Leadership, Leading by Craft and Standard

I design each piece with a personal intention and steer the business across the United States and Japan. That teaches you what leadership really is.

Real leadership is not a title and it is not volume. The loudest person in the room is rarely the leader. Leadership is setting the standard by how you show up, then holding it without compromise, especially when no one is watching and it would be easier to let something slide. People follow standards far more than they follow speeches.

The enemy is good enough

The best summary I have ever heard did not come from a business book. It came from the Horween tannery, whose leather I build with. Their president said their greatest enemy is the phrase, it is good enough. Good enough is where quality goes to die, and a leader’s real job is to refuse it, over and over, in a thousand small decisions nobody will ever see.

Ownership

A leader takes responsibility when things go wrong and gives away the credit when things go right. When my name is on every piece, there is nowhere to hide, and that accountability makes the work better. Pressure, faced honestly, is a gift.

Serve the work

The craftsmen I work with in Japan have given generations to their skill. My job is to honor that and protect the quality all the way to the person who finally wears it. That is why I am proud of our CEO boot, cut from Horween Shell Cordovan, a leather that takes at least six months and cannot be hurried. You do not lead from comfort. You lead from standards.

A Way Of Life.

Shop the Story

Black Bear Brand CEO Lace Up Boot, Horween Shell Cordovan  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/black-bear-brand-factory-store/ceo-lace-up-boot-shell-cordovan-horse

The BOSS’S BOSS Boot, Shell Cordovan  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/black-bear-brand-factory-store/the-bosss-boss-boot-black-horween-shell-cordovan-horse-collaboration-with-wesco

All Footwear  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/black-bear-brand-factory-store?category=Footwear

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Black Bear Means Long Wear: The 1914 Factory  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/black-bear-means-long-wear

Travel, Culture, and the Making of a Creative Life  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/travel-culture-creative-life

How to Build a Wardrobe That Lasts a Lifetime  ·  https://blackbearbrand.com/blog-1/wardrobe-that-lasts