Finding my Heart & Soul in a Pandemic

People asked me back in October 2020 if I was having a midlife crisis. To be fair, I had just launched Heart & Soul Marketing - my first start-up - in the middle of a pandemic, and they wondered if I needed my head examined. Alas, I wasn’t having a crisis in the middle of a crisis. Instead, I was finally leaning into my entrepreneurial zeal, which I had neglected for so long. Now, just months into Heart & Soul, I decided to reflect on my professional journey in the hopes there would be a few kernels of wisdom from which some reader, follower, or mentee might benefit.

When I graduated from Virginia Tech in June 1982, the U.S. unemployment rate stood at 9.6% and by the end of the year, it was 10.8% – similar to the national unemployment levels at the end of 2020. Coming out of college with a degree in finance, I was insecure about finding a quality job that would reward me for my hard work, high GPA, and extra-curricular achievements. My career strategy was simple: Find a “blue chip” employer with a reputation for training and development to help me figure out what I was good at and what I love. I was so grateful to be hired by General Electric in their Financial Management Program (FMP) – a two-year training “academy” combining rigorous internal course work with rotational assignments. 

In 1985, I left GE, having gained valuable technical and leadership skills, for P&G, the venerable consumer goods company with a legendary reputation for producing great marketing and advertising leaders. I knew that a combination of GE and P&G on my resume would be a formidable combination even if I “lasted” only a few years. Well, P&G may have believed in me more than I believed in myself. I enjoyed an unexpected but magical 16-and-a-half year ride from Cincinnati to Kobe, Japan to Hong Kong/China, and back to Cincinnati in a global operating role. I was proud to have proven I could leave my comfort zone and survive.

I left P&G in late 2001 to become President at Church & Dwight in Princeton, New Jersey, and then three years later was recruited to become CEO of Dial / Henkel Consumer Goods in Scottsdale, Arizona. Thus began my flight to smaller, nimbler companies comprised of more “challenger” brands than market leaders. Little did I know then that my migration to subsequently smaller high-growth, early-stage companies created by entrepreneurs and purchased by private equity firms, would eventually give me the courage to start my own company. And that brings me to 2020 when I completed my journey from larger companies to becoming co-founder with Matt Moore of a start-up in the middle of a pandemic. 

Myers-Briggs, various executive coaches, and management profiling tests had always told me that I tended towards “making things bigger and better, not starting my own thing.” Sadly, for so long, I believed them. I wish I would have known then, what I know now: entrepreneurship is not a single straight path from university to founder. As you’ve just read, my journey was anything but that. So, I hope you’ll draw inspiration from these motivational tips that have kept me going. 

You don’t need a disruptive idea to succeed. Sure, you need some sort of spark. But starting over is more about letting go of fear than anything else. And, when you start over, remember, “Pivoting is the opposite of failure.” My career has been full of twists and turns all of which have led me to my latest success and passion project, Heart & Soul Marketing. Having a full career has only helped me in this new venture and entrepreneurship is not just for the young. In fact, management experience is great training for entrepreneurship. Finally, to those who ask, why now? my favorite response is: “starting a business is like having a baby - there never really is a 'right' time.” 

Heart & Soul is on the opposite spectrum of the great institutions that launched my career. That’s what makes it so special. We are the antithesis of the large multi-nationals of my youth. We are the alternative to the large holding company agencies bogged down by shareholders, size, and bureaucracy. We are built for speed, creativity, disruption. We have attracted remarkable talent, and have partnered with complementary leading-edge firms who can help us fulfill complex marketing and media challenges if the project or assignment exceeds our bandwidth. We are not only discovering that special things do come in smaller packages, but that even in the midst of business and social upheaval, fresh new approaches that combine kindness and purpose with profitability have a way of standing out. 

So, no, it’s not a midlife crisis. It’s a little heart and soul, mixed with a little courage.