Recently, Windows Management Experts Founder Matt Tinney spent some time chatting with the hosts of Executive Leaders Radio. ELR is a nationally syndicated program that focuses on the things that make highly successful business people and entrepreneurs tick. They don’t ask tired questions everyone asks in interviews, like “How did you get started?” Rather, the unique angle the ELR team brings to each interview is rooted in the diversity of the hosts’ backgrounds.
The main hosts are seasoned entrepreneurs, including Herb Cohen, Christine Miles, Jeff Mack, Les Smolin, and Hank Boyer, and co-hosts Denise Lantz, founder of Attentive Health, John J. Yetman, co-founder of the Association for Enterprise Growth, Andrew Hanlon of Hanlon Creative, Philip P. Jaurigue of Sabre Systems, and more. This inclusive and diverse cast sets up engaging interviews for listeners.
To start off the conversation with Matt, the hosts asked about his family and childhood. Matt shares honestly about his struggles to fit in as a member of the LGBTQ community, and the surprising ways he gained confidence and leadership skills that help him run a successful company today.
“My company today is really based on the fact that I want everyone to be included, and to have a place to work where they feel comfortable…[Not fitting in] gave me the motivation that I can be anything I put my mind to.”
Matt shares another personal story about his late grandfather, John Tinney, who was also a Philadelphia-based entrepreneur. When Matt moved back to Philadelphia in 2016, he looked to his grandfather as a role model as he built his own business. Matt says he feels such a close connection to him that he sometimes thinks he is living as his grandfather reincarnated, making decisions and exercising values based on what his grandfather would have done.
Asked how these intuitions have helped him build WME, Matt explains:
“For me it’s really about going with my instinct, my gut, and a lot of my decisions in business, working with people, are based on my gut. I will not work with someone if my gut is not saying Yes. Go.”
For more insights into Matt’s business mindset and formative experiences, listen to the full interview here (interview starts at minute 14:00).
