{"id":1088,"date":"2019-02-27T21:57:04","date_gmt":"2019-02-27T21:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/tl\/get-out-of-the-way-and-five-other-leadership-lessons\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:56:50","slug":"get-out-of-the-way-and-five-other-leadership-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\/get-out-of-the-way-and-five-other-leadership-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGet Out of The Way&#8221; and Five Other Leadership Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div\n\tid=\"tl-fpb-1\"\n\tstyle=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/2407542-Banner-wide.jpg?quality=80&amp;w=4096);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;min-height:500px\" class=\"tl-featured-post-banner wp-block-rbc-thought-leadership-blocks-featured-post-banner\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__gradient\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;right:0;bottom:0;z-index:0;pointer-events:none;\"><\/div>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"tl-pill tl-pill--banner\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tAI, Technology and Innovation\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/ai-technology-and-innovation\/get-out-of-the-way-and-five-other-leadership-lessons\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\u201cGet Out of The Way&#8221; and Five Other Leadership Lessons\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"tl-featured-post-banner__excerpt\">\n\t\t\t\tAt RBCDisruptors, 1-800-GOT-JUNK founder Brian Scudamore  talked about being willing to fail and the leadership lessons he&#8217;s learned along the way.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A lifelong entrepreneur, he&#8217;s also seen what it takes to succeed in business \u2014 and how failing is vital to learning how to get things right.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the company pulls in $370 million annually in revenue and boasts 250 franchises around the world.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wouldn&#8217;t have gotten there if we didn&#8217;t fail,&#8221; Scudamore said. \u201cWe would never have gotten to where we are today if we didn&#8217;t continue to have the courage to make mistakes, and then learn from every one of those.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>One early mistake? \u201cI realized that I was a terrible leader.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At RBCDisruptors, our monthly conversation on innovation and technology, Scudamore talked about being willing to fail and the leadership lessons he&#8217;s learned along the way.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/583478283&amp;color=%231c040c&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Listen on <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/ca\/podcast\/willing-to-fail-the-disruptive-force-of\/id1332711400?i=1000430911045\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/5Pti8Y9JI8gGaFEwHXK1Nq?si=QUgD3-fDRruCyoaTlyzI5Q\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spotify<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/rbc-disruptors.simplecast.com\/episodes\/willing-to-fail-the-disruptive-force-of-an-entrepreneurial-mindset-event-highlights-feb-27-2019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Simplecast<\/a><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Here are some of his insights:<\/p>\n<h4>1. Ask Questions<\/h4>\n<p>When Scudamore set his sights on franchising, he went out and talked to 12 people. All 12 of them told him not to do it, that the junk removal business wasn&#8217;t franchise-able. He took the opportunity to ask questions, make changes, and tweak the model to make sense as a national business. Entrepreneurs need to have the boldness and the brashness to stand up and ask.<\/p>\n<h4>2. Paint a Clear Picture<\/h4>\n<p>Focus on what the future looks like, write it down, and share it with everyone. When Scudamore decided to scale 1-800-GOT-JUNK, he told his team the goal was to be in the top 30 metros. The naysayers left. Those who stuck with the company understood the goal, believed in it \u2013 and helped him to pull it off.<\/p>\n<h4>3. Make Tough Calls<\/h4>\n<p>Scudamore says the toughest thing he ever had to do was fire best friend, the company&#8217;s Chief Operating Officer. Together, they made rash decisions and almost bankrupted the business. \u201cThe right decision is usually a hard one.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h4>4. Be Out Front<\/h4>\n<p>Scudamore didn&#8217;t always know how to mentor. \u201cI was hiding in my private office, not spending time with my team,&#8221; he said. \u201cI didn&#8217;t want to. I was afraid of them, afraid of conflict.&#8221; He learned to put himself out there, and realized that leadership isn&#8217;t just about growing a business \u2013 it&#8217;s about helping people to grow.<\/p>\n<h4>5. Hire People You&#8217;d Want to Have a Beer With<\/h4>\n<p>\u201cI learned how to build a team and culture through failure,&#8221; he said. Five years into the business, he had 11 employees \u2014 and 9 of them were \u201cbad apples.&#8221; The workplace became toxic. He called a meeting, apologized \u2013 and let everyone go. He rebuilt by finding the right employees, hiring people who wanted to be friends with \u2013 who shared his passion for growth, and would represent the company well.<\/p>\n<h4>6. Get Out of the Way<\/h4>\n<p>Scudamore committed to a bucket list goal on the company&#8217;s vision board: be featured on the Oprah Winfrey show. It was clearly there for all to see, and an eager young employee took up the challenge, reaching out to the show and developing relationships until the call came in: there was an opportunity for 1-800-GOT-JUNK to be featured. \u201cI did nothing to make that happen,&#8221; Scudamore said. \u201cTyler got out there and did all the work to pull it together.&#8221; You know you&#8217;ve gotten leadership right when your team can handle the execution.<\/p>\n<p>Every entrepreneur makes mistakes, but you can&#8217;t beat yourself up when things go sideways, Scudamore said. Take a breath, and ask yourself what&#8217;s the one positive thing that can happen from this seemingly challenging situation. He finds the list is often longer than you&#8217;d think.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFailure should be your friend,&#8221; Scudamore said. \u201cEvery single mistake we made we had to make to get to the next level&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"#RBCDisruptors: The disruptive force of an entrepreneurial mindset\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bMOseTWaaSo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/p><style class=\"advgb-styles-renderer\">@media (min-width:782px){#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(135deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}@media (max-width:781px){#tl-fpb-1{background-image:url(https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/27\/2026\/06\/2407542-Banner-wide.jpg?quality=80&w=4096)!important;background-position:50% 50%!important;background-size:cover!important;min-height:400px!important;}#tl-fpb-1 .tl-featured-post-banner__gradient{background:linear-gradient(45deg, #070707, #00356300 100%);opacity:1;}}<\/style>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At RBCDisruptors, 1-800-GOT-JUNK founder Brian Scudamore  talked about being willing to fail and the leadership lessons he&#8217;s learned along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":209,"featured_media":2013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"disable_focal_point":true,"featured_image_focal_point":{"x":0.5,"y":0.5},"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","editor_notices":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"rbc_tl_platform":[131],"rbc_tl_newsletter":[],"rbc_tl_content_type":[132],"rbc_tl_author":[154],"class_list":["post-1088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ai-technology-and-innovation","rbc_tl_platform-disruptors","rbc_tl_content_type-podcast","rbc_tl_author-john-stackhouse"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u201cGet Out of The Way&quot; 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