Ashley Morris, CEO of Capriotti’s, “I strive to always be the dumbest person in the room”

Capriotti’s CEO Ashley Morris has a leadership mantra that sounds counterintuitive, but he insists it is one of the most reliable ways to build a stronger business.

As per the headline quote, “I strive to always be the dumbest person in the room,” Morris has said, framing the idea not as self-deprecation but as a deliberate strategy. And it’s pretty simple. His approach focuses on hiring people whose expertise exceeds his own, then stepping back enough to let that expertise shape decisions.

The idea is grounded in experience. Morris tells the story of him pushing for a bold marketing campaign that would have cost $105,000 across the franchise. His team, however, pushed back. He tested it in one location for $10,000 anyway, and, you guessed it, things didn’t go well.

“They were completely right,” he later admitted, a moment he now sees as proof of why it’s important to be surrounded by clever people with the permission to challenge.

And there are other examples of this type of leadership.

GE and Netflix models of leadership

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch once warned that “when the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near,” a reminder that leaders who rely only on their own instincts risk falling behind.

Similarly, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings has long argued that strong teams outperform strong individuals, writing in the company’s culture memo that “adequate performance gets a generous severance package.” His basic point is seeing the value of surrounding yourself with top talent rather than average compliance.

These clearly align with Morris’ approach. By positioning himself as a listener first, he says he creates space for ideas to surface from across the company. One example came from a franchisee experimenting with new sandwich recipes. The idea was adopted nationally and now accounts for a significant share of sales.

Leaders still need to lead

Experts in the field often describe this as participative leadership, where authority is shared and input is actively encouraged. According to research highlighted by Harvard Business Review, teams that feel heard are more engaged and more likely to outperform peers.

There is, however, a balance to strike. Morris acknowledges that leaders still need to inspire confidence, not just collaboration. Being open to learning cannot come at the expense of clear direction.

For Morris, the goal is not to have all the answers, but to build a room where the best answers can emerge. In that setting, being the “dumbest” person might be the smartest move of all.

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