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Tom Mathis
Your Key Performance Coach
Converting Ideas into impact
Navy To Industry Foundations
I’ve been blessed to work at several great companies over the past 35 years alongside talented people who shared the same aspirations for their careers and families.
I started my career in the Navy.
I then began in industry at Jack Welch-led GE, where I learned what “breakthrough” truly means. Providence later led me to Larry Culp-led Danaher, where I learned the fundamentals of Lean and what a real performance culture feels like.
I returned to GE in 2019 to work with Larry on the first five years of the lean transformation, reaching from the C-Suite to the shop floor. We built an operating system, created a kaizen culture, immersed thousands of leaders, and proved Lean works at GE’s global industrial scale. My role was helping build the flywheel that is now delivering strong results.
Today I serve as a Senior Industry Advisor helping employee owners in KKR’s industrial portfolio unlock similar value.
I’m a strong believer in the game-changing potential of the Employee Ownership model and in what I call Key Performance Management. It may sound like common sense, but it is rarely done well.
What I’ve learned is that sustainable performance doesn’t come from slogans or one-time initiatives. It comes from disciplined operating rhythms, clear measures that matter, and leaders who are willing to stay close to the work.
When those elements come together, organizations don’t just improve, they build momentum that compounds year after year.
Driving Change At Scale
Measure it. Manage it.
I’ve advised CEOs, presidents, plant managers, team leaders, and operators in several business sectors and have also had the privilege to advise the White House and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Through my LLC, I’m now paying it forward by Sharing All I’ve Learned (SAILing) through upcoming online courses designed to bring fresh perspective to these often oversold topics.
If you can measure it, you can manage it with Key Performance.
Whether you’re trying to launch a lean transformation, get your team aligned behind what matters to your customers, or just want to stop drowning in PowerPoint and meeting prep, I’m confident you will find some value once it’s all published.
Unlock your potential with Key Performance
Tom Mathis
Your Key Performance Coach
Guiding you towards unprecedented success with proven strategies
Converting Ideas into impact
What Is Key Performance?
Key Performance is the proven system behind some of the greatest success stories in modern business. It’s the approach that powered Danaher’s 250,000% shareholder return over the last 50 years and helped GE deliver a 900% return in just five years.
More than a framework, Key Performance is a set of tools and operating rhythms that get your performance off the ground and keep it soaring. It sharpens conversations about performance gaps, cuts the waste out of endless review prep, and brings context and focus to your Lean transformation. With Key Performance, your team gains direction, your organization drives impact, and you unlock your potential.
Stay Ahead With Expert
Knowledge
Tom Mathis has spent 35 years transforming supply chains, leading lean transformations, and coaching executives to actually deliver results. He’s worked for the biggest names like GE and the dark horses like Danaher, even advising the White House, always blending business with a sense of humor. Today, he channels those hard-earned lessons into coaching, speaking, and practical tools that make leadership both effective and refreshingly human.
What Is Key Performance?
Key Performance is the proven system behind some of the greatest success stories in modern business. It’s the approach that powered Danaher’s 250,000% shareholder return over the last 50 years and helped GE deliver a 900% return in just five years.
More than a framework, Key Performance is a set of tools and operating rhythms that get your performance off the ground and keep it soaring. It sharpens conversations about performance gaps, cuts the waste out of endless review prep, and brings context and focus to your Lean transformation. With Key Performance, your team gains direction, your organization drives impact, and you unlock your potential.
True performance goes beyond checking boxes or putting in effort. It’s about creating measurable impact that drives real results. When someone has the ability to consistently deliver outcomes that make a difference, they’re not just performing; they’re unlocking value for the owner, the team, and the mission itself. Performance becomes more than a target to hit; it becomes the engine that fuels progress, innovation, and trust. That’s the kind of performance that truly matters.
Unlocking Value Through Measurable Performance
I’ve been blessed to work at several great companies over the past 35 years alongside talented people who shared the same aspirations for their careers and families.
