We've noticed that HYPE members are determined to move up the ladder while making a unique name for themselves during the process. This series will allow experienced, career-minded individuals the chance to hear from great RVA leaders on how to become a master of your own career.
Simplicity. Intent. Purpose.
Matt Johnson
Trained mathematician, former front man of a punk rock band, Pentagon policy maker,
and nonfiction author who performs his book live. There’s no fitting Matt into any sort of
box. Equal parts left-brained strategist and creative troubadour, Matt is the lead
consultant you call when you want to change the way you see the world. When you want
to zoom in to understand the details and then back out to discover a new way to put the
puzzle together. The common theme of his approach? An unbending commitment to
finding essential simplicity in the sometimes overwhelmingly complex.
For Matt, that simplicity is not just a buzzword; it's a lifestyle. Fueled by a need to do,
say, and be more with less, Matt drinks his coffee black, keeps his emails short, loves
his music live, and tries to listen more than he talks.
It’s About Purpose, Not Process
History’s greatest minds—Whitman, Da Vinci, Thoreau, Newton, Hemingway—sought a
life filled with the essential, free from the noise of complexity. A life lived true to the most
authentic version of themselves. A life of simplicity.
It’s a life that doesn’t seem entirely compatible with modern work, where we send and
receive more than 16,000 emails a year, spend a third of our time in meetings, and
where most organizations have 35 times more processes, committees, and decision making forums than the average did in 1950. Add in the impact of globalization,
technology, and ever-changing laws and regulations, and it’s clear: we’re drowning in
complexity.
Pulling on his eclectic experience as a mathematician, Pentagon policymaker, and
consultant, Matt reveals that finding simplicity isn’t about improving process, but creating
purpose. It’s not about the how, but the why. He shares stories from companies that
have tried—and failed—to reduce complexity, explaining how it can take a massive toll
on employee engagement, efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line. He’ll then give
you the tools you need to create simplicity for yourself, be it for your organization or your
life, so you’re more than ready to take your first step on the path to greater purpose.
