Unexpected CEO: Here Comes the Sun!

“It’s been a long, cold, lonely winter.”

The Beatles' lyric has been stuck in my head lately. Partly because spring is finally arriving. But also because, metaphorically, it reflects the journey at ScribeConcepts.

For a while, leadership felt like winter.

Not failure. Not despair. But long days of learning, questioning, adjusting, and figuring out how to guide a company I never expected to lead.

Three years after Chris’s death, I’m still learning about this company, this industry, and leadership. Every now and then, an a-ha moment brings something into focus.

The most recent realization has been about the relationship between accountability and trust.

For months, our COO, Jared Taylor, and I have been working on what we’re calling a “stabilization plan” for ScribeConcepts.

Why stabilization?

• Because growth without structure creates stress.

• Because profitability without discipline erodes over time.

• Because good intentions without ownership create confusion.

• Because real trust requires transparency, follow-through, and teamwork.

None of this diminishes what this team has accomplished.

Over the past three years, we have grown revenue, taken on increasingly complex work, expanded our client base, shared profits with team members, strengthened collaboration, and brought in strong operational leadership.

After a long winter of learning, rebuilding, and strengthening, the sun is beginning to shine.

In short, we have evolved.

But growth demands responsibility. As organizations expand, systems that once worked informally begin to strain. Cracks appear not because people are failing, but because the structure hasn’t kept pace with the success.

It would be easier not to address those cracks.

But leadership requires that we do.

At ScribeConcepts, accountability means taking full ownership of the work we do together and recognizing that every role contributes to the company's strength and sustainability.

Accountability applies to leadership, including me.

Growth without structure creates stress. Profitability without discipline erodes over time. Good intentions without ownership create confusion. Real trust requires transparency, follow-through, and teamwork.

My responsibility is to ensure the team has the tools, structure, data, and clarity needed to succeed. Once those things are in place, people deserve the autonomy to lead within that structure.

Over the past few years, I’ve spoken often about building a “people-first” culture. Sometimes the assumption is that means lowering standards or avoiding difficult conversations.

In reality, the opposite is true.

Being people-first does not mean being soft on standards. It means being strong in support.

People-first and accountability are partners.

When expectations are clear, trust increases. When trust increases, performance strengthens. When performance strengthens, opportunities expand.

Over the past three years, we have built a reputation for doing what we say we will do. When we say, “We can do this,” our clients believe us.

Now our work is to build that same clarity and trust internally as we continue to grow.

Looking back on our journey, each year has had its focus:

2023 was about balance. 2024 was about infrastructure. 2025 was about working smarter.

And now, in 2026, our focus is simple:

Trust.

And trust is built through accountability.

After a long winter of learning, rebuilding, and strengthening, the sun is beginning to shine.