Lever Talent, Inc.

As founder & CEO of Lever Talent, Inc. - the talent strategy agency - I get to lead our efforts to help leaders implement strategies to bring their best selves to work and take control of the biggest lever in business.

Our mission is to help leaders realize they are capable of more than they could ever imagine. We believe individuals make a business, not the other way around, and all business is personal.

The employee-employer relationship is broken. Thankfully, employees are gaining leverage. Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and Web3 are shifting the power dynamic. We’re flipping the script by helping businesses lean into this shift - bringing humanity back to business in the future of work.

At Lever Talent, we help businesses deploy technology-enabled talent strategies that empower leaders to find leverage in themselves and their teams to spur growth in any market. Maximizing team performance while ensuring they maximize their greatest asset - their career.

We help with:

- Talent Strategy: We help leaders align their people strategy to their business strategy and accelerate growth with talent optimization.

- Career Development: We give people the training and coaching they need crush their current job and achieve their goals.

- Leadership Communities: We bring growth-minded leaders together to share ideas, learn from each other, and grow.

Detailed Services Overview:
- Leadership & Strategy Alignment Consulting
- Mission, Vision, Values & Culture Transformation
- Hiring Process and Strategy Consulting
- Management Training
- Leadership Coaching 
- Team Building Workshops
- Career Development Communities
- Employee Engagement / Performance 
- The Predictive Index Software sales and client service - we are a PI Certified Partner.

Founder & CEO

The Lever with Drew Fortin Show

With a goal to redefine your understanding of the future of work, "The Lever with Drew Fortin" launched on YouTube and your favorite podcast streaming app starting on August 7, 2023.

Over the first half of 2023, Connor Lewis, Executive Producer and founder of Studio Lewis, and I set out to find experts to dive deep, not just into the technology but its implications on our world of work, investment, academia, economics, and businesses.

There is a lot of fear-mongering out there on the rise of AI and robots are coming to take jobs. It's important to remember that every major platform shift before AI has led to more prosperity and further innovation. The Lever is designed to challenge current thinking and highlight the transformative effects of AI, robotics, and Web3 on the traditional employee-employer relationship. It emphasizes the good things these advancements mean for workers.

Each of the six episodes in Season 1 of The Lever is about 10-20 minutes long and is a carefully crafted composition of news, research, and expert commentary on future of work trends. With pre-drafted episode summaries in hand, we set out to interview leaders, innovators, and trailblazers across work tech, investing, academia, economics, and business. We then carefully analyzed 25 hours of footage and transcripts from 23 interviews and dozens of news and research articles to finalize the show scripts for Season 1.

Learn more 👉 Levershow.com

Co-creator, Host, and Future of Work Researcher

The Predictive Index

The Predictive Index (PI) is a private-equity-backed talent optimization software and services company.

I was promoted three times in my tenure:
- Chief Growth Officer 7/2021 - Present (1 yr)
- Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing 11/2018 – 7/2021 (2 yrs 9 mos)
- Vice President, Sales & Marketing 9/2017 - 11/2018 (1 yr 3 mos)
- Vice President, Marketing 5/2015 - 9/2017 (2 yrs 5 mos)

As Chief Growth Officer, I reported directly to the CEO and was responsible for maintaining their unified vision and go-to-market plans by keeping tight collaboration and cross-functional alignment - breaking down silos and challenging the status quo.

I was part of the senior leadership team since my start. We achieved over 550% revenue growth since 2015 (28% CAGR - breaking $100M ARR in 2022!), 100% growth in the paying subscriber base (achieving 11.5K), and 2,000% growth of the PI certified partner network (achieving 1.1K partner firms).

I led the development of our strategy to create the talent optimization (TO) category and evangelize the TO discipline, which led to the $50M growth equity investment from General Catalyst in 2019.

My charter was to navigate the transition from sales-led to product-led growth (PLG). We successfully launched our first PLG product in 2021 called PI Design - which quickly grew to 2K paying business subscribers and grew our client expansion billings over 50%. Followed by PI Hire and PI Diagnose in 2022.

I spent most of my time focused on PI’s long-term growth plan and goals to develop the TO category and remain the industry-leading SaaS platform. Healthy growth was the name of the game, so there was constant, necessary conflict to manage between long-term/short-term goals and results. (👈 That was the fun part. I love that stuff!)

I was extremely fortunate to work with a dream team of direct reports who led our sales, partner recruitment & activation, demand generation, product marketing, brand, and content marketing functions (of 100 PIoneers).

Chief Growth Officer

In Confidence Podcast

Difficult co-worker? Meddling micromanager? Tough team? Sabotaging self-talk? No doubt, work perpetually challenges everyone’s confidence causing us to feel uncomfortable, unworthy, and unengaged. Get science-backed confidence coaching from two of the best in the biz.

I co-hosted this leadership and personal growth show with Alyssa Dver of the American Confidence Institute. We take calls from real callers and help them work through workplace issues that are getting in the way of them being their best.

Podcast Host

PennySaver USA

The California PennySaver was a local advertising and classified media icon from 1962-2015. I joined at a time of great risk and change - we had the strategy to introduce digital products to fill the ever-growing void created by declining print ad revenues. It was my first executive leadership position reporting directly to the CEO. We were generating $175M in annual sales revenues from 12K business clients and millions of consumer classified ads. 

While there, I led a strategic revamp of our full-service local digital marketing and SaaS website service to a monthly subscription model, integrated 3rd party applications, and kicked off a 3rd Party Reseller Program that increased our growth rate 90%. We also introduced new digital ad products on our classifieds website, which grew revenue from our online listings & classified product by 100%.

