I believe in Systems over Heroic Effort.
About Matt
I work with visionary small business owners because they have unlimited growth potential. They can see where their business can go and have some initial success. They have gotten stuck being the glue that holds everything together.
It’s frustrating for them and their employees.
I am an operator and an integrator. I started Centered Performance to create stability, increase predictability, and provide healthy tension to launch visionaries forward.
For almost 20 years, I’ve helped small businesses grow. As the Chief Operating Officer, I helped grow a small business from $2M to $20M and led teams at a major consulting firm. I’ve designed and implemented repeatable systems used by 500,000+ people across 12 industries. I’ve coached hundreds of executives, managers, and talented staff to grow small businesses from every level.
We can do the same for you.
Why do you focus on small businesses?
I’ve been on the front lines of small business growth and felt the pain of constant trial and error. I struggled to manage long hours and stress, which at times, prevented me from creating amazing experiences with people I cared about. I can help people out of those circumstances.
I've also experienced the heart and soul of what makes small businesses truly special. The passion, drive, and close-knit relationships among team members are unmatched. Putting in place a few new systems, or altering the ones that already exist can make a real difference in the lives of everyone involved.
Why specialize in systems design?
We use systems every day in every aspect of our life. When inspiration and motivation fade, our results are a function of the systems we’ve created and the systems we are part of.
Systems that work give us an expanded ability to fulfill on what we care about. Systems that don’t work require dramatic inputs of resources - time, money, and energy.
By improving the way our systems work, we can free up resources to create, to progress, and to enjoy more.
I’ve witnessed the impacts of doing this, and I’m hooked.
What is one of your favorite designs?
As the Chief Operating Officer of a 120-person technology consulting firm, I designed a way to deal with the constant flow of requests, emails, approvals, and ever increasing workload of our teams. By modifying a help desk platform, teams were able to make requests for support, communicate, and see what other team members were dealing with. This spanned every department in the company.
It allowed us to capture knowledge that usually was only known by one or two people, and have the system prompt us for recurring actions we knew needed to get done, but somehow always got surprised by year after year.
Are you a business coach?
I think the term has become overused, so I avoid it. There’s a lot I know about running businesses. There’s a lot I’m still learning every day.
I design systems with executives that produce results. I coach executives in the process. I also plan, document, build, test, and roll up my sleeves to make it real whenever I can.
As far as personal growth goes, I am committed that the people I share my life with continually transform and develop themselves (me included).
Are you an IT consultant?
No, not really. At the end of the day, I don’t care what technology you use as long as the complete system performs well. Some systems even perform better without technology.
Designing systems means looking at a business as a whole and its parts, understanding how they interact, then creating repeatable ways to deal with what doesn’t work.
It may not include technology, and it always includes people.
Are you a Salesforce Architect?
Yes, that’s true. Over the years of helping clients design systems, I have developed technical skills and certifications along the way.
Building real solutions keeps me connected to the world of what’s possible in system design.
I believe that small businesses are better served by technology that doesn’t need custom code. Salesforce is one of those platforms, and I use that knowledge to help apply a variety of technologies to systems (not just Salesforce).
What else do you do?
When I’m not doing this, you’ll probably find me making a cup of coffee! I love the ritual of making it as much as drinking it. It also gives me another system with all kinds of inputs to tweak and get instant feedback on what worked or how to do it differently next time.
I’m a minimalist at heart, but my wife likes to poke fun at my coffee contraption collection.
Where can I learn more about you?
Come connect with me on LinkedIn! I share insights and stories from my work with other small businesses often.