We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Matt Beckmann. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Matt below.

Alright, Matt thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

The inspiration for launching Ascent Consultants and Ascent Yoga (the Ascent Companies) came from the philosophy that great leaders make people’s lives and jobs easier.

Our focus at the Ascent Companies is to make the job of leadership easier.

We do this by helping clients focus on and design systems and routines to maximize both performance and well-being, and by using our unique methodology which we’ve applied successfully to both businesses and individuals.

Our dual focus stands in contrast to “Hustle Culture”, as it is often known, which puts a heavy focus on performance, often at the expense of individual well-being. I experienced this personally in my career as a Chief of Staff and steel executive. Work took precedent over almost everything else.

In these professional cultures, “getting ahead” often means sacrificing physical and mental health to grueling work schedules. Over the long term, this can lead to burn out, high turnover, and other costly side effects for both the individual and the organization.

At the Ascent Companies we work with small- and medium-sized organizations and individuals to change this paradigm, and avoid these costly and frustrating leadership errors.

Our job is to help clients take a holistic view that captures the importance of both performance and well-being, and then creating customized systems and routines to help sustain both elements.

Broadly, we take a 3-step approach:

The first step with each client is to establish clear objectives for the overall engagement, and then revisiting that perspective when setting specific goals for each unique client interaction.

For example, an overall goal might be to scale the business. In each subsequent session over the course of several months, we might discuss topics that touch on sales, procurement, logistics and professional development. While we work with the client to address the immediate issue in front of us, we also want to understand how it fits into our overall objective.

Next, we help clients evaluate and organize the present – we have to make a plan to get to the goal. In this phase, we ask a lot of probing questions to help bring more clarity to both the goal, and the present state of affairs. Before we can start on any journey, we have to know our starting point.

Finally, we help clients close the gap between the present and the goal or desired state. This is the iterative process that occurs over the life of the coaching or advisory relationship. Action creates feedback. We help the client evaluate and analyze that feedback, and then adjust or systematize as needed.

Business is unpredictable, so whether a session is used to resolve a problem, or consider an opportunity, our goal is to help clients explore the matter from a variety of perspectives in order to take reasoned, intentional action that helps them progress toward their goals.

We offer three areas of expertise to our clients during the course of any engagement:

First, consulting services help clients solve complex problems. We leverage our expertise in law and business and our access to other highly skilled professionals to provide clients with actionable insights.

Second, professional coaching services empower clients, increase key leadership competencies, and provide accountability. We also offer the scientifically-validated EQ-I 2.0 Leadership Assessment, which evaluates emotional intelligence and leadership skills across 15 unique markers.

Finally, yoga and meditation are powerful tools that help individuals stay physically and mentally sharp. It is about creating complete, holistic routines that help deliver progress toward your objectives while also serving to sustain that level of performance over time.

When Individuals and organizations develop and refine their unique recipe for maximizing both performance and well-being they wind up with significant competitive advantages. They create cultures of high-performing individuals with purpose, and the conditions that help them to sustain that high-performance culture long-term.

Since 2018, the Ascent Companies exist to help clients unlock that competitive advantage, and to make the job of leadership easier.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My career prior to founding the Ascent Companies traversed both the public and private sectors.

From late 2009 to the end of 2011, I worked in Missouri politics. I started out as a campaign volunteer, and eventually became the campaign manager for Schweich for Auditor, which successfully won the race for Missouri Auditor in 2010.

Following the election victory, I was named Chief of Staff (at the very inexperienced age of 27).

My time in politics was short-lived though, and in 2012 I accepted an offer in the private sector and took on the role of Vice President and General Counsel for Trident Steel, one of the nation’s largest and most successful independent energy steel distributors.

I’m most proud of the fact that when I left each organization, they were in better places than when I arrived. The work I did helped improve the immediate performance of the organization, while also ensuring their long-term performance.

Being in leadership roles at a young age, I quickly realized the importance of having good mentors and advisors. Now that is the value we provide to our clients.

I read recently that 75% of executives are concerned about their well-being (physical and mental health). This was a shocking statistic, but not one that came as a surprise. “Hustle culture” is all about outcomes at any cost. This isn’t a sustainable model, or an effective way to run a business.

We are seeking to change that paradigm with our unique combination of consulting, coaching, and wellness services. This makes us a truly full-service organization for our clients.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Everything rises or falls on leadership. So focus on becoming the best leader possible, and a lot will naturally fall into place.

A good place to start is by giving people purpose in their work.

When people understand WHY their work matters, they perform better.

When they believe they are a valued team-member, they perform better.

When they know that the team or organization is concerned with more than just revenue and profit, they perform better.

When they know that leadership is attentive and listening to feedback, they perform better.

When leaders take care of their teams, morale stays high, turnover drops, and company performance improves.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Tons of them!! I keep a running list on the blog at ascentmethod.com but some of my favorites are:

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy

The Self-Aware Leader by John Maxwell (he’s great)

Principles by Ray Dalio

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Radical Candor, by Kim Scott

The E-Myth Series, by Michael Gerber

Range by David Epstein

The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle

And of course there are yoga and philosophy books in the mix as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: ascentmethod.com
• Instagram: ascentyogahtx
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AscentYogaHTX
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/themattbeckmann/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChYcF1R2ya6g8AakAIKw1_g?view_as=subscriber