I managed many different teams of many shapes and sizes - including a field sales team, product management, engineering, development, and design teams in Poland, India, and Arkansas. I also set up and managed our strategic partnerships with companies like Google, Bing, and Yext.

In 2013, I was tasked with downsizing efforts, restructuring, and assisted the company through a pitch and spin-off of ownership from Harte-hanks, our parent company, to any acquiring private equity firm. Although it was an amazing learning opportunity, I was exposed to the dark side of business when our owners shut the company down in 2015 with little notice - they were subsequently sued for not providing proper notice before firing hundreds of employees.

Vice President, Marketing & Digital

HubSpot

The growth and success we were achieving at Compete caught the eyeballs of HubSpot's CMO and I and jumped at the opportunity to join this growth-stage SaaS start-up on their marketing team. Although brief (the team dynamic was admittedly not for me!), I learned so much and made long-lasting relationships.

We were able to grow our already gargantuan monthly lead flow by 20% while I was there to 45K leads. I managed all of our advertising and search marketing. I implemented mobile marketing, affiliate marketing, and ad retargeting programs. I also wrote a lot of content and held presentations to educate our users on topics that were near and dear to me like SEO, search engine marketing, and content generation. 

Check out this top-ranking article I wrote when I was there (which was accompanied by a 20+ page guide I also wrote) been since been updated several times and generated thousands of views and leads.

Inbound Marketing Manager - Advertising Programs Lead

Compete, Inc.

Compete was a competitive web analytics start-up co-founded by David Cancel (current CEO and co-founder of Drift). I joined as their first dedicated marketing manager responsible for running demand gen programs for their SaaS start-up product called Compete PRO (competitive intelligence and market research tool). This was product-led growth before product-led growth was cool! I reported directly to the GM of Compete PRO. 

The freemium client firehose was on and the problem of the day was figuring out how to convert this free client base into paid subscriptions and monetize our products. 

I created a multi-channel marketing and go-to-market strategy that leveraged our brand strength in the marketing technology space (we had an AdAge Top 25 ranked marketing blog) across all digital channels.

In less than a year, we grew our freemium base 83% to 220K accounts and increased free to paid conversions by 30%+! The result was 50% growth to $6M ARR while maintaining 85% retention rate - this was in 2010! 

Compete was acquired by WPP's Millward Brown Digital, formerly Kantar, formerly TNS just as I started there. The Compete PRO product was eventually folded into other products and assets were sold off as M&A activity evolved.

See the attached presentation I prepared and presented at a Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (aka MassTLC) meeting in 2010.

Senior Manager, Internet Marketing (SaaS)

Staples

I developed and executed growth strategies to drive e-commerce sales and revenue on Staples.com. This was a very exciting time in retail and e-commerce. Staples.com generated about $500M in annual revenues from over 30K+ products - it was one of the world's largest online retailers at the time. Amazon was starting to gain traction and disrupt, but no one had a clue just how significant and transformational the rise of e-commerce would be.

This was also the beginning of the SEO movement. I had the unique opportunity to spearhead Staples.com's first SEO task force. We met regularly to talk about how to implement site-wide optimizations and execute a transformational strategy to democratizing our product data. 

I also managed our affiliate marketing and comparison shopping engine programs which generated over $60M in annual revenues. We had over 1,000 affiliate publisher websites. 
 
I quickly fell in love with web analytics and learned about website architecture, programming, and merchandising products online. I became obsessed with digital marketing, analysis, and growth modeling and projections.

Online Marketing Manager - Staples.com

Online Marketing Specialist - Staples.com

Corporate Communications Coordinator - Staples Copy & Print Center

Picture this… I had just graduated with my music degree, I landed an interim choir director gig at my old high school. I was in a band and we played many times a week. I needed health insurance, so picked up a shift at my local Staples store in Acton, MA (Store #1219) in their copy and print center. 

I’ve always been infatuated with business (I set up our band as a general partnership, ran our books, and admin stuff). I quickly became passionate about running this copy and print center too.

When my choir gig was up I became manager of the copy and print center. I had my own $650K P&L. I managed a small team. I ran the business, kept the engine humming, went knocking on doors to increase business, managed the books, ordered supplies, covered gaps in shifts, etc.

This was truly an amazing experience that led me to becoming an assistant store manager and attracted the eyeballs of our corporate offices.

Assistant Store Manager

Founder & CEO @ Lever Talent | Host of The Lever Show | Helping leaders develop talent strategies that leverage a tech-empowered future.

You're capable of more than you could ever imagine.

I started my career impatient, driven, and naive - pushing hard to climb the corporate ladder and eventually found myself fired from a highly coveted growth-stage start-up in my mid-20s. 

That moment sent me on a journey of self-discovery. I realized I'm a fixer, visionary leader, relationship builder, and goal setter. I’m fascinated by the human condition and the impact that technology is having on humans at work.  

Innovations in AI, robotics, and web3 stand to scale our potential, strengthen our superpowers, and free us up to focus on the more human elements of work. Over the last 20 years, I've learned that if you paint an inspiring vision, surround yourself with people you admire and trust, and embrace technology, you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can grow.  

In 2022, I decided to follow my passion and became the Founder & CEO of Lever Talent, Inc. - the talent strategy agency. I spend my time helping business leaders deploy talent strategies and tools to find leverage in themselves and their teams to spur growth in any market. Join the movement at levertalent.com. 

I use my LinkedIn to network, learn from others, and share any wisdom I've gained along the way.  

