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When we initially launched Into the Dark Blue men's groups, I was so excited to get things moving, that I didn't have a very good screening process to ensure my leaders fully understood and aligned with the company ethos and tenets. Because of this, our success rate was only about 25% in the first year. In our second year, after developing a more cohesive framework to our mission, we've had exponential growth as we scaled back to only group leaders who were fully committed to the goals of the organization.
Through that I have learned the value and importance of prioritizing quality and values over growth. Thanks to taking a step back and being intentional about building that framework and standardizing the process in the necessary areas, we are now able to set expectations for our group leaders from the beginning without sacrificing the goals and purpose of the organization. This seems to be building a culture of invested leaders whose individual passions and goals are in line with those of The Dark Blue.
Over the past year, I have not only seen the men in our organization grow immensely as individuals and as leaders, I have also gained amazing friends and a community I was not expecting when all this started. I have also had the pleasure of meeting new potential leaders organically over the past few weeks, and I am proud to say it is largely because as a business owner, I am holding true to my own values, and the values of the company above all else. It is important to me to continue focusing on implementing our values and striving to achieve our company mission.
Going into 2024, The Dark Blue is committed to better serving the communities we are in. Just as with our Crew framework, we will be intentional about how we do this. Our first goal is to start having monthly community service days with each group. This will include at least two hours of volunteer time each month with a local nonprofit organization. We will be working with food banks, homeless shelters, veteran organizations, dementia/Alzheimer's organizations, women's shelters, etc.
Venture Into the Dark Blue with us, as we put in the work to better ourselves, and better our communities.
Best Regards,
Zach Jewell
Founder/CEO
The Dark Blue