Alex Hormozi: “The 3 Evil Es” That Almost Killed My Business

The video discusses the three "evil E's" of entrepreneurship (expectations, emotions, and ego) and how they can harm a business, with tips on how to mitigate their negative effects.

This video by Alex Hormozi was published on May 24, 2021.
Video length: 13:34.

In this video, Alex Hormozi, CEO of Acquisition.com, discusses the three "evil Es" of entrepreneurship that can harm a business:

expectations, emotions, and ego. He explains how having unrealistic expectations can lead to hasty decisions and shortcuts, while being too emotional can cause flip-flopping on decisions and poor judgment. He also offers tips for mitigating these evils, such as focusing on process-based expectations and slowing down decision-making when feeling emotional.

Finally, he warns that ego can be the most dangerous of the three evils, as it can blind entrepreneurs to their own weaknesses and lead to poor decision-making.

• Alex Hormozi discusses the three "evil E's" of entrepreneurship: expectations, emotions, and ego.
• Arbitrary goals with unrealistic timelines can harm a business by leading to hasty, high-risk decisions.
• Emotions can quickly spin decisions in the right or wrong direction, so entrepreneurs should detect when they are emotional and extend the time horizon between feeling and action.
• Ego can lead to overconfidence, arrogance, and a lack of self-awareness, so entrepreneurs should focus on the team's success and surround themselves with people who will challenge them.
• The best decisions are made from a state of contentment and gratitude, and entrepreneurs should actively manage their emotions to make better decisions.
• Expenses are liabilities that increase the risk of failure, so entrepreneurs should actively think about decreasing liabilities to decrease downside risk.
• Proper decision making is the most important job of an entrepreneur, and entrepreneurs should make decisions from a state of contentment and gratitude and stick with decisions made in a proper emotional state.

“The 3 Evil Es” That Almost Killed My Business - YouTube

Introduction

• Alex Hormozi is an entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of Acquisition.com.
• He discusses the three "evil E's" of entrepreneurship (expectations, emotions, and ego) and how they can harm a business.
• He provides tips on how to mitigate their negative effects.

Expectations

• Entrepreneurs often think that everything has to happen immediately.
• Setting arbitrary goals with an unrealistic timeline can lead to taking shortcuts and making hasty, high-risk decisions.
• Shift expectations from outcome-based to process-based expectations.
• Focus on the process rather than the outcome.
• Meet process-based expectations with the intolerance of excellence.

Emotions

• Biggest CEOs in the world try to stay as even-handed as possible with decisions.
• Flipping back and forth on decisions is a sign of being subject to emotions.
• Emotions can quickly spin thousands of decisions in the right or wrong direction.
• Detect when you are emotional to decrease the speed of decision-making.
• Extend the time horizon between the feeling and taking action.

“The 3 Evil Es” That Almost Killed My Business - YouTube

Ego

• Ego is the most evil of the three E's.
• It can lead to overconfidence, arrogance, and a lack of self-awareness.
• Entrepreneurs need to be self-aware and willing to admit when they are wrong.
• Surround yourself with people who will challenge you and hold you accountable.
• Focus on the team's success rather than individual success.

Conclusion

• Expectations, emotions, and ego can harm a business.
• Shift expectations from outcome-based to process-based expectations.
• Detect when you are emotional to decrease the speed of decision-making.
• Be self-aware and willing to admit when you are wrong.

Importance of Emotional State in Decision Making

• Best decisions are made from a state of contentment and gratitude.
• Operating from a place of scarcity, urgency, or deficiency can lead to poor decision making.
• Extend time horizons when feeling urgency.
• Make decisions from a place of contentment and gratitude.
• Acknowledge that emotions cannot be avoided, but they can be managed.

The Role of Expenses in Entrepreneurship

• Expenses are liabilities and increase the risk of failure.
• Decreasing liabilities can increase the likelihood of meeting expectations.
• Entrepreneurs should actively think about decreasing liabilities to decrease downside risk.
• Setting massive expectations and incurring unnecessary expenses can harm a business.
• Growth should come before incurring greater expenses.

The Dangers of Expectations and Emotions

• Expectations and emotions can lead to poor decision making.
• Entrepreneurs should avoid setting arbitrary expectations to satisfy emotional needs.
• Delaying expenses until growth occurs can be a better strategy than incurring expenses in anticipation of growth.
• Solving problems with cash in the bank and contracts signed is easier than solving problems with liabilities.
• Anticipating growth without knowing what it will look like can lead to unnecessary expenses and failure.

The Importance of Proper Decision Making

• Proper decision making is the most important job of an entrepreneur.
• Entrepreneurs should make decisions from a state of contentment and gratitude.
• Stick with decisions made in a proper emotional state, even when facing challenges later on.
• Extend time horizons when feeling urgency to avoid making decisions from an emotional state.
• Entrepreneurs should actively focus on managing their emotions to make better decisions.

The Three Evil E's of Entrepreneurship

• Expectations, emotions, and expenses are the three evil E's of entrepreneurship.
• Expectations are the most deadly of the three.
• Expectations are beliefs that are often based on false assumptions.
• Adjusting expectations to be reasonable and based on process, not outcome, can help avoid undue expenses and risk.
• Emotions can be managed by making decisions from a place of contentment.
• Expenses can be avoided by not hiring before it's necessary and letting growth pay for expenses.

Tips for Avoiding the Three Evil E's

• Focus on the product and delighting customers, rather than hitting specific goals.
• Be intolerant of anything but excellence in the process.
• Make decisions from a point of gratitude and contentment.
• Keep expectations driven around process, not outcome.
• Extend the decision-making space to avoid making poor decisions.
• Keep high expectations, but keep them on process, not on what has to happen.

Watch the video on YouTube:
“The 3 Evil Es” That Almost Killed My Business - YouTube