With technology, our leverage is limitless. Let's embrace and change the world. ⚡️🌎 

Specialties: Talent Strategy, Growth Leadership, Cultural Transformation, Mission Vision Values, Team Building, Talent Optimization, Go-to-Market Strategy, Digital Transformation, Consulting, The Predictive Index, Engagedly

Drew Fortin

I’ve seen a lot of posts from leaders talking about how hard layoffs are for them.

They’re right, it is brutal to sit across from someone and tell them their job is gone. 

I’ve done it more than once. It never gets easier.

But here’s what I don’t see enough of: 

Acknowledgment that the person being let go has it far, far harder.

They’re the ones facing an insurance crisis, mortgage payments, daycare costs, food bills, and the emotional gut-punch of losing purpose overnight.

As leaders, we talk a lot about empathy and “doing it the right way.” 

But if we’re being honest, most layoff comms are designed to protect the company’s emotions, not the individual’s livelihood.

We’ll say things like “this was the hardest decision I’ve ever made” while the person we’re letting go is quietly wondering how to tell their family.

Layoffs are sometimes necessary. But if you have to do them, don’t center your pain.

Center their reality.

If you’ve ever had to do layoffs, reflect on this:

Who carried the real weight of that moment, you or them?

Founder & CEO @ Lever Talent | SHRM-SCP | Helping leaders develop talent strategies that leverage a tech-empowered future.

Amazon doesn’t pretend to have a great culture.

That’s exactly why their strategy works.

Andy Jassy has been blunt: automation is driving results, and they’re doubling down on it.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Amazon’s culture has never been warm and fuzzy; it’s designed for efficiency, precision, and relentless execution.

And for them, that alignment works.

Where leaders go wrong is pretending their company can act like Amazon but feel like Patagonia.

You can’t build a cutthroat, hyper-optimized operating model and then talk about “psychological safety” and “belonging” like it’s in your blood.

If your business is tightening up, getting lean, and optimizing for efficiency, own it.

If you’re trying to grow through experimentation and empowerment, build the space for that.

But don’t sell one and live the other.

No, your coworkers are not your family. 

And the “workplace family” is one of the biggest lies we keep telling ourselves.

Sociologist Sarah Mosseri’s new book, Trust Fall, takes that myth head-on, and I’m here for it.

For decades, leaders have used “we’re a family” as shorthand for belonging, loyalty, and trust. 

But as Mosseri’s research shows, it’s often a cover for imbalance: companies say “family,” but act like corporations.

Her work reminded me of how often I see teams confuse trust with comfort.

True trust is risky and vulnerable. It means giving people the freedom to question the system without being punished for it.
 
Most workplace "families" rally during a crisis, “bond in the trenches,” and call it teamwork, but never stop to ask why they're always in crisis. 

That’s a leadership problem, not a culture win.

The best workplaces are communities built on shared accountability and mutual respect.

If you have to call it a family to keep people around, you’ve already lost their trust.

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Talks about #culture, #leadership, #futureofwork, #humanresources, and #transformation

No one cares more about your career than you do.

It is the single greatest asset you own.

Yet most people treat it like a group project, waiting for someone else to tell them what’s next.

Promotions, stretch projects, mentorship, even recognition, none of it just happens because you deserve it. 

It happens because you’ve made it clear what you want and you’ve done the work to prove it.

If you haven’t taken the time to define your next move, no one’s coming to do it for you.

And if you haven’t told anyone what you actually want, don’t be shocked when the world stays quiet.

When you do speak it out loud, when you say “this is what I want, this is who I’m becoming,” the universe starts to rearrange itself around you.

So stop waiting for permission.

Own your path.

Your next chapter starts when you decide what you want.

I wish someone had told me that in my 20s.

So I’ll tell you:

Don’t outsource your trajectory. You own the asset, so start managing it that way.

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Every leader should be able to say:

"Here’s what I’m great at, and here's where I need help.”

Imagine if every team normalized that kind of honesty. 

No need to guess, just strengths out in the open and gaps named for what they are.

Success doesn’t come from trying to be great at everything. 

It comes from doubling down on what makes you exceptional and building systems that let others do the same.

It's common knowledge that the best athletes don’t play every sport. They find the one that amplifies their strengths, and they go all in.

The same goes for leaders. 

As technology evolves and AI expands, being more human is becoming a leadership advantage.

The future belongs to teams that know themselves deeply, celebrate their natural talents, and build around them.

Let’s start with transparency and build well-aligned teams.

AI layoffs are a cop-out.

Let’s stop pretending otherwise.

The economy’s rough right now.

So when I see companies announcing “AI-driven layoffs,” I can’t help but roll my eyes.

No one’s getting a commensurate productivity lift from AI in 2025 or 2026 for that matter. 

At least not yet.

What we are seeing is leaders using AI as the scapegoat to justify tough calls they don’t want to own.

“I’m sorry, it’s just automation.” No, it’s economics.

AI will absolutely reshape jobs and displace workers. It’s already changing how we work and what value humans bring.

But most of these cuts have nothing to do with true AI efficiency. They’re about maintaining needed profitability in a weak market.

And when leaders hide behind “AI transformation” instead of admitting that, they erode trust even faster.

Let’s be honest with our people.

Let’s say, “The market sucks right now, and we have to make hard choices to survive.”

Because the story of AI shouldn’t be about fear and headcount cuts.

It should be about how we redesign work to make humans more valuable than ever.

Everyone says the hardest part of layoffs is losing people.

No one talks about what it’s like to be the one who stays.

Some folks in my network shared what it’s like to “survive” multiple rounds. There’s the obvious: survivor’s guilt.

But then there’s the post-anxiety layoff that no one really talks about.

