ReFlect, ReThink, ReCharge, and ReCommit

Taking care of your body, mind, and soul is critical for your long-term success in life and business.

What’s going on in your personal and professional lives? Have you taken the time to reflect, rethink, recharge, and recommit fully to your forward journey?

It was a long time in the making, but this summer I managed to engineer ten days away for a restful, solo vacation to do just that.

This required me to juggle my “always-on” entrepreneurial and consulting schedule and help plan summer activities with and for my two young children — cottages, beach time, soccer games, swimming pools, bicycle rides, play dates, trips to the mall, and summer camps — all this to make my extended time away possible. And the mother of my children helped by synchronizing her vacation time with the kids so that everyone was feeling happy and considered.

I’m currently sitting in Port Antonio, Jamaica, taking in the breathtaking view of San San Beach from Goblin Hill Villas, a spot I first discovered thirty years ago. I can’t explain it fully, but this is the place where I feel my soul lives and where I’ve come back many times to rest. A place where the beauty of the natural world is displayed in its utmost perfection — best enjoyed in first gear.

The past few years have been challenging for many, me included. I did my best to manage and mitigate the social, medical, and financial effects of the pandemic, hustling for business as a consultant and pushing my entrepreneurial ventures forward through uncertain economic times, helping my two children under the age of 10 with online learning, navigating an amicable yet emotionally difficult separation, supporting my ex through a serious health crisis, selling and moving from my home of thirteen years, and dealing with the normal health realities of being a man in his mid-50s.

Oh, and I spent fourteen months during the pandemic writing my freshman book, published in February 2022, developing and producing two seasons of my award-nominated podcast, and countless more hours managing a busy media and speaking schedule tied to my book’s success. Not to mention my volunteer and board contributions to worthy causes and organizations making positive impacts. Verbalizing all of this in a recent conversation with a close friend, they simply said, “That’s F%$#!!ing a lot!” I concur.

Earlier this year, I finally hit a wall. I was physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. I realized that if I didn’t act, I was risking a major implosion going forward. That scared me. As I’ve done throughout my life (a life filled with challenging times, some detailed in my book Black and White), I took the time to write down what was troubling me and immediately began tackling them one at a time — beginning by focusing on my health.

For many men, seeing a doctor often takes a back seat, and thanks to the pandemic, it was even easier for me to avoid making the necessary appointments.

But I was achy all over and worried about other potential health-related issues. My knees hurt (due to sports-related injuries and surgeries), and I developed a shoulder problem (taking up tennis again while out of shape), both causing chronic discomfort that affected my sleep.

I was also “behind” in my prostate checks. The varied levels of pain and physical ailments combined with the “not knowing” if something was potentially going on that I did not know about weighed on me.

So, I acted and booked multiple appointments with my doctors, saw specialists, and after a six-month process, I found a resolution for most of my main issues and received a thumbs up that I was mostly healthy with nothing pressing to worry about. This positive news was important as it gave me peace of mind as a father and a provider. Stress level reduced to DefCon 3.

In tandem, I also began to purposefully try to eat better, exercise more, and drink less. I haven’t been perfect, but I’m heading in the right direction. And I also worked on my mental health. I reengaged with my life/business Coach KI to ensure I was thinking and focusing on the right things in terms of life balance and professional objectives.

I’ve realized as I’ve matured (and grown as a senior-level business professional) that having someone provide a safe, non-judgemental sounding board to share both my personal and professional questions is super important. It’s good to get out of our heads sometimes and get a fresh perspective from someone that you trust and who is 100% with you. At least it works for me.

2023 marked the 30th anniversary of my marketing career, which began with Bose Corporation in 1993. I started delivering flyers and newspapers door to door at age ten, and beginning at age thirteen, I had a very successful fourteen-year international career in the restaurant and bar industry that paid for college and took me around the globe, including professional engagements at three World Exhibitions in Vancouver (1986), Brisbane (1988), and Seville (1992).

So far, it’s been a total of 47 years of working to put money in my pockets and take care of my obligations. During and after the pandemic, I found myself exhausted from pushing forward for so long, sometimes against unnecessary headwinds.

I began to give focused thought to what the next 10–12 years would look like professionally and spoke to many trusted advisors, colleagues, and peers to seek their perspectives. Seven years previously, I had done the same exercise, which led me to develop my Fractional CMO practice and reinvigorate my management consulting business after multiple years of stagnation. I now found myself once again at a fork in the road, having to decide on my next path forward.

I considered serious opportunities to “take a job” as a newly minted DEI thought leader but decided that I would continue to do this important work from a consulting standpoint. Ultimately, I made the decision that I needed to get reenergized and refocused to push my entrepreneurial and consulting careers forward for the next decade. If other opportunities came along, I would consider them, but I needed to make a plan of action that I controlled and that aligned with my personal and professional objectives.

