Fast 50: Strong relationships lift EDC to No.2

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Fast 50: Strong relationships lift EDC to No.2

Andrew Lowy attributes the fourfold growth in revenue over the past three years in his company, Efficient Data Communications, to a single-minded commitment to strong, personal relationships.

In an IT industry that usually prizes technical expertise or financial acumen over emotional insight, Lowy stands out as a maverick for his adherence to emotional intelligence as the secret of his success. And he says it's those insights that helped him hire the right people, often friends, for critical roles that allowed him to spend time working on the business rather than in the business.

The notion of emotional intelligence - the ability to manage emotional traits of individuals and groups - dates back to Darwin but didn't achieve prominence until the mid-‘90s. And it helps guide his hand when it comes to selecting and dealing with suppliers and customers.

"We focus very much on EQ," Lowy says.

"We have the standard type of [key performance indicators] that are important to the business but I also feel very strongly about how people are communicating with each other and communicate with clients - those strengths are more relevant to our business than intellectual ability."

Lowy has also built close relationships with partners, guaranteeing early product information, lucrative discounts and the backing of a major vendor when it goes head to head with its rivals. Efficient Data Communications specialises in unified communications and advanced infrastructure such as telepresence for big businesses with 200 seats such as Catholic Education.

"We work very strongly with our partners - we get together at events and tighten those relationships so they are key. Cisco is our vendor of choice and luckily we get along well with people at Cisco and they embrace our culture."
Lowy has taken on friends to help him move away from daily management of the business.

"I started the business and I was everything in the beginning and over time I was able to hire people who specialised in certain areas and aspects of the business," Lowy says.

"About 18 months ago I was able to do what I'm best at, which is strategy and planning.

"So having the ability to focus on those things and not be bogged down in day-to-day business is giving the organisation the ability to really focus on what we're good at and clearly articulate our target markets and how we go about doing our business."

Lowy hired a friend and former construction industry executive Frank Roemer to take over operations as general manager. His experience managing teams was key to the role, Lowy says, and his lack of IT experience was
an advantage.

"This is really a structure and team management role rather than having to understand the IT industry," Lowy says. "I like to take people who haven't been involved in the IT industry so I can mould them to EDC's culture."

Lowy doesn't follow what he calls old-school management philosophy that forced people to improve their weaknesses: "We align what people are good at with their roles".

Lowy hires his mates and makes no apologies. "I've known Frank, he's been a friend of mine for quite some time," Lowy says.

"At least three of the team are friends of mine that I've involved in the business but I've been able to bring friends I've known and still be able to control that (professional) relationship.

"It's less risk because you know who you are dealing with and their competencies. But they're also under the hammer, they have their [key performance indicators].

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