Because the truth is, no matter how loyal you are to the mission, surviving multiple RIFs changes you.

You might still want to help the company rebound, but once people start scanning for exits, the culture’s already cracked.

Culture doesn’t survive that kind of fear intact. In many cases, you have to rebuild from scratch.

And this is where most companies overcorrect.

They double down on wellness, celebrate using PTO, and hang posters that say “It’s okay to not be okay.”

The intention is good, but it becomes the new avoidance strategy. If everyone’s recovering, no one’s building.

Healthy organizations don’t glorify burnout, but they also don’t treat ambition like a bad habit.

Real balance means creating an environment where people want to give their best because they believe the effort still matters.

If you want your people to stop running scared, give them something they can't help but run toward.

A lot of companies are only adding AI to their title because it makes for a better headline.

And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. AI holds massive promise. 

And if you’re not actively adopting AI tools and building your company’s AI fluency, you’re falling behind. 

AI is a huge opportunity. The issue is that most companies are chasing “AI strategy decks” instead of asking better questions like:

- How can we use AI to optimize what already works?

- Where can it automate the repetitive stuff so our people can focus on higher-value work?

- How do we teach our teams to experiment and adapt as AI tech evolves?

That last one is key.

HR has a huge role to play here.

AI is an organizational change problem, and right now, HR is being asked to lead that charge, often without the tools, confidence, or seat at the table they deserve.

Now’s the time to use AI as the catalyst to build a culture of learning, agility, and human adaptability.

It’s the basic, day-to-day work of evolving how we work with AI that actually paves the way for the kind of strategic, differentiated applications everyone’s chasing.

Because the future of leadership is about using technology to help humans become more capable, creative, and resilient than ever.

Empathy became the new performance metric.

And now no one knows how to say the hard stuff.

Since COVID, we’ve seen a cultural overcorrection. And somewhere along the way, performance and clarity got left behind.

Caring for people doesn’t mean cushioning them from reality. 

We still operate in a capitalist system. Companies exist to grow, compete, and win. 

When your culture forgets that, it starts to drift.

You can feel it when a company faces tough calls, layoffs, restructures, and missed targets. 

Suddenly, people are shocked. Disillusioned. “Wait, how could this happen?”

Because no one said the hard stuff when it mattered.

Strong cultures don’t hide from reality. They help people understand the business, the risks, and the road ahead.

And it falls on leaders to do two things at once:

1) Build a humane culture that treats people like adults.
2) Stay ruthlessly focused on the strategic imperatives of the business.

Empathy matters. But empathy without clarity only creates confusion.

Specialization is killing innovation in HR Tech.

For 15 years, HR leaders have been told to “find their niche.”

Hyper-specification was the smart move. Now, they’re paying for it.

Last week, a digital marketing partner told me,

“You call yourselves a full-service talent strategy agency, but no one else does that.”

Exactly.

Because the industry has spent a decade unbundling itself into a thousand micro-experts.

Now we’re entering the great rebundling.

Just like streaming: first came Netflix, then the flood, now everyone’s craving cable again.

HR is no different.

Leaders don’t want 10 vendors solving 10% of the problem.

What they really want is one partner who can help them with the whole system, not just a piece of it.

That’s why we built Lever Talent, Inc. as a full-service talent strategy agency.

Whether you need cultural transformation, org design, leadership training, fractional HR support, or HR software management, you can start small and scale with us.

If your company vanished overnight and you had to rebuild it tomorrow…

Would your org chart look the same?

Now imagine applying that to your workforce strategy.

If you were starting your company today, in a world of AI agents, async collaboration, and 10x productivity per person, how would you design your org?

Would you still define “manager” the same way?

Most wouldn’t.

And that’s the point. 

We’ve built orgs layer by layer for decades,  adding roles, tools, and policies like barnacles on a ship, without ever scraping them off to see if the structure still floats.

A “zero-based” approach to human capital would force us to rethink how work actually gets done now.

If you’re not familiar, it’s when companies start their budgets from scratch every year.

No “last year plus 10%.”

It’s a thought experiment worth doing, especially for HR and people leaders trying to design the next era of work.

If you were rebuilding your org from zero today, what would you keep… and what would you leave behind?

Everyone loves to say HR is “slow to adopt AI.”

HR is the only team smart enough to ask what happens after the adoption.

This is the function responsible for compliance, documentation, process, and most importantly, people. 

Of course, they’re going to measure twice and cut once. That’s our responsibility.

AI is moving so fast that “measured” can start to look like “left behind” if leaders don’t stay curious.

Every HR leader I talk to should be getting fluent in the language of AI right now.

The HR leaders who figure out how to make AI work for people are the ones every CEO will want on their team.

We’re already seeing it in logistics, where people collaborate with software and robots every day. 

That’s just the beginning.

HR’s role in the AI era isn’t to keep up.

It’s to lead the integration responsibly, strategically, and humanely.

Stop saying “AI won’t replace you; someone who knows AI will.”

That’s not true.

If 15% of your workforce gets cut overnight, it’s not because every manager suddenly became a prompt engineer. 

It’s because the CFO did the math.

Tenure, pay bands, performance stack ranking… that’s the calculus, not who’s best at ChatGPT.

Yes, AI is replacing people. But not in the way LinkedIn gurus want to sell it.

It’s commoditizing everything except distinctly human ability.

So yes, AI will force displacement.

But what it’s really forcing is a reckoning with what makes us valuable in the first place.

You don’t survive this shift by becoming “AI fluent.”

You survive by becoming more human than ever.

If a candidate’s first touch is a faceless agent, you just told them exactly how much you value people: not much. 

