lowe’s ceo Being the CEO of a company that brings in almost $100 billion in annual revenue, and has over 300,000 associates—there’s a lot of complexity. What I try to do is simplify everything. I don’t have a lot of wasted time during the day. You’re not going to see me at a business lunch downtown, because that is, to me, nonproductive. That one-hour lunch turns into a three-hour process. I can have a working lunch at the office and then get right back on my agenda. That’s one of the reasons why I can get out of here at 6:30, 7 o’clock at night. Our home is finally an empty nest. Our daughter’s in college; our son has graduated from college and is working. I still try to get home for dinner every night. My wife and I catch up. If I’m getting critical messages from any parts of the business, I respond. During the toughest days of the pandemic, I still visited the stores. I had a simple philosophy: If I had 290,000 associates showing up every day to keep our stores running, because we were viewed as an essential business, then the management team and the executive management team would show support. —As told to Talib Visram
Time he wakes up
5:30 a.m.
First thing he does in the morning
I go through a morning spiritual devotion, of prayer, scripture. And I work out. Then I look at my emails. And then I look at my financial results. That’s typically how I start every day, [whether] it’s Monday or Saturday.
What he does in his free time
I don’t have any hobbies. I don’t play golf. I’m not a part of any poker games. My personal time is spent with my family. My wife and I enjoy traveling, going to religious events.
Productivity tools he uses
There are a lot of apps and tools we’ve developed in-house [at Lowe’s]—a series of scorecards that allow me to keep my pulse on the business instead of going through reams and reams of data.
Best habit
I’m very organized, and I’m really routine oriented. My kids make fun of me that they can call me on a Sunday at 6 p.m. and they know exactly what I’m going to be doing.
Last thing he does at night
I try to take that last hour and have no engagement with work or media, and have a wind-down, and then hopefully have a nice, peaceful night of rest.