"Building a Winning Culture of Teamwork" presented by Wes Stowers, President & CEO of Stowers Machinery Corporation

Live Wisely Series | Session 4

Does your team desire to win (again)? How bad do you want it? Culture is won and lost on purpose.

When teams are connected by purpose on-purpose, they achieve much greater results and a lasting competitive advantage. That’s why culture has to be about more than making people feel good about their workplace. It’s about results, and it’s about a larger purpose – your company’s legacy. To win long-term, culture and performance must be tied together with an ingrained sense of purpose and accountability. That’s the kind of winning combination that competitors cannot replicate.

Take a roster of talented players. They may be excellent on their own, but are they successful together? A winning team must place the right players in each position, and all of them must work from the same playbook and share a mutual commitment to the team’s success. Teamwork is a simple concept but can be challenging to achieve, especially in today’s culture where many in the workforce place their own self-interest ahead of what is best for their team.

On June 9, Stowers Machinery Corporation’s President & CEO Wes Stowers will discuss how his family business has created and maintained a winning culture of teamwork, which has proven to be an essential ingredient to its progress, growth, and continued success in today’s competitive business environment. Stowers Machinery Corporation, the Caterpillar equipment distributor for east Tennessee, is in its 57^th year in business and is in transition from its second to third generation of leadership. Stowers entered the family business in 1988 following a career as a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force.

While expanding from 180 employees in three locations in 1988 to 367 people today in six locations throughout east Tennessee, Stowers Machinery has built a team of highly engaged professionals who are deeply committed to the company and to the customers they serve. Even more than its outstanding Caterpillar product line, Stowers Machinery’s team of people is its single most important differentiator in the marketplace. Attaining these cultural wins while operating in an intensely competitive industry requires effective leadership at all levels within the organization, empowering decision-making at the appropriate levels with clear purpose and accountability.

We all know the right culture doesn’t happen overnight. But win or lose, your team is on a path. If you want to transform the trajectory of your business and the legacy you leave for future generations of employees, customers, and stakeholders, building and sustaining a high-performance team is where it starts.

Join us at TLC in June and take home a win for your team.

Our Speaker: Wes Stowers

Wes Stowers joined his family's business in 1988 and became President in 1992. Since 2007, Stowers has served as CEO of Stowers Machinery Corporation, the Caterpillar equipment distributor for east Tennessee since 1960. The company now employs 367 people in six locations throughout east Tennessee. Stowers Machinery markets and provides parts and service support for the complete line of Caterpillar earthmoving machines and electric power generation products.  It also operates a full-service rental division that includes many other types of equipment such as aerial lifts, air compressors and telehandlers, in addition to the company’s traditional line of Caterpillar machines.

Before joining Stowers Machinery, (Ret.) Lieutenant Colonel Stowers served in the United States Air Force as both a Fighter Pilot and Instructor Pilot with assignments in the United States and Western Europe. During this time he also earned a Bachelors of Science in Management from the United States Air Force Academy and a Masters of Science in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute.

Stowers is actively involved in the community on several Boards of Directors, including Home Federal Bank, Tennessee Mining Association, Holston Gases, East Tennessee Veterans Memorial Association, Air Force Museum Foundation, East Tennessee Economic Development Agency, Innovation Valley, Boy Scouts Great Smoky Mountain Council, and Leadership Knoxville. He is a longstanding member of the Rotary Club of Knoxville.

Wes enjoys flying, hiking, camping, hunting, fishing, and SCUBA diving during his free time. He and his wife Liz have been married for 40 years and share two daughters and three grandchildren. They attend Sacred Heart Cathedral.

Coffee, Light Breakfast, & TLC Served.