Super-Leveraged People (The Power Law of Talent)
One super-leveraged person can create 100x or 1,000x the results — but only a big goal will attract them.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 87%
Building on Who Not How, Hardy points to the power law of talent: a super-leveraged person can create 100x or even 1,000x the results of an average one, echoing Bill Gates's line that a great code-writer is worth 10,000 times an average one. You only discover and attract such people if your goal is big enough to require them, because your frame — set by the goal — determines who you even notice. A low floor keeps you buried in low-value work and blind to them, and a self-centered vision repels them. Bringing on a super-leveraged person can halve an already-impossible timeline and fundamentally change the company.
Origin
Hardy credits Richard Koch's book The 80/20 Individual, which he read after writing Who Not How and wished he'd read before, for teaching him that one super-leveraged person can produce not 10x but 100x or 1,000x the results.
Core principles
- 01Talent follows a power law — a great performer is worth not 10x but 100x or 1,000x an average one.
- 02You only need a super-leveraged person if your goal demands one.
- 03Super-leveraged people bring their own pathways with them.
- 04A low floor and self-centered vision repel top talent because they can't see or be compelled by your goal.
- 05Creating a space where others can outshine you is what attracts the best people.
How to run it
- 1
Set a goal that requires a super-leveraged person
Without a goal big enough to demand one, you will never look for or find these people.
- 2
Raise your floor to make room
Stop saying yes to low-value opportunities so your frame can filter for high-signal talent.
Watch out A low floor keeps you busy below the line and blind to the super-leveraged people.
- 3
Filter for non-linear talent
Look for the rare person who brings 100x-1000x results and their own pathways, not just someone who can get a job done.
Pro tip Super-leveraged people bring the pathways with them — who, not how, on steroids.
- 4
Build a vision bigger than yourself
Create a space and role where others can be more successful than you, which is what compels top talent to join.
Pro tip If your goal is so small that it has to center on you, super-leveraged people won't be compelled by it.
In the wild
Hardy identified Joseph Wyn, a 26-year-old who self-published Don't Believe Everything You Think and sold millions of copies, as one of the best book marketers in the world. Since the book was the crux of hitting scaling.com's revenue goal, bringing Joseph on was transformational.
→ Joseph roughly halved the timeline on an already-impossible goal and made the company fundamentally different, including securing a free audiobook deal with the publisher.
Hardy cites Gates's famous claim that a great code-writer isn't worth 10 times an average one but 10,000 times, and extends it to podcasts and the S&P 500 where a handful of businesses out-earn millions of others.
→ Illustrates the power law: a tiny number of super-leveraged people or entities produce the overwhelming majority of results.
Common mistakes
Insisting on being the center
When it always has to be about you and no one can outshine you, super-leveraged people won't see you or be compelled to join.
Hiring for linear output
Thinking only about who can get a job done misses the rare person who creates 100x or 1000x the results.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders scaling toward a goal that requires transformational talent or partners.
Not ideal for
Small, founder-centric operations with modest goals that don't require or can't attract such people.
From the transcript
“a great codewriter isn't worth 10 times an average codewriter it's worth 10,000 times”
“if your goal is so small that you have to be the center, then you're not going to find superhoos”
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