Automation is efficient. But hiring isn’t a spreadsheet exercise.

Candidates want speed and someone accountable for decisions that shape their careers.

Tech is not strategy. People still are.

As someone obsessed with what AI and robotics mean for the employer–employee relationship, I’ll die on this hill: 

The more tech we adopt, the more our differentiator becomes distinctly human judgment, trust, context, and dignity.

If you’re racing toward “AI-run hiring by 2026,” start here:

1) Human decides, AI informs. 

Use models to structure, summarize, and surface signals. Final calls belong to accountable humans.

2) Radical transparency. 

Tell candidates where/when AI is used and how it influences outcomes. No black boxes. (Trust is the currency.)

3) Bias isn’t “fixed,” it’s governed. 

Treat bias as a system problem: data audits, adverse-impact monitoring, and escalation paths that real people own.

4) And most importantly: Train the humans. 

Most teams don’t know what “AI skills” even means. Make fluency part of manager enablement and recruiter craft.

I’m not anti-AI. I’m anti-abdication.

You didn’t hire more people to slow things down...

But that’s exactly what happened.

Scaling should make things smoother, but it rarely does. The habits that helped you win early on don’t serve you later.

When companies start, they’re agile, experimental, and fueled by belief.

Then, they hit product-market fit. Now they’re in growth mode. 

That’s when process, discipline, and focus take over. Meetings multiply, and decisions slow.

The business becomes about precision: tightening systems, reducing errors, building consistency.

But when you over-optimize for process, you lose the agility that made you successful in the first place.

At a certain point, you need to redesign how your organization works.

At Lever Talent, Inc., we use the Competing Values Framework to help companies do exactly that.

If your team feels stuck in “slow motion growth,” this is your signal to recalibrate.

Because every stage requires a different kind of leadership, culture, and operating model.

CEO turnover is spiking in 2025, and it’s not because CEOs are failing. 

It’s because the job changed faster than they did.

New data shows high-performing companies are now almost just as likely to replace their CEO as underperformers. 

In the S&P 500, 2025 turnover in the top three performance quartiles hit 12%, nearly matching the bottom quartile at 14%.

Boards aren’t waiting for a downturn or a misstep. They’re finally acknowledging what many of us inside organizations have felt for years:

AI transformation is reshaping every role, and yesterday’s leadership profile doesn’t map to tomorrow’s demands.

The leadership equation has shifted: agility, digital fluency, and stakeholder orchestration now matter more than tenure.

That's why external CEO appointments nearly doubled this year. 

If the last few years taught us anything, it’s that strategy fails when leadership, structure, and decision-making can’t keep pace. 

The companies built for the future are the ones redesigning leadership for it, before the market forces them to.

And if your org isn’t building future-ready leaders, your board will go shopping for one.

Most companies hide bad news.

Amazon broadcasts it, and it wins them loyalty. 

When they make tough calls like layoffs, restructures, or pivots, it’s rarely a surprise.

Internal memos are written for public consumption. Leaders get out ahead, set expectations, and communicate the why behind the what.

That doesn’t make it easy. But it does make it clear.

Most leaders think people can handle bad news. What they can’t handle is being blindsided.

Trust isn’t built on inspirational speeches or glossy “values” slides.

It’s built when your team sees your strategy in action, and when your decisions line up with the story you’ve been telling all along.

So, before your next big announcement, ask yourself:

Have we shown the team how our strategy is actually working?
Are we building trust through clarity, or confusion through silence?

Trust isn’t a communications exercise.

It’s a pattern of visible alignment between what you say and what you do.

SHRM tried to teach authenticity.

Now it’s being called out for faking it.

You can teach compliance, frameworks, and best practices all day long… but if the people leading the charge aren’t living it, the whole thing collapses.

An organization built to help HR leaders model inclusion and trust… now under fire for failing at both.

That’s a strategy issue.

I say this as someone who went through SHRM certification.

The material’s solid, and the intent is good. But it reinforced something I already believed:

HR is not the star of the show.

The best HR leaders are the supporting cast, the ones who make everyone else better.

Your job isn’t to make HR “matter.” It’s to make the business unstoppable.

So when I see stories like this, I don’t pile on.

I just hope someone inside remembers: 

Your credibility isn’t earned through policy or optics; it’s earned by aligning words, actions, and outcomes.

And right now, HR as a profession needs that alignment more than ever.

The biggest mistake businesses make about their AI strategy?

Is thinking they need one.

AI isn’t something you strategize for, it’s something you adapt to.

AI is evolving faster than any strategy document can keep up.

If you are a business, your strategy needs to be about how your organization adapts to it:

- How you experiment.
- How you absorb what works.
- How you can exploit it for strategic differentiation.
- How you operationalize it into how you build, decide, and lead.

This is why HR is suddenly at the center of the AI conversation,  helping the business get good at change.

AI’s showing up in every board meeting, every strategy deck, every investor call. 

The market’s on fire with it, even while the workforce feels the drag of uncertainty.

So here’s my take:

Stop trying to make a “five-year AI plan.”

Start building a system for transformation, one that helps your people, your leaders, and your org evolve as fast as the technology does.

MAR Advisory, LLC

MAR Advisory stands for Marketing, Advancement, and Relationships.  I connect people, opportunities, and ideas across business, nonprofit, and community sectors. I also provide CMO services and strategic advisory guidance, helping organizations and executive leaders drive growth and create lasting impact by building valuable connections and fostering opportunities.

Principal and Founder

Chief

Chief is a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. Chief is the only organization specifically designed for senior women leaders to strengthen their leadership journey, cross-pollinate ideas across industries, and affect change from the top down.

