Once you believe that your success in life is a solo game, you’ve already lost.
NORCROSS, GEORGIA
Imagine a typical CEO. What do you see?
Someone who’s strong, capable, smart, and driven. Someone who provides visionary leadership and pushes the limits. Someone with a superhuman ability to get things done.
Someone who’s financially successful.
Matt Lowery knows that kind of CEO well. He is that CEO. Raised by a family of entrepreneurs, early in life he learned the value of hard work and the freedom that comes from being your own boss. In 1999, he became President of Strictly Mechanical, a $30-million commercial air conditioning contractor, passed down to him by his father.
“My family’s philosophy had always been, ‘Get up, go to work, get it done,’” remembers Matt. “Those values, plus grit and determination, gave me success for the first 20 years of my career.”
After a while, however, Matt began to lose his enthusiasm for the business.
“I wasn’t enjoying what I was doing anymore,” he explains. “I was in a lot of seats, and that was generating a good deal of burnout because I was wearing too many hats and doing too many things.”
“I was wearing too many hats and doing too many things.”
In addition, as the company grew, Matt realized that he wasn’t equipped to put the correct structure in place to help the company flourish.
“I had a lot of drive, but I didn’t have a lot of experience in how to grow a company,” says Matt. “I attempted to put department and midlevel managers in place, but I didn’t make good choices. We had some failures there that really had an impact on the business: it cost us a lot of money.”
As the pressure intensified, Matt’s stress levels rocketed. He even considered leaving the business.
“There were long hours and stress around unresolved problems. I would go home at night and replay the day. When we didn’t do what we were supposed to do that day, I’d get angry phone calls from customers.
“It almost got to the point that when the phone would ring, I would cringe; not knowing who was on the other end of the line, and what that conversation was going to be like.
“The long-term result would have been burnout for me and looking for the quickest way to get out of the business, whatever that meant. The quickest way to get away from what I considered to be a nightmare.”
Around the time when his stress levels had reached their highest, Matt chatted with a good friend, Wallace, whom he’d known for almost 30 years. Wallace was someone Matt trusted, as they had been in church and Bible study together.
“Wallace is a business owner, very successful, and what I’d consider to be one of the most measured, calm individuals I’ve ever met,” reflects Matt. “I shared with him some of the challenges I was experiencing, and that I was considering trying to find a way out.”
Wallace recommended that he and Matt get together for lunch with Wallace’s Convene team leader, Tom Lutz. During the meeting, Tom explained what Convene could offer him: a peer-to-peer advisory team, executive coaching, and world-class consulting; but Matt wasn’t convinced.
“I had always been skeptical of anything that looked like consulting or coaching,” Matt recalls. “My view was, ‘I’m in the air conditioning business, and these people aren’t. How could they possibly know how to help me?’”
Over a period of months, however, Matt’s problems at the company only persisted. That’s when Wallace connected again and said, “There’s help! All you have to do is reach out.”
Finally, with the pressure and stress mounting, Matt relented.
“The Holy Spirit was leading me to join the group,” he says.
Matt quickly realized what Convene had to offer: “I learned that people don’t have to be in your industry to understand the challenges of being in business.”
“I learned that people don’t have to be in your industry to understand the challenges of being in business.”
Beyond that, Matt remembers watching his Convene team members go through a business analysis: that’s where the CEOs open up their businesses and look at everything under the hood, together.
“Once I had been a member for some time and seen other CEOs go through the process, it forced me to take a deep dive into my business.
“I had this idea that if I opened my business to this group of talented people who run their own companies, then it would expose my flaws. There was some pride about opening up and showing others what I may be doing wrong; but my desire to overcome the challenges far outweighed the hesitation.”
Matt continues: “I’d already seen other CEOs in the group go through the process, and that it was a safe environment. I found that what’s discussed in the group stays there.
“No more hiding. This is it. This is who we are and what we’re doing.”
Through the process of opening his business to his Convene team, Matt received specific feedback and recommendations for what he could be doing better.
“We figured out that we needed a lot of work on our structure and accountability chart,” Matt recalls. “I was in too many seats. We took a hard look at our structure and got the right people in the right seats, which freed me up to do what I’m uniquely gifted to do.
“I had to get up in front of the company and let everyone know that how we were doing things wasn’t working. We had about 50 employees at the time, and I told them that there would be some changes. But, the changes will be good for you as employees.”
Fast forward four years, and Strictly Mechanical now has a 10-year goal to become a $50 million company. Leaders and managers are in the right spots, and Matt’s stress level and personal life have drastically improved.
“Before Convene, I would have told you there was no way we could do it,” recalls Matt. “Because of the structure, and everything having to run through me before we took any action, we had limitations on our upside. We could only grow to a point.
“Now we are a much stronger company, better positioned to succeed than before.”
Beyond business success, Matt is grateful for how Convene has positively impacted his family life.
“Without the stress that I’d had for a number of years leading up to Convene, I’ve been able to focus more on my marriage,” says Matt. “My kids graduated from high school, so my wife and I became empty nesters during the time I was joining Convene and getting ramped up.
“As a result of being a member of Convene, having that strong Christian anchor to draw from, and getting rid of some of the business stress I’d been experiencing, I was able to support my wife as we were becoming empty nesters, moving to a new community, and finding new friends.”
“More than likely, someone in the group has gone through what you’re going through.”
Matt continues: “If you’re a Christian business owner, you need to have a team that you can rely on, to go to when you have an issue. More than likely, someone in the group has gone through what you’re going through.
“I can’t imagine trying to run my business today without being a member of Convene.”
Matt Lowery is the President of Strictly Mechanical in Conyers, Georgia.
Disclaimer: Some quotations have been edited for length and clarity.