After six hard months on the road selling Dictaphone equipment for Pitney Bowes, Doug Lueck ’86, a recent graduate of Bryant College, had so distinguished himself with his work ethic and sales acumen that the company sent him to their renowned professional development center in Peachtree, Georgia. After completing the training program, Lueck reached a new level of success. “I won their award for the most sales in the first six months after training,” he says and he learned invaluable lessons about the power of investing in employees that would serve him the rest of his career.
When Lueck started his own company, System Pavers, several years later, he had two complementary visions for what he wanted to accomplish. First, he wanted to build a high-end outdoor living design company that didn’t cut corners. “What was happening in the industry, I didn’t think it was good enough,” he says. “I thought I could add value for the client if we did it differently.” He succeeded, ultimately building the company into an industry leader that has served more than 75,000 homeowners in the Western U.S.
Second, he wanted to ensure that his company could empower employees to grow their skills through professional development, just as Pitney Bowes did for him. “I always envisioned a training department that would teach people all the things that we do: how to sell, how to become a manager, how to rise in a company,” says Lueck. He founded System Pavers University to pass those skills along, drawing inspiration from past experience while tailoring the training to his company’s needs.
“We’re always trying to raise the bar in everything we do.”
It began with self-recorded instructional cassette tapes. Next, Lueck developed software and video content to enhance the training. Eventually, he decided to fly trainees to the company’s main design center for in-person training. “We’re always trying to raise the bar in everything we do,” says Lueck. Throughout the history of System Pavers University, Lueck’s goal was to “take someone who thought they'd never be more and teach them how to be something greater.” He says System Pavers University made a tangible impact on the company’s bottom line and attracted attention across the U.S. “We’d get compliments from salespeople, saying, ‘I worked for Fortune 500 companies — I’ve never seen anything like this. What you invest in for your people from day one is outstanding,’” he says.
In 2022, after 30 years at the helm of System Pavers, Lueck sold the company to spend more time with his family. He now lives in Florida and is focused on raising his four children, teaching them what he knows about business and life and helping them to think about their future, just as he did for generations of System Pavers employees. “It’s exciting to be able to be there as a guide for them,” he says. “What are they going to be like? I can’t wait to meet the adults that they’re going to become.”
