In this solo episode of the No Days Off podcast, host Brian Gubernick builds on a recent discussion of Scott Galloway’s wealth formula to propose his own "algebra" for business success. He frames the formula as: focus + (stoicism × network × decision‑making). Gubernick first revisits Galloway’s wealth equation (wealth = focus + stoicism × time × diversification) and explains why focus is the foundational element for both wealth and business. He then defines each multiplicative variable: 1. Stoicism – the discipline to ignore temptations, shortcuts, and shiny‑object distractions, maintaining consistent effort. 2. Network – both the external network effect generated by a product/service (evangelists, fans) and the internal relationships with talent, partners, and employees that amplify growth. 3. Decision‑making – the ability to make frequent, calculated decisions rather than hesitating or relying solely on gut instinct. Gubernick illustrates how each factor multiplies the others, using hypothetical scaling (e.g., low stoicism or a weak network dramatically reduces overall success). He argues that missing one or more variables explains why some of his ventures succeeded while others failed. The episode concludes with a call for listeners to evaluate their own businesses against the formula and to share additional variables they think belong in the equation via Instagram or text. Overall, the episode serves as a conceptual framework for entrepreneurs, emphasizing disciplined focus, strong networks, and decisive action as the core drivers of business success.
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Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Just yesterday, we ran an episode on Scott Galloway's formula, his wealth formula, his algebra of wealth success. And his formula, as you may recall, if you listened to the episode, if you didn't, make sure you go back to it, 'cause I think it's a pretty good one, mainly because it's Scott Galloway's content and he has some good stuff. But the formula was that wealth equals focus plus the multiplication of stoicism times time times diversification. So if you want to be wealthy, you got to focus. It's not talent, but it's perseverance and grit. Take that and you add it to the combination of what Scott described as stoicism— we'll talk about that again here in a moment— times time, times diversification. Anyhow, we ran that episode just yesterday, and while I normally record a number of episodes in advance, I actually recorded but decided to put this one out today in place of what would normally be airing because I actually got a good amount of feedback on that episode. And one question I, I was asked that I really, really liked, it got me thinking, was, hey Brian, if the formula for wealth is focus plus stoicism times time times diversification, what would you say is the formula or the algebra of business success? If you were to put it in an equation, what would it look like? And so I got to thinking about that one. It's a really good question, maybe one that you ought to think around too. What would be your formula for business success? But I'd like to share with you today what I came up with based on my experience in not just building some successful businesses, but also building some less than successful businesses. As you know, of course, oftentimes we learn more from our failure than we do from our successes. And so what, what I'm about to share is my formula based on a couple decades of building business, both those that won and those that did not win. What I think is the formula for business success, I do think it starts with focus, just like Scott said with wealth. I think focus is insanely important when it comes to business building. When you launch a business, you have got to be focused in that you've got to persevere a variety of setbacks. You got to be resilient. You have to have grit. Anybody that's ever started a business, or if you're currently building a business right now, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It is a grind. And the further you stray from what it is you are in fact focusing on, the path that you're pursuing, the, the product you're launching, the service that you're really developing, the further you stray from that, the less likely you are to succeed. Now, you earn the right to diversify with respect to that business down the line, but as you're business building, you have got to be incredibly focused. It also means beyond just focusing on, say, your core competency or an area in which you excel, you've also got to be laser-focused with respect to your calendar and your environment. In other words, you've got to be pretty purposeful if you aim to build a successful business. Said differently, there are not a lot of people I know that build massively successful businesses that dabble not just in that business but then have all these experiences outside of the business itself. Now don't get me wrong, you grow and you earn the right to spend time doing some other things outside of the office, but when you're launching a business, when you're building a business, ideally you're going all in, especially if you're early in your career and you're bootstrapping that business. As you get more money and you have a little bit, you could buy a little bit more time, you know, you don't have to move as quickly or as aggressively, it may make for a better business, but out the gate, when you're early in your career and you're strapped, you've gotta be insanely focused. Now, I think that much like Scott's formula, that focus is added to the multiplication of 3 other, 3 different variables. I really like this variable that is stoicism. Scott Galloway described stoicism in his focus on wealth as your ability to, determine what you can and can't control, specifically your ability to control your reactions to temptation. Basically, he described the opposite of stoicism as someone that reacts to temptation, someone that lacks discipline, which is really what temptation is all about. And so I think in