Leadership drowned in operational chaos and role confusion. Department silos hindered growth of their innovative manufacturing model. When front-office leadership collapsed, one director inherited an unsustainable burden – simultaneously managing finance, legal, sales and marketing – jeopardizing their mission to reshore American production.
Initially tried internal fixes before recognizing harder times loomed. Malloy Industries stood apart with a holistic approach, using 34 leadership tenets to rebuild organizational foundations. Weekly sessions demanded brutal honesty, balancing urgent revenue needs with long-term capability building – focusing on “110% instead of 90%” recovery.
Achieved full organizational transformation. Evolved from crisis management to confidently executing their national reshoring mission. Now operates with sustainable leadership, unified strategy, and the capability to turn conflict into purposeful growth.
Sustainable leadership structure
Unified focus on national mission
Capabilities rebuilt beyond original foundation
In a specialized industry with limited competition, repeatedly being overlooked for ideal opportunities became a critical wake-up call. Convoke needed strategic marketing leadership to ensure they would never miss out again.
“We really needed to have more of a vocal presence, create more case studies, create more press releases, do more with our website, do more through social channels. But all that just wasn’t going to happen with the team that we had. We needed a leader to come in to do that for us.”
In March, Eric Mills joined Matium as Director of Operations. What he found was a company with tremendous potential being strangled by organizational confusion. Despite strong client relationships and innovative products, Matium struggled with unclear executive roles and siloed departments. Strategic initiatives stalled while tactical fires consumed everyone’s attention.
“We had brilliant people working incredibly hard, but without the structure to leverage their talents effectively,” Eric recalls. “Every day brought new operational demands that kept us from addressing the fundamental issues holding us back.”
By early summer, the pressure had intensified. Recognizing the need for an external perspective, Eric began working with his Malloy Industries executive coach. Together, they identified the core issue: Matium couldn’t balance day-to-day operations with the strategic leadership development necessary for sustainable growth. “The reality was we just needed somebody who was experienced and skilled in this area—someone who woke up thinking about these problems first thing every morning.
Between struggling to define executive roles and managing everything from performance evaluations to risk analysis, Matium was overwhelmed by operational responsibilities that kept them from focusing on scaling their innovative business model. When their CGO departed and a subsequent CRO hire failed to deliver, one operations director suddenly inherited responsibility for both sides of the business – from finance and legal to sales and marketing. This consolidation of responsibilities created an unsustainable situation that demanded change.
“When our front office leadership fell apart, we weren’t just losing executives – we were at risk of losing our direction.”
While the business remained stable, the team initially hesitated to seek external help. They tried managing the expanded responsibilities internally, believing they could handle the transition period. “The business wasn’t going to fail, but we definitely were heading for harder times if we didn’t find the right solution.”
The weight of consolidated responsibilities began to show as strategic initiatives took a backseat to daily operational demands. The team knew they needed a solution, but weren’t sure what form that solution should take.
The breakthrough came when Matium connected with Malloy Industries. Unlike other potential partners, Malloy Industries offered something different – a holistic approach to organizational transformation. Working with Steve, they began using 34 leadership tenets as a foundation to create detailed roadmaps from current to ideal states for each aspect of the organization.
“We’d met with other coaches, but this was different – it wasn’t just about business, it was about understanding the whole organization and its unique challenges.”
The transformation required brutal honesty about organizational capabilities and limitations. Weekly coaching sessions focused not just on immediate challenges but on building sustainable solutions. Steve’s approach emphasized rebuilding to “110% instead of 90%” – ensuring no unresolved issues would hinder future growth.
The biggest breakthrough came when the team realized they needed to balance immediate revenue activities with long-term organizational development. “The turning point came when we had to weigh immediate revenue against long-term leadership development – and realized we needed both.”
During this period of intense transformation, every aspect of the organization came under scrutiny. The team had to learn how to operate effectively with consolidated leadership while building toward a more sustainable structure. This meant rethinking processes, redefining roles, and rebuilding relationships across all levels of the organization.
The investment in organizational development began to pay dividends. “The company became more capable, more confident, and more at peace with both professional and personal conflict,” notes Eric Mills, Matium’s current COO.
Today, Matium stands transformed. What started as a response to a leadership crisis evolved into a complete organizational transformation. The company has evolved from managing internal challenges to pursuing a transformative mission: reshoring manufacturing to strengthen America’s economic foundation and restore domestic production capabilities.
Their journey offers valuable lessons about the importance of organizational structure, the power of external perspective, and the potential for crisis to catalyze positive transformation.
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