Chief Member

Nickerson

As the Chief Marketing Officer at Nickerson, I steer our agency's strategic direction, nurturing growth and innovation. We specialize in partnering with forward-thinking brands across sectors like commercial real estate, architecture, sustainability, development, construction, and hospitality. My role extends to collaborating with early-stage B2B product and service companies, empowering them with robust go-to-market strategies that position them for success in their respective industries. In addition to leading Nickerson's marketing efforts, I also serve as CMO for some of our client partners, applying experience and insight to drive their marketing success.

Chief Marketing Officer 

RAVentures

RAVentures is a fast-growing company that owns and operates many fast-growing companies and brands.  Here I led all marketing initiatives for RAVentures' commercial development and real estate divisions, as well as national companies and brands in the hospitality group such as 110 Grill, Oar & Iron, Evviva Trattoria, Apex Entertainment, Kelly's Roast Beef and more.  This includes…

Brand Strategy, Positioning & Messaging 
Loyalty
Digital Transformation 
Content & Communication
Advertising & Media
Digital Marketing, Web & SEO
Social Media & Influencer Programs
Public Relations 
NPS & Customer Experience 
Strategic Partnerships

Chief Marketing Officer

The Thoreau Club

Chief Engagement Officer & Program Director — Thoreau Club & Tim Mayotte Tennis Academy 

Manager, Wellness Programs and Member Services

Effective Marketing

Marketing & Brand Strategist

Matrixone Inc

Senior Manager, Marketing Programs, IBM Partnership

Akamai Technologies

Marketing Program Manager -- Channels

Carat Freeman

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Advertising and Media 

Send me a connection request!  

I tell stories (mostly true) in my voice.  Stories that #liftup, amplify voices, celebrate community, and connect people. I write about Boston—the city I call home—highlighting its rich history, vibrant culture, and the resilience of the people who make it extraordinary.

Now for the "boring" stuff—except it’s not so boring when you realize connecting people, ideas, and opportunities is my superpower.

As a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and strategic advisor, I craft authentic connections between brands and their audiences. My passion is creating unforgettable brand experiences that drive loyalty, engagement, and growth, aligning marketing strategies with business goals while balancing customer needs and market dynamics.

My expertise includes:

Brand Strategy & Positioning
Digital Marketing
Advertising, Media & Creative Direction
Customer Experience & Analytics
Social Selling

I’ve guided national brands through consumer-driven strategies, using digital innovation and data analytics to lead in a rapidly evolving market.

Leadership, to me, isn’t about fitting in—it’s about creating spaces where others stand in their truths.

Beyond business, I serve my community on boards like The Greg Hill Foundation and Camp Casco, in UVM’s Women in Leadership program, and as a member of Chief, driving representation in executive leadership.

Through MAR Advisory, LLC, I’ve brought my career full circle. MAR—Marketing, Advancement, Relationships—connects leaders, ideas, and strategies to unlock growth, transform truths into stories, and build lasting impact.

Yes, I tell stories. But the best ones? They’re about transformation—yours, mine, and the brands I’m privileged to shape.

Amy Reinert

Mel Robbins bothers me.

And I’ve learned to pay attention to that feeling.

Listen, I’m no hater. That’s not what this is. This is something else.

She bothers me because she did it. She really did it. She reinvented. She got honest. She rebuilt her life in midlife—and it worked. Not just a pivot. A real, new life. 

Meaning, success, purpose, service…all of it.

And yes, that should inspire me. And it does. But not in a comfortable way. Not in a “wow, good for her” way. It hits more like: “Oh shit. I want that.”

The day I met her, she looked me in the eye, said my name, and gave me a moment. She was fully present—no rush, no polish, just real.  And I’m not someone special in her life. 

So let me be clear: when I say she bothers me, I don’t mean it in a negative or petty way. I mean it in the truest sense.

To be bothered is to feel something stir. It’s when someone’s story touches a part of your own you haven’t fully claimed or named yet.  It’s discomfort with a message you weren’t expecting but can’t un-hear.

That’s what happened.

I’ve spent my life showing up, giving, connecting, holding space, lifting others, loving fully. I’ve done meaningful work, and I carry real pride in that. 

But I’ve also underachieved—maybe not by your definition, but by mine. And I’ve over-given. I’ve waited for things to work out. Trusted the timing. Assumed the return would match the effort.

And the truth is, it doesn’t always.  
That’s not a pity party.  
That’s just life, for most of us. 
And at some point, we wake up to that.

So yes—I’m proud of who I am. And I’m also disappointed in where I’m not. 

That’s the tension I live in.  
Where “more” still exists.  
But for how long?

And standing in front of Mel Robbins brought it right to the surface.

I didn’t feel lit up.
I felt bothered.
Because she’s done the thing that I want to do.
Because she reminds me I’m not done.
Not even close.

And now I have to decide what to do about that.

I wanted to name her Pinky (Tuscadero.)

Please tell me you know who that is.

No one did—not my parents, not my kids.

So her name is:  Gigi, 
and she's my new, and first, granddog. 

You’ll be seeing her.

You aren’t going to believe the story about Emily.  

It’s too unbelievable…but it’s (mostly) true. 

It starts—unknowingly and unwittingly—more than 25 years ago, when we bought our first home: a 150+ year-old farmhouse in a Boston suburb. It had everything you’d expect—old knob-and-tube wiring, tiny closets, creaky hardwood floors, and so much quintessential New-England charm. 

When we moved in, the house needed work. And we were up for it. We tore out carpets, painted walls, replaced windows. We did the expensive things no one sees—but there was one thing I refused to touch.

