This segment is a unique and cool talk show that showcases individuals and companies in the community and is focused on leadership and giving back. Our goal is to interview guests that are doing great things in their business and in their community. Today our host spoke with Tony Davis.
Tony Davis
President of Crestcom Leadership Development
Website Address: https://crestcomnefl.com/
Short company description:
Partner with business owners to transform their managers into leaders.
How did you acquire deep knowledge in your area of expertise?
We gained deep expertise by combining research-backed leadership principles with real-world business application. Leadership development cannot live in theory; it has to be practiced, measured, and refined. Over time, working directly with organizations across Northeast Florida has reinforced what the research already tells us — consistent, applied learning produces lasting behavior change. Our knowledge comes from integrating global leadership research with practical implementation inside operating businesses.
How has mentorship shaped your journey to becoming an expert?
Mentorship has played a significant role in understanding that leadership is influence, not position. Early on, we learned that the strongest leaders are the ones who invite accountability and remain teachable. Being mentored reinforced the importance of structure, discipline, and humility in leadership development. That perspective shapes how we approach every client relationship — leadership growth is continuous, not episodic.
How do you use feedback to accelerate your growth?
Feedback is one of the most underutilized leadership tools. We treat feedback as data — not as criticism — and that mindset changes everything. In leadership development, we encourage managers to actively seek input from their teams because blind spots limit performance more than lack of effort. When feedback becomes part of the culture, organizations improve decision-making, communication, and accountability. Continuous improvement only happens when leaders are willing to listen as much as they direct.
Transcript:
James:
Hi. Welcome to Ask the Expert. I’m James Fenimore, and joining me today is a real special treat. Joining me is Tony Davis. Tony, how are you?
Tony:
I’m great. How are you doing?
James:
Very good. Nice to meet you.
Tony:
Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming on.
James:
Of course. You’re welcome to Ask the Expert. So, Tony, what are you an expert in?
Tony:
All right. Well, I own a company called Crestcom Leadership Development of Northeast Florida. What I do for companies here across all industries is help develop their management teams into more effective leaders.
At Crestcom, we are a global franchise network. We’ve been developing leaders for over 40 years. So we feel we have the secret sauce on how to develop and grow leaders.
Because we’ve all been to training where you go and sit through eight hours a day for three days, and then you go back to work and what happens?
James:
Right out the window.
Tony:
Exactly. Nothing happens. You’ve got to deal with all the fires you’re putting out and jump right back into it.
But at Crestcom, everything that we do and how we do it is centered around success, and we define success as changing behavior.
James:
Amen.
Tony:
Because without behavior change, there’s no leadership growth.
We are very unique in what we do. There are ten ways that we drive success to change behavior that no other organization in our industry — and it’s a huge industry, the management training and leadership development industry — does.
James:
Love that.
So being that it’s January, change behavior is a big topic for anybody. It really is. So being that you’re an expert, what can you help anybody with right now that’s trying a New Year’s resolution, trying to change a behavior? Is there one little tip you can give us?
Tony:
Great tip. First and foremost, there are a whole lot of tips to changing behavior.
First of all, it’s about mindset — understanding that you can change your behavior. Nobody in the world is an old dog that can’t be taught new tricks unless you choose to be that old dog.
Now, the key to changing behavior — and this is a great time of year to talk about this because of New Year’s resolutions that last, what, 14 days? Maybe if you’re lucky.
James:
If you’re lucky.
Tony:
It’s not done through repetition. Changing behavior is not about repetition.
What happens supposedly if you do something for 21 days?
James:
You create a habit.
Tony:
Well, no. They moved that back to 30 days. I even had one of my participants tell me they thought it was 66 days. They keep moving the goalposts because it doesn’t work. That’s not how you change behavior through repetition.
You change behavior through positive feelings.
Let’s say, James, you go to the gym on January 2nd and you’re ready to get in shape. You believe if you go 21 days, you’ll create a new habit. So you go for ten days and then you step on the scale and look in the mirror and nothing’s changed.
James:
That’s probably going to happen after ten days.
Tony:
So I ask you in that scenario, are you going to go on day 11?
James:
Yeah, you’re right.
Tony:
Probably not.
But now let’s flip it. Let’s say you go to the gym for ten days and you’re killing it. You have the right mindset. You step on the scale, you’re down seven pounds. You look in the mirror and you’re looking a little tighter. Your clothes fit looser.
Are you going to go on day 11?
James:
Absolutely.
Tony:
Heck yeah you are, because those positive emotions are going to drive you forward.
Now in my industry, when leaders feel those positive emotions, it’s because they’re seeing the impact they’re making on their people through growth in their leadership. They’re helping people do what they want and need to do. That’s their job. They’re helping people feel more successful.
When the people you’re leading inside and outside the workplace — because leadership doesn’t have boundaries, we lead everywhere — when those people pay it forward and tell you, “Wow, I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you’re different and it’s really making an impact on me,” is that going to fire you up to grow your leadership even more?
James:
Oh, yeah.
Tony:
Absolutely.
James:
I love that.
Tony:
So that’s a great tip for changing behavior. Don’t look at it through repetition, but look at it through how you can drive positive emotions and see results.
James:
I love that, especially because repetition — for me, if I’m just starting at the gym for ten days when I haven’t been going for a year — that’s a tough repetition to break.
So I really love the positive reinforcement and kind of getting that dopamine hit of those great feelings and wanting to hit that again.
Tony, thank you so much for telling us about what you’re an expert in, because it’s pretty clear. How can we find you?
Tony:
You can go to LegacyOfLeadersTV.com and find me there. You can go to BuzzNetworkTV.com. Or you can check me out at CrestcomNFL.com as well.
I’d love to talk with you about growth mindset and how to grow your leadership inside and outside the workplace.
James:
Thank you so much for being with us on Ask the Expert. Hopefully we’ll have you on again soon because I’m sure we’ve got a lot to talk about.
Tony:
Sounds great.
James:
This has been Ask the Expert. I’m James Fenimore, and we’ll see you next time.
The Daily News Network, Buzz Tv News, and DAILYBIZBRIEF highlight business professionals, nonprofits, veterans and community leaders on over 40 TV Segments including The Horse’s Mouth, Legacy of Leaders TV, Veterans Buzz TV, Finding Your Frequency, and Buzzworthy Businesses.
Teal, The Agency, powered by Client Focused Media, offers marketing agencies a full-service white-label solution to scale their services without the cost or complexity of building large in-house teams. Tailored for small and medium-sized agencies, Teal specializes in relationship-driven lead generation, advanced CRM workflows for personalized client engagement, and end-to-end project fulfillment. With powerful integrations like HighLevel, Stripe, and Zapier, Teal simplifies your operations while optimizing efficiency—saving you valuable time and resources. While other tools on the market like Vendasta, RocketDriver, and DashClicks, may require contracts, Teal provides flexible, no-contract pricing, giving you the freedom to grow on your terms. Ready to elevate your agency’s impact and efficiency? Explore how Teal can help you deliver exceptional results and better serve your clients. Apply on BeTeal.com today to start your journey toward becoming a marketing powerhouse by understanding digital marketing strategies for agencies, SEO best practices for marketing agencies and scaling a marketing agency.
