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  1. Home
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  3. Matthew Harper
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Matthew Harper

MPA
President / General Manager
East Coast Towing
Country or state 
United States
Available to 
North America,
Europe,
...
City 
Raleigh
Fee 
Languages 
English
Volunteer
Yes

Personal Details

Bio

"Systematize and Improve the Routine; Humanize the Exceptional..." Need to improve the productivity and effectiveness of your business? Want to engage your employees or lead your peers?Desire to motivate and give purpose to those around you?

Let me help.... Business and organizations need to understand the difference between Leadership and Management. Both have there place and one is not necessarily better than the other but they are different. Unique and thought provoking ideas on Leadership to provide right tools for a moment of crisis or essential change. From Lessons in Crisis Leadership from the attack on USS COLE, to truly understanding the difference between Management and Leadership, to Veterans in Transition and Entrepreneurship, I'll connect with your audience and challenge their normal ways of thinking.

Current position (2)

President / General Manager

East Coast Towing

CDR (Ret.)

US Navy

Degrees (2)
MPA
Harvard Kennedy School
2008 to 2009
History / Political Science
Boston University
1992 to 1996

Presentations

Presentations (4)
Crisis Leadership from the USS COLE bombing

Five Lessons in Crisis Leadership from the attack on USS COLE.

It seems like just about anything can happen to anyone, anywhere. From terrorism, to natural disaster to the everyday serious traffic accident, we can never truly know how we will react in a time of crisis. Some of us will naturally see the crisis with a clear head while others... will be truly challenged. Is there anything we can do to prepare ourselves for that 1 in 10,000 chance something truly life-threatening will happen? Yes. Based on his 20 years in the U.S. Navy driving ships around the world and his experience on the USS COLE, Matt will give five lessons that anyone can with them in their daily lives.

Leading Change

When it really comes down to it time is our most important commodity.

Time is money and time is life.

But... how much time is wasted by trying to save time? How much work is wasted, how much money is wasted and how much TIME is wasted when the small things are disregarded??????

The hardest thing I ever had to do as a leadersof Sailors was convince them that they would SAVE time by taking the extra time to do things right the FIRST time....

Veteran Entrepreneurship

Looking to start a business or found a startup? As a veteran, you probably have three skills that will serve you well.

1. You are used to working hard.
2. You are used to learning something new and learning it fast.
3. You’re a leader.

That being said you have to watch out to two traits that might hold you back.

1. You feel entitled.
2. You're not willing to do the work.
3. You can't / won't take the risk.

Let me help you make the decision to start your own venture and then help avoid some of the pitfalls.

9 Leadership Essentials for the New Leader to Experience One

Want to be comfortable in any leadership situation? Want to be successful in any endeavor even ones where you have little experience?

With 20 years experience and over 14 discreet jobs that entailed leading and managing in unique and complex situations around the world, this program will give you the tools to lead in every environment.

With an easy nature and keen insight, this presentation will ask tough questions, provide unique examples of both crisis and challenging leadership and management roles.

9 Essentials:

Past talks (6)
Honoring Veterans in the Workplace
Minnesota State Veteran Summit 2018
Minneapolis
September 13, 2018
USS Cole Bombing
El Cajon American Legion
El Cajon, California
March 21, 2018
Veteran Entrepreneurship
UCSD Rady School
University of California, Rady School of Business
November 24, 2017
Where's the Money?
Veteran Entrepreneur Summit
San Diego
October 22, 2017
Startup 101
San Diego Startup week
Wework, San Diego
June 29, 2018
Financing Your Business and the Veteran Pitch Competition
Veteran Entrepreneur Summit 2018
San Diego
September 16, 2018
  • All (2)
  • Videos
  • Photos (1)
  • Slides (1)
This speaker hasn't uploaded any videos yet.
American Legion Post 303, El Cajon, CA
American Legion Post 303, El Cajon, CA
Startup Mentoring
This speaker hasn't uploaded any one sheet yet.
This speaker hasn't uploaded any press information yet.

