We left doubt

A true story of learning, leadership, crisis, and learning to leave no doubt.

"Learning is a process not an event."

-Elliot Masie

Here is a story about my blinds business that may help you. Along with my leadership practice, I own and run a blinds business—shutters, blinds, and shades. We sell custom window fashions, meaning each product is made specifically for the window it will be installed in. It's a precision business, where even a 1/8-inch error can render a product useless. Early on, we faced a series of measurement and ordering errors, costing us money and jeopardizing our customer relationships and business survival. I share this story and our approach to preparing, leading through, and learning from such challenges in my third book, Left and Right of the Boom: The Art of Leadership, Before, During, and After Crisis.

To address these issues, we gathered as a team to discuss the errors, their causes, and how we could overcome them. The meeting was a bit tense, but I set a tone of learning and growth rather than excuses and blame. From that discussion, we created a short phrase that embodied our spirit of precision: “leave no doubt.”