business building, you've got to be a stoic. You have to, you have to honor stoicism, meaning that You're going to be pulled every which direction as you're building this business. There's going to be shiny objects, there's going to be tools and things sold to you, vendors that approach you, and you've got to remember that you've got to have discipline and focus, and you cannot react to the temptation that is the shortcut. Shortcuts are one of the number one reasons businesses fail or people quit. So the idea here is you are focused on the mission at hand, building that business. And you're adding that focus to a, to a multiplication of stoicism as the first variable. Stoicism again being ability to not react to temptation, stay laser focused. I think it's stoicism times a different variable though than what he said, Scott Galloway said, with wealth. Uh, I think it's stoicism times Network. Now I'm going to define your network as not just the people you know or you have around you. Those are clearly important with respect to building businesses, but also the network effect your product or your service or whatever widget you're in fact selling creates. So do you have evangelists that talk about your programs, your services, your products? Do you have a fan base? Do you have followers? Has your product or service made a sizable difference, or has it begun to make a sizable difference on a number of people? And as a result, there's this network effect that helps you grow your business from a sales perspective. Now, I also think about network in terms of your relationships, because we all know that in the course of building a big business, who you get in the business with matters. You're seeking talent, you're seeking better people, better than you. You want, you want to align with amazing employees or people working alongside you or partners. So your ability to develop a network and capitalize on that network for business success is incredibly important when building a business. I think it's stoicism times network, and then the last variable that I'm thinking about in terms of business success Decision-making, your ability to make decisions. I think this is one that is undervalued. When you study those that build big, successful, flourishing businesses, odds are those individuals that are leading those companies are excellent or have developed a muscle for excellence in decision-making. I actually find that some of the most prosperous business owners are those that make the highest quantity of decisions every single day. In other words, they don't vacillate, they don't hesitate, they make decisions and they make them strategically, not necessarily always from their gut. As a matter of fact, I would say they make more calculated decisions based on a formula or framework or strategy versus uncalculated from the gut. So your ability to make decisions, cast a vision, point direction for that company, and then influence that company's people as well as its network, which is all about decision-making, my opinion, is insanely important for the growth of that business. So to recap, if you're asking me for the formula for business success, somewhat based around what Scott's— Scott Galloway shared and what I shared yes— in yesterday's episode around wealth, I think it's focus, your ability to stay in your lane, and focus on your core competency, go all in, plus— so focus plus the multiplication of stoicism, your ability to not be drawn by temptation, times network, how you build a network externally as well as internally, times decision-making, your ability to make calculated Well thought through decisions. I think when you look at that formula and you nail those respective variables that I just described, odds are you're building a successful business. If you're missing 1 or 2 or 3 of these variables, or you're deficient in these variables, my guess is that your business is not successful. Let's just work backwards here. Let's say you, you gave in to every temptation. And on a scale of 1 to 10, you ended up with a 1 or a 2 in stoicism. And that's a multiplicative factor there, right? It's being multiplied. A 1 or 2 would be detrimental to that business's grade, that business's success. Or your network. Let's say you've got an amazing product or amazing service. Maybe you're not giving in to temptation, maybe you're making good decisions, but you have no network, meaning your product or service is not impacting people externally and it's not moving people internally. Odds are your business isn't flourishing. Lastly, if your decision-making is poor, you may have a great network, you may have a great product, you may be focused, you may be laser-focused such that you're not giving in to temptation, but your ability to make decisions is damn near a zero or a one. While your business might have moderate success, it'll never have the success it, it desires or you desire. So I want you to think through this formula today: focus plus stoicism times network times decision-making. I want you to think through that formula as far as business success goes and see where you're excelling and see where you're maybe lacking. I'd also love to hear from you. I want to hear what variables you think may be missing, or that should be added, I should say, to this formula. Or how you'd rewrite this if in any way. What do you think, uh, about, about this formula? I, I gave it quite a bit of thought, and, um, you know, I, I think it's pretty close, but it's based on my personal experiences, good and bad. When I think about the businesses where I've had a lot of success, I think I've hit these 4 variables pretty hard. And where I've lacked some success, well, I think it has to do with me missing 1 or 2 of these variables or underperforming in these variables. So I'm curious what you think. Hit us on Instagram or wherever you could find us. Reply to the text maybe you received with our episode. I'd love to hear what variables you think are missing or might be changed up. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]
