into her experiences managing a large team at a young age and the strategies that kept her grounded and effective.
Introduction: Scaling Early Success
Leila Hormozi opens the episode by reflecting on her journey to managing a company with over 120 employees by the age of 24. She sets the stage for sharing the key strategy that helped her maintain sanity and effectiveness amidst rapid growth: setting clear expectations.
Notable Quote:
"When I was 24 years old, I was managing a company that had 120 employees and I figured out this one thing that helped me not lose my mind while I was doing it."
– Leila Hormozi [00:00]
The Power of Setting Expectations
Hormozi emphasizes that managing large teams isn't solely about marketing, sales, or finances. Instead, it's deeply rooted in understanding how to manage people effectively by setting clear and explicit expectations.
Key Points:
- Expectations vs. Instructions: Clear, explicit instructions prevent assumptions that can lead to unmet goals.
- Analogy: Leading a company is akin to coaching a sports team; without clear strategies, the team falters.
Examples:
- Hospitality Industry:
- Vague: "Make the beds."
- Clear: "Make your bed like a five-star hotel would," leading to better presentation and consistency.
- E-commerce Business:
- Vague: "Write an email sequence for after people buy."
- Clear: "Write an email sequence that will help us reduce refunds within the first 24 hours of purchase."
Notable Quote:
"Expectations are the verbalization of how someone should act and what they should do."
– Leila Hormozi [04:30]
Building with Core Values
Core values serve as the foundational filters for all business decisions and expectations. Hormozi distinguishes between leading with values versus leading with rules.
Key Points:
- Core Values vs. Rules: Values inspire and guide behavior, whereas rules often impose restrictions and can create a negative environment.
- Example of Core Values:
- Speed is King: Translates into actions like resolving customer inquiries within a specific timeframe.
- Benefits of Values:
- Inspirational and aligned with business strategy.
- Easier to remember and internalize compared to a lengthy list of rules.
- Foster leadership and independent thinking among employees.
Notable Quote:
"If you lead your company with rules, then you create rule followers. If you lead your company with values, then you create leaders and people who can think."
– Leila Hormozi [12:45]
Translating Values into Brand Promises
Brand promises operationalize core values into tangible commitments that are communicated externally to customers and internally to employees.
Key Points:
- Definition: Brand promises are commitments tied to strategic metrics that reflect the company’s values and set customer or employee expectations.
- Examples of Brand Promises:
- "Your dream haircut in less than an hour."
- "Questions answered in five minutes or less."
- Trust Building: Consistently upholding brand promises fosters immense trust with customers and employees.
Notable Quote:
"If you can uphold it, which you would never make a brand promise if you cannot, it creates an immense amount of trust."
– Leila Hormozi [24:10]
Departmental Expectations and KPIs
To ensure that core values and brand promises permeate every level of the organization, Hormozi outlines the importance of departmental expectations and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Key Points:
- Integration: Core values and brand promises should flow down into each department’s specific operations.
- Example: Customer Service Department
- Core Value: Speed is King.
- Brand Promise: Questions answered in five minutes or less.
- Departmental KPI: Respond to inquiries in less than 120 seconds.
- Impact: KPIs provide measurable standards to assess whether departments are meeting the broader company values and promises.
Notable Quote:
"Having departmental KPIs is essentially measuring our core values and our brand promise."
– Leila Hormozi [32:50]
Role Expectations and Individual Performance
Hormozi further breaks down departmental KPIs into role expectations, ensuring that individual performance aligns with the company’s overarching goals.
Key Points:
- Definition: Role expectations are specific benchmarks set for individual employees based on departmental KPIs.
- Example:
- Departmental KPI: Respond to inquiries in less than 120 seconds.
- Role Expectation: Ensure that 80% of your inquiries are responded to within this timeframe.
- Benefits:
- Targeted Training: Identifies specific employees who need improvement rather than blanket training.
- Performance Management: Facilitates clear understanding of individual contributions to departmental success.
Notable Quote:
"If you can do that, it saves you a lot of time and resources."
– Leila Hormozi [45:20]
Real-World Applications and Case Studies
Hormozi shares practical examples of how these principles have been implemented in real businesses to drive success.
Examples:
- Gym Launch Customer Service:
- Promise: "Questions answered in five minutes or less."
- Implementation: Set a KPI of responding within two minutes to consistently exceed the promise.
- Outcome: Enhanced customer satisfaction and trust through reliable, speedy responses.
- Hair Salon Chain:
- Core Value: "The customer is always right."
- Brand Promise: "Your dream haircut or your money back, no haircut."
- Implementation: Stylists must obtain approval from a master stylist before proceeding with a haircut.
- Outcome: Increased referrals and customer satisfaction by ensuring precise fulfillment of customer desires.
Notable Quote:
"They say, 'your dream haircut because we have people bring in one to three pictures of the exact haircut they want, and then we get approved by the master stylist.'"
– Leila Hormozi [54:30]
Overcoming Common Challenges
Hormozi addresses common pitfalls in setting and maintaining expectations, offering strategies to overcome them.
Key Points:
- Avoiding Over-Reliance on Rules: Excessive rules can stifle creativity and create confusion when unexpected scenarios arise.
- Empowering Employees: Values provide a decision-making framework, reducing the need for constant managerial intervention.
- Focus on Key Performers: Instead of uniformly training an entire team, identify and support top performers to elevate overall department performance.
Notable Quote:
"Unless you're a Fortune 500 with hundreds of thousands of people, it is much easier, especially in smaller businesses, to rule with values."
– Leila Hormozi [38:15]
Conclusion: Building an Unshakeable Business
Leila Hormozi wraps up the episode by reinforcing the critical role of setting clear expectations through core values, brand promises, departmental KPIs, and role-specific benchmarks. By implementing these strategies, businesses can build trust, ensure consistency, and foster a culture of excellence and leadership.
Key Takeaways:
- Set Clear Expectations: Define and communicate what success looks like at every level.
- Lead with Values: Inspire and guide your team with core values rather than rigid rules.
- Operationalize Promises: Translate values into tangible brand promises that build trust.
- Measure and Manage: Use KPIs and role expectations to monitor and enhance performance.
- Empower Your Team: Create a framework that allows employees to make informed decisions independently.
Final Notable Quote:
"Buckle up and let's build."
– Leila Hormozi [01:30:00]
Note: Throughout the episode, Leila Hormozi integrates practical advice with real-world examples, making the concepts accessible and actionable for entrepreneurs and business leaders aiming to scale effectively while maintaining quality and trust.