Books & Articles (1)

Chinese Missiles and the Walmart Factor

Expertise (15)

Leadership
Business
Social & Political
Crisis Leadership Leadership Management military speaker Veteran Entrepreneurshp Adaptive Leadership Ability to change lives Behavior Change Military Veterans Civil military interaction Military to civilian transition Communication

Clients

Veteran Entrepreneur Summit
Minnesota State Employee Veterans
Enlisted Leadership Foundation
Fokcus

Reviews

Testimonials (3)
  • Dear Commander Matt Harper: I want to thank and commend you for your outstanding presentation concerning Crisis Leadership in conjunction with the attack on the USS Cole which you gave to the El Cajon American Legion Post 303 on March 21, 2018. Your talk was extremely interesting and gave us all greater insight as to the leadership and bravery that the crew members of the USS Cole exhibited during this very dangerous situation. Our audience was composed of members of the various branches of the services and many of them were unfamiliar with the complexities of operating and refueling a ship. Your explanation of the damage control efforts coupled with the graphic photos of the destruction of the ship made the rescue efforts much easier to comprehend and understand. Everyone appreciated the Power Point slides and photos that detailed your multi-faceted career as well as some of the humorous aspects of military service. I particularly appreciated your flexibility in adjusting your schedule to work around our ever changing meeting schedule. One of the best parts of the presentation was your taking questions from the audience members. Your ability to explain a fast moving, dynamic and highly dangerous situation as well as being able to discuss a wide range of Navy topics was particularly impressive. I would recommend that any organization, whether they be civilian or military related take advantage of listening to your presentation. They will learn about leadership in fast moving and dangerous situations as well as gaining a new appreciation of the heroism of our service men and women. Sincerely, Wes Schermann Colonel, US Army Reserve (Ret.) Post Commander, El Cajon American Legion Post 303
    Wes Schermann
    Verified
  • To whom it may concern: I am writing to provide a professional reference for Matthew Harper. As Market President for Corporate Alliance of San Diego, I have the privilege of working with some of brightest and best business leaders in the community. Matthew Harper is one of the most authentic speakers I've been able to experience. His story of Crisis Leadership on board the USS Cole (DDG 67) when attacked by al Qaeda on the morning of October 12, 2000 is quite simply amazing. A first hand witness to what qualities make up true "heroes", Matt shares in detail the 72 hour ordeal from a Naval Officer, friend and family man perspective which touches all who participate. In addition, Matthew shares some incredible pictures of this event and the impact of terrorism in our world today. Mr. Harper recently retired from the Navy where he held several leadership positions and shares stories from all over the world. At my request in May of 2016, Mr Harper was the keynote speaker at our Jumpstart Summit our full day retreat for San Diego business leaders to learn how to improve their skills and grow organization by deepening relationships.To say his speech is an emotional experience from the audience would be an understatement. 17 sailors died and 37 were wounded on the fateful day in October 2000. In closing, it is a true pleasure to give Matthew Harper my highest recommendation as a keynote speaker. He will inspire and deliver in a very humble way. Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have regarding his ability to make an impact. Sincerely, Ed Quinlan President Corporate Alliance 9171 Towne Centre Dr. #180 San Diego CA 92122
    Ed Quinlan
    Verified
  • I attend a number of conferences every year and volunteer on several conference planning committees, and people often ask me to recommend great speakers. Here’s one for your list! Unfortunately, as we all know, though it is often easy to get presenters, it is much harder to get the right presenter. Fortunately, at the San Diego Veteran Entrepreneur Summit, we were lucky enough to feature CDR Matthew M. Harper, USN (Ret.) as the lead for one of our sessions. A veteran in his own right, and now the Director of Entrepreneur Service for VentureMoney Management Co., his combination of 20-years of military service and his knowledge of how to best help early-stage companies excel at innovation and bringing their products to market, made him a great pick. Matt’s work focuses on bringing together public sponsorship with private investment to create an attractive environment for entrepreneurs and to foster innovation. This could not have been a more fitting context on which to lead a discussion around “Where’s the Money – Crowdfunding, Angel Investors & Loans.” Drawing on the programs he helps lead including a 90-day accelerator and a growth-based incubator, he well-addressed both big picture issues and more granular scenario-based questions. He used both his breadth of experience and his network knowledge to inform and inspire. And he's also a humble guy – who brings a great combination of grit and candor to the conversation. He definitely belongs on any list of great business speakers.
    Lara Ryan
    Verified
Recommendations
Why choose me? 

Communication is Hard. Management is Hard. Leadership and Leadership in Crisis is hard. Let me help.

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