The 21st Century Leadership Revolution: 8 Game-Changing Lessons Every Small Business Owner Must Know
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How I trained my leadership team at 787 Coffee using revolutionary insights inspired by leadership expert Roselinde Torres during our Tuesday strategy meeting.
Last Tuesday, something extraordinary happened in our 787 Coffee strategy meeting. Using breakthrough leadership principles inspired by Roselinde Torres' masterpiece TED Talk and adapted through my business labs, we completely transformed how our leadership team thinks about growth, adaptability, and success in today's fast-changing market.
The results? Immediate alignment, clearer vision, and actionable strategies that are already showing results across our locations.
Today, I'm sharing these same game-changing insights with you – whether you're a Latino entrepreneur building your dream, a small business owner fighting to stay competitive, or a coffeepreneur looking to scale beyond your first location.
The Leadership Crisis: What Roselinde Torres Discovered
Roselinde Torres brought a great perspective on what we know about leadership.
With over 25 years of experience advising Fortune 500 CEOs and cultivating leadership pipelines, Torres made a shocking discovery that she shared in her groundbreaking TED Talk: traditional leadership development is fundamentally broken.
Her research revealed the uncomfortable truth: 58% of companies report critical leadership gaps despite massive investments in leadership development. Torres didn't just identify the problem – she traveled the globe studying what actually works, from Nelson Mandela's transformational leadership in South Africa to nonprofit leaders who create massive impact with limited resources.
Her TED Talk masterpiece challenged everything we thought we knew about leadership, proving that the old model of the "all-knowing boss" who commands from the front doesn't work anymore. I learned this the hard way scaling 787 Coffee, and I've seen countless Latino business owners struggle because they're using outdated leadership frameworks that weren't built for our reality.
Torres' insights became the foundation for revolutionizing how we develop leaders at 787 Coffee.
LEADERSHIP GAPS
traditional leadership models are failing
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Fortune 500 CEOs
revealing the
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The 8 Leadership Principles That Changed Everything
After studying Roselinde Torres' revolutionary insights and testing these principles in real business scenarios through my business labs, here are the 8 non-negotiable leadership lessons every entrepreneur needs to master:
1. Adaptability Beats Authority Every Time
Torres discovered that great leaders thrive by doing things differently – they understand that success comes from continuous adaptation, not rigid authority. Stop trying to have all the answers. Great leaders adapt faster than they command. At 787 Coffee, we shifted from "Brandon knows best" to "let's figure this out together" – and our innovation rate tripled.
Action Step: This week, ask your team: "What would you do differently if you were running this?" Then actually listen.
2. Continuous Learning Is Your Competitive Advantage
While your competitors are comfortable, you should be uncomfortable – and learning. I travel globally, study different business models, and constantly challenge my assumptions. That's how 787 Coffee stays ahead.
Action Step: Commit to learning one new business skill every month. Read, travel, shadow other successful entrepreneurs.
3. Context Is Everything – Know Your Market Like Your Life Depends On It
This was one of Torres' most powerful insights from studying Nelson Mandela's leadership. Mandela's extraordinary leadership was shaped by his deep understanding of South Africa's social, political, and economic shifts. Just as Mandela understood his context deeply, you need to understand your market, your community, and your customers' evolving needs with the same intensity.
Action Step: Spend 2 hours this week talking directly to customers. Not through surveys – real conversations.
4. Diverse Teams Create Breakthrough Results
Torres observed that great leaders build an ecosystem of support around them – mentors, colleagues, and even adversaries. Leadership isn't about being alone at the top, but creating environments where collaboration and diversity of thought thrive. Homogeneous teams create predictable results. Diverse teams create breakthrough results. This isn't about checking boxes – it's about accessing different perspectives that reveal opportunities you'd never see alone.
Action Step: Look at your leadership team. If everyone thinks like you, you have a problem. Start diversifying your advisory circle today.
5. Take Calculated Risks, Not Reckless Ones
Fear of failure keeps most small businesses small. But reckless risk-taking kills them. The sweet spot is calculated risks based on solid research and clear upside potential.
Action Step: Identify one calculated risk you've been avoiding. What's the worst that could happen? What's the best? Make the decision.
6. Empower Others or Stay Small Forever
You cannot scale yourself. Every successful business requires other people to make decisions, take ownership, and lead in their areas. Fighting this reality limits your growth.
Action Step: Give one team member complete ownership of a project this month. Resist the urge to micromanage.
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7. Vision Without Strategy Is Just a Dream
Everyone talks about vision. Few create actionable strategies to achieve it. At 787 Coffee, we don't just dream about the future – we reverse-engineer it into today's decisions.
Action Step: Write down where you want your business in 5 years. Now work backward: what needs to happen in year 4, 3, 2, 1? This month?
8. Relationships Are Your Real Business Assets
Your network determines your net worth, but more importantly, your relationships determine your resilience. Strong relationships with customers, team members, suppliers, and even competitors create opportunities that money can't buy.
Action Step: Reach out to three people in your industry this week. Offer value before asking for anything.
The Torres Method: How We Applied This at 787 Coffee (Real Results)
Inspired by Roselinde Torres' methodology, these aren't theoretical concepts. Here's exactly how we implemented her insights:
Embracing Adaptability: We created monthly "assumption challenges" where team members could question any business process. Result: 40% improvement in operational efficiency.
Building Diverse Teams: We established cross-location collaboration sessions where baristas from different areas share customer insights. Result: Three new service innovations that increased customer satisfaction scores.
Long-term Vision: We aligned every decision with our 10-year vision of becoming the bridge between Puerto Rican coffee culture and global coffee appreciation. Result: Clearer priorities and faster decision-making.
The Latino Entrepreneur Advantage
As Latino business owners, we have unique advantages in today's market:
Cultural adaptability from navigating multiple worlds
Relationship-building skills rooted in community values
Resilience developed through overcoming systemic barriers
Innovation mindset from making more with less
The key is leveraging these natural strengths while developing the strategic leadership skills that scale businesses.
Your Next Steps: The Business Labs Approach
Leadership development isn't a one-time training – it's an ongoing practice, just as Torres discovered in her global research. That's why I've developed business labs where entrepreneurs can continuously refine their leadership skills through real-world application and peer learning, using principles proven by Torres' extensive research with Fortune 500 companies.
Whether you're running a single coffee shop or building a restaurant empire, these principles work because they're based on what actually drives business results in today's market.
The bottom line: Leadership isn't about your title or your years in business. As Roselinde Torres proved through her groundbreaking research, it's about your ability to adapt, learn, and create value for others while building something bigger than yourself.
Ready to Transform Your Leadership?
The gap between good businesses and great businesses isn't usually the product or service – it's the leadership. These 8 principles, inspired by Roselinde Torres' masterful research and adapted through real-world testing, have transformed not just 787 Coffee, but dozens of businesses I've worked with through my business labs and speaking engagements.
Your business success depends on your leadership evolution. The question isn't whether you need to grow as a leader – it's whether you'll start today or wait until your competitors pass you by.
Brandon Ivan Peña is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of 787 Coffee. Through his business labs and speaking engagements, he helps Latino entrepreneurs and small business owners develop the leadership skills needed to thrive in today's competitive market. Connect with Brandon and learn more about leadership development opportunities at soybrandon.com.