Podcast Summary: "You're Not Growing Fast Because You're Making Decisions Slowly" | Ep 859

Title: You're Not Growing Fast Because You're Making Decisions Slowly
Host: Alex Hormozi
Release Date: March 28, 2025
Podcast: The Game with Alex Hormozi

Introduction

In Episode 859 of The Game with Alex Hormozi, entrepreneur and business strategist Alex Hormozi delves into the critical role of decision-making speed in business growth. Drawing inspiration from industry titans like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, Hormozi explores how rapid decision-making can propel companies from stagnation to exponential growth. He shares personal anecdotes, actionable strategies, and philosophical insights to help entrepreneurs overcome decision paralysis and foster a culture of decisive action within their organizations.

The Importance of Rapid Decision-Making

Hormozi begins by addressing a fundamental truth in entrepreneurship: "You're not growing as fast as you want because you're not making decisions as fast as you need to." (00:00). He underscores that decision-making is at the core of all business activities, from daily operations to long-term strategies. Citing Lee Iacocca's wisdom, "The speed of the boss is the speed of the team," Hormozi emphasizes that leaders must cultivate the ability to make swift decisions to drive team momentum and organizational growth.

Key Insights:

• Decision-Making as the Core of Business: Every business revolves around making numerous decisions, each varying in impact.
• Common Pitfall: A prevalent mistake among entrepreneurs is making decisions too slowly or waiting for excessive data, which hampers growth.

Lessons from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos

Hormozi shares a pivotal moment inspired by Elon Musk, who faced the daunting challenge of scaling Tesla's production to 5,000 cars a week during a period where engineers deemed it impossible to exceed 1,800. Musk's approach was to make swift, on-the-spot decisions, accepting an "80% success rate" with the understanding that failures could be rectified later. Hormozi highlights this philosophy as a testament to the power of trusting one's judgment under pressure.

He also references Jeff Bezos, who prioritizes quick decision-making by categorizing decisions as either "one-way doors" (irreversible) or "revolving doors" (reversible). Bezos advocates for making fast decisions when they are reversible, as the cost of indecision far outweighs the potential benefits of slight incremental improvements.

Notable Quotes:

• Elon Musk: "I'm going to be making them on the spot and I'm going to get it right 80% of the time and I'm going to get it wrong 20% of the time and then 20% of the time that I get it wrong, we can always fix it." (05:30)
• Jeff Bezos (paraphrased): "Decide if it's a one-way door or a revolving door, and act accordingly." (12:45)

Overcoming the Fear of Making Mistakes

A significant barrier to rapid decision-making is the fear of making mistakes. Hormozi identifies this fear as the primary obstacle that slows down leaders and their teams. To combat this, he proposes reducing the friction associated with making decisions by:

1. Transparent Communication: Openly acknowledging that decisions may be wrong and emphasizing the ability to rectify mistakes later. For example, prefacing decisions with statements like, "I might be wrong here, but we need to make this decision." (22:10)

2. Creating a Safe Environment: Encouraging a culture where mistakes are viewed as learning opportunities rather than failures. Hormozi stresses the importance of not punishing team members for poor decisions unless they consistently make them, akin to evaluating a baseball player's batting average.

Key Strategies:

• Preface Decisions: Lower the stakes by framing decisions as experiments with a high tolerance for error.
• Decentralize Decision-Making: Empower team members to make decisions independently, reducing bottlenecks and fostering agility.
• Normalize Fast Decision-Making: Integrate rapid decision-making into the company’s core values to ensure it becomes a sustained practice.

Balancing Speed and Quality in Decisions

Hormozi discusses the balance between speed and the quality of decisions. He introduces the concept that "speed will outcompete the incremental margin" in decision-making. For instance, choosing a good decision quickly is more advantageous than waiting for a slightly better decision that delays action.

He illustrates this with an example from his early career in government contracting, where minor decisions (e.g., changing a word from "happy" to "glad" in a proposal) consumed unnecessary time without significantly impacting the outcome. Hormozi argues that such delays can compound, making decisions less effective overall despite marginal improvements.

Example:

• Government Contracting: Minor edits in proposals that do not significantly affect the outcome but consume time best spent on more impactful decisions.

Implementing Decisiveness as a Core Competency

To embed rapid decision-making into an organization's DNA, Hormozi suggests:

1. Teaching Decisiveness: Train leaders and team members to view decision-making as a critical skill, emphasizing its importance for personal and organizational growth.

2. Reducing Repercussions for Mistakes: Foster an environment where making a wrong decision is acceptable if it can be quickly corrected, thereby reducing the fear associated with decision-making.

3. Prioritizing Decision Speed: Make the speed of decisions a key performance indicator, ensuring that it remains a focus across all levels of the organization.

Actionable Steps:

• Adopt a Decision-Making Matrix: Evaluate whether decisions are reversible and act accordingly to either proceed swiftly or take a more considered approach.
• Normalize the Acceptance of Errors: Encourage a mindset where making 80% right decisions is celebrated, and the occasional wrong decision is not stigmatized.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Hormozi wraps up the episode by reinforcing the central theme: speed in decision-making is paramount for accelerated growth. He challenges listeners to assess their own decision-making processes and identify areas where delays are hindering progress. By adopting the strategies discussed, entrepreneurs and leaders can cultivate a culture of agility, resilience, and continuous improvement.

Final Takeaway:

• Harness the power of swift decision-making to drive your business forward, even if it means risking occasional mistakes, as long as they can be quickly rectified.

Closing Quote:

• Alex Hormozi: "Speed is the underlying point for this today. If you are making these decisions and you make a little oopsie, I'm not going to get on your case about it because I want you to just be making more decisions quickly so that we can move faster as an org." (38:50)

Key Quotes with Timestamps

• Alex Hormozi (00:00):

  "You're not growing as fast as you want because you're not making decisions as fast as you need to."

• Elon Musk (05:30):

  "I'm going to be making them on the spot and I'm going to get it right 80% of the time and I'm going to get it wrong 20% of the time and then 20% of the time that I get it wrong, we can always fix it."

• Alex Hormozi (12:45):

  "If you're hitting 80%, you're probably a good decision maker."

• Alex Hormozi (22:10):

  "Hey, I might be wrong here, but we need to make this decision. This is my best bad idea. This is my best bad decision. Let's go forward with that and if it's wrong, we can fix it later."

• Alex Hormozi (38:50):

  "If you are making these decisions and you make a little oopsie, I'm not going to get on your case about it because I want you to just be making more decisions quickly so that we can move faster as an org."

Final Remarks

Hormozi concludes by expressing gratitude to his listeners for sharing the podcast and encouraging them to continue spreading the word to help the community grow. He reiterates the importance of embracing rapid decision-making as a pathway to achieving greater success and faster growth.

Closing Message:

"Hey guys, real quick, just want to say thank you for sharing the podcast. It continues to grow only because of y'all sharing it and tagging it and sending it to your employees, sending to your friends, putting your slack messages. It's the only way podcasts really grow."

This episode serves as a compelling guide for entrepreneurs and business leaders seeking to enhance their decision-making processes. By prioritizing speed and fostering a supportive environment for making and learning from mistakes, organizations can unlock their full growth potential.