Operations that don't run the way you planned
Rapid operational assessments, dispatch and scheduling, standard procedures and the follow-through that turns a plan into daily practice. Practical procedures your managers can actually run.
Pilothouse Business Solutions
Operations, safety and management advisory for small and medium-size businesses
Close the gap between what is expected and what actually happens on the ground.
I help small and medium-size businesses build management that executes: tighter operations, safer crews and a team that runs the business without the owner in every decision. Built by a retired Navy Commander who ran a 60-truck towing operation.
What problems I solve
Insurance is expensive
Loss ratio above 50%? Safety programs built to be followed, not filed. Program design and rebuilds, driver and crew training and accountability, written policies and procedures, inward-facing camera programs for vehicles, and root-cause analysis after incidents.
No management team, or one that can't handle things
Still doing too much of the everyday work? Training and developing the managers and supervisors you already have, and giving them the tools to run the business without the owner in every decision. For companies with a management team, or ones that need to build it.
How I work
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Your managers get the tools, not a binder. Outside consultants usually get little buy-in from the people doing the work. Management brings them in and is then stuck implementing. I train and develop your managers and leaders and give them the tools to implement, so the change belongs to them and stays after I leave.
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Management and leadership are different jobs. Management is making the trains run on time. Leadership is making people better. Most people in a company spend about 90 percent of their day managing, and most were never taught how.
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Basics, done consistently. There are few new ideas in management. Most managers know what to do in theory and not how in practice. I focus on blocking and tackling, on knowing when close supervision is the right tool and when to stop, and on closing the gap between what is said and what is done.
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Showing is not training. A person is trained when they know why it is done, so they can handle variation, when they remember it, and when it is written down.
Track record
Under 15%
commercial auto loss ratio for a 60-truck fleet.
$5.5M to $10M+
Revenue growth from November 2022 to late 2025, from about 30 to more than 60 employees, with two acquisitions and a spinout.
2,500+
Google reviews, averaging 4.8 stars.
About
Matthew Harper is a retired U.S. Navy Commander and former President and General Manager of East Coast Towing in Raleigh, North Carolina. He built and ran the company's safety program for three years and led it from about 30 employees and $5.5M in revenue to more than 60 employees and $10M, including two acquisitions and a spinout.
He spent nine years aboard Navy ships, trained crews in firefighting and damage control, and did 3 days of damage control after the USS Cole attack. He has spoken on crisis leadership and he writes and speaks about the difference between management and leadership. He holds an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.
He runs a bi-weekly operations and safety session for a group of towing operators.
Matthew is based in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, and works on site or hybrid with clients.
How we can work together
The work is scoped to the account. Travel and reasonable expenses are billed at cost.
Onsite or remote survey
Walk-through of operations, safety and management practice, with a full set of recommendations
1 day
Onsite build
Everything in the survey, plus turnkey policies and procedures and an operations and HR roadmap
5 days on site
Hybrid implementation
Implementation help, training and coaching for your managers
60 days, on site and remote
Advisory retainer
Ongoing monthly hours with priority scheduling
Monthly
Start with a free 45-minute evaluation and strategy call.
A conversation about your business, not a sales presentation. We look at where what is said and what is done have drifted apart across operations, safety, management and execution, and I tell you what I would fix first and why. There is no cost and no obligation.
On the call
- You tell me about the business and where it hurts.
- I ask the questions that show the gap between the policy and the practice.
- You leave with my read on your top priorities and, if it makes sense, how we could work together.
For owners and general managers of small and medium-size businesses.
Talk to me directly.
- harperm74@me.com
- Phone
- 619.780.5430
- linkedin.com/in/matthewharperusn