How to lead your small business with courage — Ryan Berman | Courageous

Courage is a necessary virtue for small business owners, who must meet the demands of their organizations with limited financial resources and a handful of employees. However, companies must constantly evolve with their customers and industries to stay successful, and as many entrepreneurs are aware, nothing is more intimidating than change.

On this episode of The Small Business Show, host Shyann Malone is joined by Ryan Berman, founder of Courageous, entrepreneur, keynote speaker and best-selling author of “Return on Courage: A Business Playbook for Courageous Change.” Berman has helped thousands of small business owners across the country, teaching them to lead with courage and take chances on bold ideas. He has also made speaking appearances at some of the world’s greatest companies, including Google, and helped major brands such as Johnson & Johnson and Major League Baseball create stories that drive customer engagement and long-term success. Now, he joins the show to discuss the importance of courage in entrepreneurship and small business leadership.

Key Takeaways

1. Success is difficult to maintain. Roughly 52% of the Fortune 500 companies existing in 2000 are no longer in business.

2. Unlocking courage for themselves or their teams can help business owners adapt to changing environments and achieve long-term success.

3. Humans are naturally wired to fear change, a characteristic that has kept many companies from adapting to new industry landscapes.

4. By building a framework that supports bold ideas and practicing fearless leadership, business owners can improve their own courage and help their teams overcome any apprehension to change.

5. One of the first steps to leading with courage is to openly identify, discuss and overcome the fears that are holding an organization back.

"It's not enough to just embody change or embrace change, have the courage to sit down with your leaders to create the change." — Ryan Berman