In this episode, Eric talks with Matthew Powell, fourth-generation steward of Century Companies, about what it means to build a business designed to last for decades rather than quarters.

Matthew shares his path from Wall Street and investment banking into a 100+ year family enterprise, and how that transition reshaped how he thinks about leadership, success, and responsibility. At the center of the conversation is stewardship: the idea that leaders are temporarily borrowing an organization from future generations, not optimizing it for a quick exit.

They explore why family businesses can think differently about people, profit, and time, and how long-term thinking changes everything from culture and governance to daily decision-making. Matthew explains Century’s operating pillars—stewardship, humanity, and compounding—and how those principles guide the company through growth, tension, and inevitable messiness.

The conversation also moves beyond business mechanics into mortality, meaning, and the role work can play as one of the last true gathering places in modern life. Matthew reflects on loss, urgency, reading as a discipline, and why building a healthy work community may be one of the most practical ways leaders can have lasting impact.

This is a thoughtful discussion for founders, CEOs, family business leaders, and anyone questioning whether success has to mean short-term wins at the expense of people and purpose.

Topics Covered

• What it means to steward a company for future generations
• Why family businesses can play a longer game than public or private-equity-owned firms
• The difference between a business as a financial instrument and a work community
• Compounding as a leadership principle, not just a financial one
• The tension between love and profit, and why both are necessary
• How reading, reflection, and “daily vitamins” shape better decision-making
• Mortality, urgency, and why work is not a dress rehearsal
• Why leaders unintentionally drift into short-term thinking
• What healthy governance looks like in multi-generation companies

Episode Links

• Century Companies: https://www.centurycompanies.com
• Matthew Powell’s website: https://www.matthewpowell.com
• Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewwpowell/
• Related conversation with Greg Bergdorf: https://unfoldingthought.com/greg-bergdorf-from-guitar-riffs-to-real-estate-pitches/

For more episodes: https://unfoldingthought.com

Questions or guest ideas: [email protected]