Where can you create the most asymmetry?

Hite, the hedge fund manager and the forefather of systems trading, is known for pioneering an investment concept called asymmetrical leverage.

He says people who get really rich usually have found an asymmetrical position. Typically through time, knowledge, money, or some combination thereof. Like people employed by large companies who have stock options as part of their compensation package.

That person’s salary may be stagnant, but their income can increase dramatically over the course of time. The trivial suddenly becomes paramount. Another example is tech startups, who often overspend on product, research and development and talent. They create asymmetrical leverage by virtualizing the cost away. Their product doesn’t habit the notoriously inefficient physical world.

Compare that to a rental car company that has fleets of sedans sitting in parking lots across the country. They’re paying out the wazoo for on the ground expenditures, which don’t promise an exceptional return on investment.

Where can you create the most asymmetry? Where can you put in a little and get out a lot?

This form of leverage is powerful, but it can also hard to find. Sometimes you have to undergo a bit of trial and error until you figure out the right formula.

During my first few years as an entrepreneur, I had a bad habit of doing tasks that took up a disproportionate amount of time compared to their result. My effort versus the value that my company got in return was embarrassing.

Apparently cruising around town attending multiple networking events per day didn’t put more money in my pocket, it just ate up my time, burned gasoline and made me feel like a working adult who wasn’t actually living with his parents. Duly noted.

On the other hand, every once in a while I would invest my time on tasks that somehow created the highest return on investment with the least resources.

Like writing one article, submitting it for publication to numerous media platforms, getting editorial approval, and watching my website traffic and inbound leads immediately uptick. Talk about asymmetry. Once that source of leverage revealed itself, you better believe my weekly attendance at local chamber of commerce events plummeted.

Because there was no asymmetry there. Not that connection wasn’t important, but it certainly wasn’t as urgent as it appeared.

That’s the sweet spot each of us need to find. Focusing on pulling levers that have a disproportionate impact on our odds of not only surviving, but succeeding. Even if we’re not businesspeople or investors.

How can you use time, knowledge and money to get a lot out of a little?