I started my career in the Navy, then began in industry at Jack Welch-led GE, where I learned what “breakthrough” truly means. Providence later led me to Larry Culp-led Danaher, where I learned the fundamentals of Lean and what a real performance culture feels like.
I returned to GE in 2019 to work with Larry on the first five years of the lean transformation, reaching from the C-Suite to the shop floor. We built an operating system, created a kaizen culture, immersed thousands of leaders, and proved Lean works at GE’s global industrial scale. My role was helping build the flywheel that is now delivering strong results.
Today I serve as a Senior Industry Advisor helping employee owners in KKR’s industrial portfolio unlock similar value. I’m a strong believer in the game-changing potential of the Employee Ownership model and in what I call Key Performance Management. It may sound like common sense, but it is rarely done well.
I’ve advised CEOs, presidents, plant managers, team leaders, and operators across multiple sectors, along with the White House and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Through my LLC, I’m now paying it forward by Sharing All I’ve Learned (SAILing) through upcoming online courses designed to bring fresh perspective to these often oversold topics. If you can measure it, you can manage it with Key Performance.
Key Performance is the proven system behind some of the greatest success stories in modern business. It’s the approach that powered Danaher’s 250,000% shareholder return over the last 50 years and helped GE deliver a 900% return in just five years.
More than a framework, Key Performance is a set of tools and operating rhythms that get your performance off the ground and keep it soaring. It sharpens conversations about performance gaps, cuts the waste out of endless review prep, and brings context and focus to your Lean transformation. With Key Performance, your team gains direction, your organization drives impact, and you unlock your potential.
What Is Key Performance?
Navy to Industry Foundations
I’ve been blessed to work at several great companies over the past 35 years alongside talented people who shared the same aspirations for their careers and families.
I started my career in the Navy.
I then began in industry at Jack Welch-led GE, where I learned what “breakthrough” truly means. Providence later led me to Larry Culp-led Danaher, where I learned the fundamentals of Lean and what a real performance culture feels like.
I returned to GE in 2019 to work with Larry on the first five years of the lean transformation, reaching from the C-Suite to the shop floor. We built an operating system, created a kaizen culture, immersed thousands of leaders, and proved Lean works at GE’s global industrial scale. My role was helping build the flywheel that is now delivering strong results.
Driving Change at Scale
Today I serve as a Senior Industry Advisor helping employee owners in KKR’s industrial portfolio unlock similar value.
I’m a strong believer in the game-changing potential of the Employee Ownership model and in what I call Key Performance Management. It may sound like common sense, but it is rarely done well.
What I’ve learned is that sustainable performance doesn’t come from slogans or one-time initiatives. It comes from disciplined operating rhythms, clear measures that matter, and leaders who are willing to stay close to the work.
When those elements come together, organizations don’t just improve, they build momentum that compounds year after year.
Key Performance is the proven system behind some of the greatest success stories in modern business. It’s the approach that powered Danaher’s 250,000% shareholder return over the last 50 years and helped GE deliver a 900% return in just five years.
More than a framework, Key Performance is a set of tools and operating rhythms that get your performance off the ground and keep it soaring. It sharpens conversations about performance gaps, cuts the waste out of endless review prep, and brings context and focus to your Lean transformation. With Key Performance, your team gains direction, your organization drives impact, and you unlock your potential.
What Is Key Performance?
Measure It. Manage It.
I’ve advised CEOs, presidents, plant managers, team leaders, and operators in several business sectors and have also had the privilege to advise the White House and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.
Through my LLC, I’m now paying it forward by Sharing All I’ve Learned (SAILing) through upcoming online courses designed to bring fresh perspective to these often oversold topics.
If you can measure it, you can manage it with Key Performance.
Whether you’re trying to launch a lean transformation, get your team aligned behind what matters to your customers, or just want to stop drowning in PowerPoint and meeting prep, I’m confident you will find some value once it’s all published.