In the smallest of the three bedrooms—the one that would become the nursery—inside the closet door frame, were pencil marks. Just a series of dates next to height lines, starting at about two feet and ending around four-and-a-half. No names. Just a quiet record of someone growing up.

And for 12 years, through every renovation and repainting, I never covered them. 

Fast forward almost 20 years. I'm at a networking event in Lexington for Chief. We’re seated for a picnic, and I strike up a conversation with this lovely woman next to me. 

Her name is Emily.

She tells me she recently moved back to the small town she grew up in, and now lives just down the street—from the house she was raised in.

I pause.

Wait... where exactly? I ask.

We start comparing notes. 
Street names. 
Landmarks. 
Little details.

And then—it clicks.

The house I bought all those years ago?
It was her childhood home.

The pencil marks I protected for over a decade?
They were hers.

That tiny bedroom closet?
Her growth was measured there.

Emily. 

The girl whose height I guarded like it was sacred.
And now, here we are, for the first time, face to face.

And ever since we uncovered this connection, things have only gotten... stranger. 

In the best, most uncanny way.
Like energy recognizing energy. 
Of course we found each other. 

Same town. 
Same house. 
Same bedroom. 
Same door jamb.

Me and Emily.

Thinking about changing your LinkedIn demographics to “Man” just to test the algorithm?  I have a better idea…..


Lately, I’ve seen more than a few posts from women creators and writers sharing an eyebrow-raising experiment: they change their gender setting to Man—and suddenly, their posts perform better. 

Reach goes up. Engagement climbs. Analytics start to tell a different story.

And yes, it makes you pause.  

It’s real.

Now, do I think there’s a secret room full of guys at LinkedIn HQ tweaking the algorithm because they didn’t get invited to the group project?

No. I really don’t. LinkedIn’s leadership is diverse—many brilliant women in decision-making roles, and I’d like to think that the guys there are decent people, too. 

That theory doesn’t really hold up. But I, along with others, would like to hear from LinkedIn on this.

But here’s what might be silently working: the reflective algorithm, our own behavior, what we do, without even thinking, reflected — only louder. It exaggerates the micro-behaviors we see every day and throws them back at us in sharper relief.

That’s not a glitch. That’s a mirror.

So here’s my suggestion: let’s stop trying to game the system. 

Let’s change the system—through our everyday behavior. 

How? 

Support women creators. 
Women writers. 
Women founders, 
CEOs, 
athletes, 
students, 
politicians,
doctors, 
caregivers, 
change makers.

Women. 
Period.

All of us.  
All the time.  

Maybe then we won’t need a workaround.

***

btw, I’m keeping mine set to Woman.

Worn-in jersey. Fierce eyes. Number 10.

This is what a champion looks like. 

Hands in the air—not just in victory, but in legacy.

Michelle Akers didn’t just play the game—she helped define it. The GOAT of women’s soccer, the foundation of the USWNT, and the embodiment of what it means to fight for something bigger than yourself.

I’ll be sitting down with Michelle on December 4 at Chief to talk about her story—from the early days with The 85ers to what equity and leadership look like today.

🗓 December 4, 1 PM ET
📍 Live at Chief — RSVP there

Not a Chief member but interested in the conversation (or in Chief itself)? DM me.

#WomenInLeadership
#NWSL
#WomensProfessionalSports
#IAmAChief
Storied Sports

Everything I know about soccer, I learned from the GOAT herself: Michelle Akers.

Not many people can say that—and for me, it’s 100% true.

When Michelle and I first connected about a year ago—after I wrote a story about a mistake I made as an #CMO around #NIL and pay equity—I knew nothing about soccer. 

I mean, zilch.

I knew who she was, of course. Cereal box icon and all.

But the full scope? The 40 years since The 85ers started laying the foundation for women’s soccer? 

That was a total download. 

Thankfully, I was a quick study. 

And Michelle? A masterful, patient teacher—and a fierce coach in every sense of the word.

Now, just a year later, I’m beyond thrilled to be interviewing Michelle live at Chief.

🗓 December 4, 1 PM ET
📍 Live at Chief, RSVP there.

Not a Chief member? Don’t worry — follow The 85ers and Michelle Akers, more conversations like this are coming for everyone, real soon.

#NWSL
#MichelleAkers
#WomenInLeadership
#WomensProfessionalSports
#IAmAChief
Storied Sports

Yesterday, I was in a conversation—with LIAM DARMODY, and about 50 incredible women (mostly in the Chief network)—about LinkedIn and how it can “manifest serendipity.”

Now, I didn’t coin that phrase. Liam did.  

But the minute I heard it, I pinned it, and definitely, DEFINITELY circled back.

Because it sounded a little… woo woo.

And my radar? Always up and ready to dig in on that.

Here’s what it means to me, and I think Liam would agree:

Serendipity feels like more than coincidence.

You meet someone. You connect. Your values line up. You finish each other’s thoughts—you get that little electric ‘wait, you too?’ moment.

It feels both magical and random. 

But it’s not.

Because you didn’t just stumble into that moment.

You showed up. You spoke. You wrote something real.  You took the next right action.  YOU cracked open just enough space for someone to find you—or for what you were looking for to make its way to you.

In other words, you attracted, or “manifested it.”  In a real, grounded, action-based, subtle magic kind of way.

And when it happens?

For just a second, you feel like you’ve got powers. 🪄 

Like you’re a little bit extra-sensory. A little witchy. A little wizard-y.

And guess what?

You are.

It’s not the algorithm.
It’s not a coincidence.
It’s actually you.
It’s always been you.

