Episode Overview

Podcast: The Game with Alex Hormozi
Episode: You Can Take Action with Incomplete Data | Ep 1003
Date: February 11, 2026
Host: Alex Hormozi

In this episode, Alex Hormozi delves into the core entrepreneurial question: “Why can’t we do more?” He provides a detailed framework for diagnosing what’s limiting a business’s growth, drawing on both strategic insight and hard-won experience. Central themes include making decisions with incomplete data, identifying constraints using the "Five M’s," and understanding the inherent “shape” and limitations of different business models. Hormozi emphasizes actionable thinking and highlights both the challenges and opportunities that come from modeling and scaling a business.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Acting with Incomplete Data ([00:02] – [02:24])

• Incomplete Data is Normal:
  Entrepreneurship always involves acting without perfect information. Most decisions must be "directional or reasoned from first principles."
• Irreversible vs. Reversible Decisions:
  For “one-way doors” (irreversible decisions, per Jeff Bezos), more data is necessary. For most other actions, it's better to act and course-correct.

“The nature of entrepreneurship is that you will always have incomplete data. There will always be things that you want to know that you do not know. The vast majority of your decisions will have to be directional or reasoned from first principles.”
— Alex Hormozi [00:30]

2. Structuring Learning and Q&A for Maximum Impact ([02:25] – [04:45])

• Hormozi explains why his events are organized with a theoretical first day (foundational frameworks) and a practical second day (applications and tactics).
• The goal is for attendees to use their limited access to his team to ask the most meaningful and impactful questions.

“The last thing I want anyone to do is fly out here, spend that time, and then when you get home, realize that you asked the wrong thing...”
— Alex Hormozi [03:16]

3. The Fundamental Question: "Why Can’t We Do More?" ([04:46] – [10:05])

• The core exercise for any entrepreneur is consistent self-examination: Why isn’t the business growing faster, and what’s blocking further progress?
• Iterative Improvement:
  Early on, any action is better than none. As the business matures, the risk of negative impact from change increases—making controlled, strategic action crucial.

“If you think about your entire business as a control versus a variant, that is why the changes need to be small... The best bet for almost every business is: why can't we just do more of what's already working?”
— Alex Hormozi [07:30]

4. The Five M's—Diagnosing Limiting Factors ([10:06] – [29:50])

Hormozi introduces five recurring “M” constraints that limit growth. He illustrates each with examples and diagnostic questions.

a) Metrics ([10:06] – [13:10])

• If you don’t know what’s working, you can’t do more of it. Measuring key activities is the first step.
• Still, don't get paralyzed waiting for perfect data—some action is always possible.

b) Market ([13:11] – [15:22])

• Sometimes the limitation is market size. Examples: Trying to scale a $1,000/month lounge in a commune of 140.
• Usually, this isn’t the real constraint, but in rare cases (tiny towns, hyper-niche businesses), it is.

“You can text everyone, like, what are we talking about?”
— Alex Hormozi, on the futility of over-marketing to an ultra-small market [14:07]

c) Model ([15:23] – [18:10])

• Questions whether the chosen business model is appropriate for one’s ultimate goals.
• Many models can reach $100M, but not every vehicle gets you where you want to go (e.g., dry cleaning won’t breed a trillionaire).

d) Money ([18:11] – [25:20])

• Leads Cost Too Much: Are you paying too much per lead, or is it that you don’t make enough per customer? Diagnosing with benchmarks is crucial.
• Sales/Conversion Problem: Not converting enough of your available opportunities? That’s a different fix.
• Low Lifetime Gross Profit: All metrics may be healthy except that customer value is too low versus competitors.
• Cash Flow: Especially for services and construction businesses. Cash delays (net 90, net 180 payments) create constraints best solved by financing, offer adjustments, or structure tweaks.

“We could scale if I could just pull my AR forward from six months from now into today, and then I’d be able to scale.”
— Alex Hormozi [24:44]

e) Manpower ([25:21] – [29:50])

• Sometimes the constraint is simply having enough qualified people to meet demand.
• The issue often traces back to the way you attract, train, or incentivize talent.
• Compensation or offer tweaks can unlock growth.

“The phone’s ringing. I just don’t have any guys that I can put in trucks. I can’t get the talent I need to work this deal...”
— Alex Hormozi [25:54]

• Some constraints have multiple steps: can’t hire because can’t pay enough because you’re priced too low because the offer’s wrong, etc.

5. Understanding "The Shape of Your Business" ([29:51] – [35:50])

• Every business type has its intrinsic "shape"—its typical growth curve and sticking points:

  • Physical Products/E-commerce:
    Grows in steps—each new stage brings inventory and supply chain constraints.
  • Service Businesses:
    Steady, linear growth—tied to ability to deliver and maintain service quality.
  • Information/Media Businesses:
    Can hit a few million quickly but tough to break into bigger scale.
  • Software:
    Slow early growth and high upfront costs, but massive scaling potential post product-market fit.

“When you’re thinking about the shape of the business that you’re in... making sure that the difficulty that you are facing right now is not a bug with the business, it is a feature of the business.”
— Alex Hormozi [32:10]

Example: Labor Constraints in Home Services

• The challenge of finding reliable labor isn’t a bug, but a defining feature of cleaning/home services.
• Adaptive business owners win by making their company uniquely attractive to talent—labor edges can be more powerful than sales or marketing edges.

“My unique selling proposition isn’t going to be a selling proposition; it's going to be a unique talent proposition. Why is it better to work for me than for my competitors?”
— Alex Hormozi [34:16]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On First Principles:
  “Can I extrapolate that to my current situation? Can I generalize knowledge and apply it to a specific domain?” [01:03]

• Irreversible Decisions:
  “There are some things, what I consider irreversible decisions or one-way doors, as Bezos says... those are the ones you want to gather a little more data around.” [01:24]

• Business as a Control Versus a Variant:
  “The best bet for almost every business is: why can’t we just do more of what’s already working?” [07:31]

• Pattern Recognition:
  “This is where, between these four things, this is where pattern recognition becomes important. This is where the team can help. This is what we step in a lot of times with…” [18:55]

• Business “Shape” as Feature, Not Bug:
  “The difficulty you are facing right now is not a bug with the business, it is a feature of the business.” [32:10]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:02 – 02:24: On acting with incomplete data
• 02:25 – 04:45: Event structure and the importance of frameworks
• 04:46 – 10:05: The question “Why can’t we do more?” and incremental improvement
• 10:06 – 29:50: The Five M’s (Metrics, Market, Model, Money, Manpower)
• 29:51 – 35:50: The shape of different business models and understanding intrinsic challenges

Conclusion

In episode 1003, Alex Hormozi delivers a practical masterclass on diagnosing and overcoming the “do more” challenge every entrepreneur faces. With a blend of principle-driven logic, vivid anecdotes, and stepwise frameworks—the Five M’s—Hormozi arms listeners with a roadmap for identifying and attacking the limiters on their business. Emphasizing the importance of action (even with incomplete data), he reminds founders that the “bugs” they encounter are often “features” of their chosen business path—and that embracing these realities can unlock new competitive advantages.