09/02/2026
2026 marks 15 years of Performance Optimist Consulting. Wow.
When I first started my business, and came up with the title, “Performance Optimist”, I thought that would be my identity as I built my business. After all, it describes me and what I do…
I am a glass-half-full kind of guy, and everything we focus on in business is about performance. Put those two together and you get my first marketing line, “I believe any workplace performance issue can be addressed, as long as we are willing to look in the right places to find the solution.”
That still holds true today, maybe even more so than in 2011.
Over the years I wanted to make that line a little more snappy, so I came up with Helping Leaders Lead.
As I advanced my abilities to coach and develop others, that morphed into Helping Leaders Grow.
I still do both of those, but over the past few years the WAY I do this has evolved, and in fact the way people look at me has changed as well.
I know this because of what is often asked of me. When people reach out, they say things like:
“One of our leaders has just been promoted and is having a tough time setting boundaries.”
“I’ve joined a new team and am having trouble relating to them.”
“I know my business needs to grow, but not sure where to put my energy.”
“I’m at a career crossroads and don’t know which way to go.”
“She’s good with the day-to-day, but needs to know how to think more strategically.”
“The team is solid, but we need some Matt Heller influence to take us to the next level.” (Yes, people really say that!)
In other words, when leading gets tough, leaders call Matt.
This has led me to believe there is an evolution happening that I didn’t initiate, but love non-the-less. As my friend Mike Abecassis says, “sometimes our guests are better at determining our brand than we are!” Only took me 15 years to figure it out!
I am realizing this is less about what I do, and more about who I am and how I show up. Thinking about that, these three words popped up:
Advocate - for people, leadership, and the industry
Connector - bringing people together to learn or collaborate, building community
Advisor - as a coach, facilitator, and trusted partner
And the work I get to do under those three umbrellas is more satisfying and fulfilling than I could have ever imagined!
Which brings me to all of you. THANK YOU for allowing me to serve the people and the industry that I love for the last 15 years. Your trust in me to help you solve the tough problems means more to me than you can ever know!
Excited to see what’s next!!
Matt Heller, ICAE
Advocate | Connector | Advisor
Performance Optimist Consulting
[email protected]
407-435-8084