I also wanted to make sure that however, I structured my life going forward, I would continue to prioritize my time with my children as a present father (with added energy) and continue to pursue my passion for civic and community engagement. My volunteer work on the boards of the Black Business and Professional Association (BBPA), Democracy House, The Friends of Sorauren Park (FOSP), and The Friends of Vic High (FOVH) each brings me joy and fulfillment that I’m contributing, and making an impact.

I’ve used this summer to plan, network with past, current, and potential clients, prioritize various venture and collaborative opportunities, and set my tactical agenda for the fall. But I realized I also needed to put gas in my tank to make sure I was ready, mind, body, and soul, so I could give my all.

This is what brought me to Kingston, Jamaica (to see my friend of thirty years, Alastair) and for us to travel to our mutual favourite spot, Port Antonio. I needed to swim in the sea—to cleanse myself, if you will, to feel light as the saltwater floated me upon the surface, and to feel the hot-humid Jamaican air cradle my body and make me feel more alive.

I was also seeking quiet time — the sounds of the waves, and the wind in the trees as companions, hoping I could reflect peacefully as my eyes settled on the perfect beauty offered by Mother Nature. It’s the closest I come to meditating — being in the moment with no thoughts of work or needing to remember I have a task to do. Here, I have afforded myself the time to do nothing. Nice.

I’ve been writing every day when the feeling comes to me. The beginnings of my next book, the outline of an upcoming speaking engagement, an emerging Op-ed, and random musings — light and easy stuff for me.

I’ve decompressed, slept like a baby cradled by the jungle-like sounds of crickets, cicadas, tree frogs, and birds, eaten healthy and plenty (“belly full”, as they say here), and had great conversations with my buddy Al, philosophizing (and rum-fueled pontificating ) about family, life, footy, and the crazy state of the world. Most importantly, we laughed a lot, recalling our many adventures together, including our crazy exploits as younger men in Spain and Jamaica.

It’s been good for my soul, my mind, and my body. I was happy to get home to hug my beautiful children. I missed them.

September is just around the corner. I’m now ready to fully recommit to all aspects of my professional and personal choices, reenergized to put the pedal to the metal and drive towards new successes, and excited to do so grounded in a healthier mind and body.

So, if your tank is also running on fumes and/or you find yourself at some type of personal or professional crossroads, gift yourself the time you need to recharge and recalibrate. It will be good for you and also benefit the people that matter most in your life.

One love.

Why “trying” to explain what you do for a living to your mother, is a good thing.

In the early stages of my marketing career, family members often asked me what I did for a living. I’m in marketing, I’d reply. "Yes", they’d say, but “what do you actually do? Do you make ads for TV?” Not quite, I’d reply.

I was proud of my burgeoning career and my early marketing accomplishments, but for my family, I usually focused more on sharing exciting business travel stories.

Like my trips to amazing cities like New York, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Miami—detailing the interesting people I met, the partnerships I helped forge, and the mostly legal shenanigans my colleagues and I got up to.

For the past fifteen years (of my 30-year career), I’ve made a living as a Fractional CMO. My mother asked me one day,

“What the heck is a Fractional CMO?”

A Fractional CMO is a marketing executive that you can hire on a part-time basis- for a “fraction” of time and for a “fraction” of the cost of hiring a full-time CMO.

“What?” my mother replied.

Ok, let me try this another way.

First off, a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is like the head chef in a restaurant. who creates all the recipes, (marketing strategies), is responsible for all the ingredients (marketing resources), how they are put together (marketing plans) to create delicious dishes(products and services), and who makes sure those dishes sound good on the menu (marketing campaigns), are plated beautifully (branded content), and that that they will satisfy customers cravings (consumer needs and wants).

And the Chef is also responsible for managing all marketing costs (budgeting) including kitchen staff (marketing team) to contribute to the overall success (profitability) of the restaurant. They also listen to customer feedback (research and analysis) to improve the dishes. A CMO ensures that the company’s marketing efforts are effective in reaching and engaging customers to generate sales and build a strong brand (a popular restaurant).

“Why don’t they just hire you to do that full-time?”

Good question. Some businesses, like start-up companies, may not yet be able to afford to hire a full-time CMO but still need the expertise. Other organizations don’t want to take on another senior-level executive salary and would rather have a CMO available to them from a variable need and expense standpoint. 

Make sense?

“Yes, but what is the name of the restaurant you work for?” 

Oh boy!

Seriously, these familial exchanges do force us to get away from industry jargon and use simpler language to describe what we do and the value we offer. Over time, we refine and adjust our language for specific audiences. This is a great exercise to improve how you define what you do and your core value proposition.

DM me after you have this conversation with your own mother or family member. Good luck, et bonne appétit!

Stephen Dorsey is The Fractional CMO. You can reach him at stephen@thefractionalcmo.ca or visit his website at: https://www.thefractionalcmo.ca

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