I was 15 years old when I started working in a bike shop. I wasn’t thinking about leadership. I wanted money for beer and a better bike. I had no idea that little shop would change the course of my life.

For the next 22 years, I chased promotions, bigger teams, and more responsibility. I thought success meant climbing the ladder.

Then, on June 9, 2019, I was looking out my basement window. I was ready to quit. Instead, I made a different decision.

I would focus my career on giving other people the opportunities I’d been given.

So I changed how I led. I started asking every person on my team one question…

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Helping them get there wasn’t extra work. I called it my job.

People grew. Sales associates became Store Managers. Store Managers became District Managers. Watching that happen became more rewarding than any promotion I had ever received.

And somewhere along the way, I realized leadership wasn’t only changing careers. It was changing me. It made me a better husband. A better dad. A better friend. Leadership didn’t stay at work.

That’s why I built Forge. Because leadership changes lives. The influence you have on people is greater than the metric in front of you today.

One day, you’ll leave the job. We all do. The title stays. The metrics stay. The company moves on.

Leadership is one of the few things you’ll take with you when you leave.