The women who fought for Title IX—pioneers like Billie Jean King who testified before Congress, activists like Bernice Sandler who documented discrimination across universities, Representative Edith Green who held seven days of congressional hearings—they envisioned exactly this future. They wanted girls to have the same opportunities as boys. They wanted women athletes on Olympic podiums. They wanted equality.

Alysa's approach confirmed what I've always known: you can't fake it. She couldn't fake loving skating when she hated it, so she left. When she came back, she did it on terms she could genuinely champion—her music, her programs, her authentic self.

Be willing to hear hard truths. Audits might reveal uncomfortable realities about what's not working. That's the point.

AI does not manage relationships. It doesn’t build trust, navigate uncertainty, or restore confidence when something goes wrong. Human beings are still the ones who hold the customer relationship, who show up in moments that matter, and who create the conditions for people to stay—not because it is easy or efficient, but because it feels worthwhile.

Rather than adding fixed overhead, a fractional-consultative model brings seasoned strategic leadership exactly when it’s needed most. I step in to help organizations move forward with clarity and momentum—not by doing more marketing, but by making the right marketing easier to do well.

We have never been more capable of experiencing life together in real time, and yet genuinely shared joy has become increasingly rare. What we share most fluently now is doom—violence, loss, catastrophe—witnessed collectively but rarely processed together. Which is why moments of sincere, unguarded joy stand out when they appear. They remind us that connection doesn’t require spectacle or unanimity, only emotional truth and the willingness to feel something at the same time as others.

If change feels harder than it should, it may not be a communication or execution problem. It may be a strategy problem. When change management is forced to stand in for clear direction, ambiguity sets in, momentum slows, and teams fill in the gaps themselves.

Throughout my career, I have contributed to large, regulated organizations, professional services firms, and advisory businesses. Sometimes I was asked to help when change was already inevitable; other times, I initiated it by bringing insights from previous contexts and applying them deliberately in new settings. The following observations are not a philosophy of change, but lessons drawn from the essential, often behind-the-scenes work that organizations undertake in response to reality.

During periods of rapid growth or transition, sales-led marketing can provide a sense of control. Marketing efforts are oriented around pipeline support, outbound execution, and near-term revenue goals.

I’ve seen this model work—particularly when organizations are under pressure to protect revenue during change. Over time, however, it narrows marketing’s role, nevermind that most strong sales people are not marketing people, but that’s another article.

The most effective leaders approach messaging during change with intention. They understand that how they communicate—internally and externally—shapes how teams and customers experience the transition.