Resources to run a better business.

Welcome to the third post in our four-part series on leading bravely. It’s sometimes hard to do the right thing. Even when you’re 100% sure the thing you’re doing is right. A perfect example: realizing an employee is no longer a fit for your organization. You may be certain that letting them go is the right thing to do (for the business and, ultimately, for them as well). But—and this is especially true if you have history and really love them as a person—that doesn’t make it easy.

To act bravely, you need confidence. You need the confidence to believe that what you’re doing is probably right. You also need confidence to bolster you when you’re inevitably wrong. If you’re emotionally wrecked every time an idea doesn’t quite work out as expected, you’ll quickly lose faith in yourself. How do you know when your confidence might be faltering? You’ve experienced the symptoms.

Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with hundreds of entrepreneurs and thousands of leaders. And there’s one quality that the most successful of them all have in common. It’s not intelligence. It’s not charisma. It’s bravery. The best—and maybe the only—way to be a truly great leader is to be brave.

Crews & co. has been awarded on the Financial Times list of America’s Fastest Growing Companies 2023.

Do you have a person in your life—an employee, a relative, a passing acquaintance—who just gets under your skin? And whether it’s due to circumstance or an ingrained belief that you need to be nice, you grit your teeth and pretend to get along? Pretend not to see their flaws? Pretend, essentially, that you have a positive relationship with them, when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth? Here’s the thing: the only person you’re really fooling in this scenario is yourself.

To iterate or to innovate? What, actually, is the difference? I wasn’t sure myself until a few months ago, when I had the opportunity to listen to, and learn from, a genius named Duncan Wardle. Wardle’s creative credentials are as bona fide as you can get. And he articulates the concepts of iteration and innovation better than anyone else I’ve encountered. Here’s my highlight reel from Duncan Wardle’s talk—and what I’ve learned about the importance of iteration AND innovation in business.

If you want your company to grow, you must look for ways to make your business stand out. Make your business stand out. Not necessarily your product. Because the truth is, your customers are buying more than your product. What they’re really buying is an experience.

When a company is just getting started, it requires significant energy and effort from its founder(s). I can look back at my own recent experience, building this consulting company and the finance company that sits inside of it, and realize that’s true. But the older (and wiser?) I get, the more I recognize that holding on too tight, too long, ends up choking the thing I am trying to grow.

Crews & co. is pleased to announce Darren Fredette as the firm’s newest strategic partner and senior advisor!