Employees Taught Me How to Lead - A Century of Luxury & Legacy - Doug Meadows - 08-09-2026

Week 32 - Building a jewelry business has never just been about diamonds, gold, or beautiful pieces. It has always been about people. In this week’s A Century of Luxury & Legacy, I continue reflecting on employees and the lessons I learned as David Douglas Diamonds grew from a mostly family-run operation into a business with a real team. When my brother Dave and I started hiring employees, we really didn’t know what we were doing. We learned about scheduling, training, raises, accountability, communication and sometimes we learned those lessons by making mistakes. One lesson in particular has stayed with me: when an employee isn’t succeeding, I first need to look at myself. Did I clearly explain what was expected? Did I train them properly? Did I follow up? Did I give them the opportunity and tools to succeed? Over the years, those lessons led us to create better training systems, employee manuals, and a more intentional way of developing people. But leadership isn’t only about expectations and accountability. It’s also about appreciation. One tradition I’ve carried with me for years is writing a personal handwritten Christmas note to each member of our team, reflecting on what they contributed that year and thanking them for being part of our story. Some employees have told me they saved those notes. That humbles me more than they probably realize. Looking back over 100 years of our family in the jewelry business, I’m reminded that buildings, showcases, diamonds, and jewelry are only part of the story. The real legacy is the people who helped build it. Thanks for joining me for another week of A Century of Luxury & Legacy. I’ll continue this story next week as we look at how our team—and our understanding of leadership—continued to grow. - 032 - Employees Taught Me How to Lead - A Century of Luxury & Legacy - 08-09-2026" We are Celebrating 100 Years of a Family of Jewelers - Learn More Here : https://www.daviddouglas.com/pages/10... Join Our Email List Here: https://Email.DavidDouglas.com For more information visit: David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry https://www.daviddouglas.com CONTACT US : 3605 Sandy Plains Rd, Suite 260, Marietta, Georgia 30066 - https://google.com/maps/place/David+D... 770-578-0598 Call | Text Email Us At : 100Years@DavidDouglas.com Check out some of our other Playlists: Celebrating a Century of Legacy & Luxury :    • Celebrating Legacy & Luxury | 100 Years of...   Top 10 Jewelry Box Essentials :    • Top 10 Jewelry Box Essentials   The way we do Custom is different :    • The way WE do custom jewelry is different....   Week 32 of a 52 part series Shared by Doug Meadows at David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry in Marietta, Georgia