That’s your power.
We all have it.

Don’t believe me?

Go try it. Right now.

Say something, out loud. 
Share something. 
Show up. 

Then watch what finds you.

#Serendipity
#IAmAChief

📷 Another Age Productions

So… do you know your purpose?   At a soul level? 

This time, last year, I stumbled right into mine.

My daughter was home for Thanksgiving—college student, yoga teacher in training, so we planned a few days in at a yoga retreat in the Berkshires. I’ve spent more time than I can count on the mat, so this kind of trip made sense for both of us. 

We spent a few days at Kripalu—a place known for yoga, meditation, and spiritual work.  

We had some extra time one afternoon, so we explored. And lo and behold—there was an opening for something called an Akashic Record reading.

Now listen—I’ve been around this block. Astrology, palm readings, Magic 8 Ball moments in college. But I had never heard of this.

So naturally, I said yes.

It’s a session done by a psychic medium. Someone trained to tap into a certain energy—one most of us can’t reach.  And even as I sat down, I didn’t fully understand what I was walking into.

But within minutes, I did.

It’s not about being told your future or which lottery numbers to play. It’s not even about being told what’s happened to you, or about to. It’s like someone reading something that’s already in you—something deep, something old.  

They call it your soul’s record. 

Simply put, your purpose.  

There were no big dramatic moments. No tears. No cinematic music playing in the background. Just this slow unfolding of clarity.  Nodding.  Recognition.  It’s hard to put in to words.  But it all made sense.  

All of it.  

When it ended, I walked out and made my way through the long dorm-style hallways—still in it.

I felt high, honestly.
Dazed, light, floaty.
A little confused. 
A little giddy.
Fuzzy, clear, happy.
All of it at once.

And then I saw my daughter. She was waiting, sitting on a bench. I didn’t even make it all the way to her.

She looked up at me, with clear turned questioning eyes, and blurted,

“Mom… you, you look different.”

Not “how was it?”
Not “tell me everything.”
Not “what did she say”

Just that.
”You look different.”
Because she knew.

Of course she did.

And the thing is—I was.

Because I came out of that reading, not as a new person—but as more myself. 

And if I looked different, it’s only because— I might be different to you, but I was 100% home to me. 

And today, we’re back at Kripalu. Yes—for another Akashic reading. But I don’t expect much to change. Because I’ve learned—it doesn’t work like that. 

The truth of you doesn’t shift around too much. 

It lives in you, whether you see it or not. 

And last year, I saw it. 

Clearly. 
Fully.  
Finally.

One of my friends from Camp Casco could use some extra love and support this holiday season. 

Weston is asking for holiday cards from as many places as possible! 

Could you please add him to your list this year and send him a card? Cards from all over the world would mean the world to him.

Cards can be mailed to: 

Weston Strong, 9 Park Ave., Salem, NH 03079

❤️

Allyson Reinert
Erin Stern
#CampCasco 
#Friendship 
#CampMagic
#StrongerTogether

When a typo isn’t just.
A typo.

I’ve got one of those fill-in-the-blanks brains.

The kind that skims, that lets typos slide right past. It’s fine—especially when you’ve got a good team around you. And I usually do.

But earlier in my career, working my way up in marketing, I didn’t always have that backup. And if you don’t catch the details, eventually, one of them catches up with you.

For me, it was a campaign for a health club fundraiser. The program was called “Change For Good.” 

Clever, right? 

You donate your spare change—actual coins—and the money goes too cancer research. Good.  In return, you get access to a month of extra classes and wellness programs. So you change, for good.

And maybe even, you know... for good.

(yes, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself for coming up with all those deeply layered messages)

I was in charge of the floor-to-ceiling banners that would hang in the main lobby—massive, church-like ceilings. The banners were custom, tall, not cheap. I’m not a designer, so I used one of those online print sites, dropped in the copy, double-checked, triple-checked, hit submit.

A few days and a thousand dollars later, the boxes arrived. Heavy. Important. They looked like they should be sealed with wax.

We fired up the lift. Got into position.

Everyone gathered—staff, trainers, a few early-morning members.

It was a whole moment.

We pulled the first banner from the box. 
Unrolled it like a scroll. 
Slowly. 
Carefully.

This was the centerpiece. 
The big reveal.

And there it was:

Change For God.

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Holy.  
Moly.

One missing letter. That’s all it took. 

My stomach dropped. Then flipped.
Someone coughed.
A baby cried.
I started laughing—the kind you try to swallow,
but it takes on a life of it’s own, 
and becomes an uncontrollable giggle-snort.

Which, considering the banner, felt familiar in exactly the wrong way.

We didn’t have time or budget to reprint. So we trimmed the bottom, folded it under, stapled it somewhat messily, and rehung it—ceiling to almost-floor.

Left just enough space for people to do a little limbo on their way into yoga.

The campaign still worked. People still gave. Some even said the message moved them.  

Everyone showed me incredible grace in the face of my mistake.

As for me?

I can try to proofread. I do try. But I don’t really trust this brain.   And even though I’m accountable, I never rely on just me to catch the details.

But here’s the God’s honest truth…

The typo wasn’t wrong.

Just… not what we meant.

#Marketing 
#CMO

Black Friday.  Love or hate? 

Some people (not me, not judging) in my house were up and out at 4:30am to head out for the best deals.

I’m up too—but shopping?  I’ve done some, sure. From bed. With coffee in hand and my dog curled up next to me. 

And I’ve been thinking—there’s a point, maybe an age, maybe a stage—when you stop wanting more stuff.

You’ve built, collected, acquired… and then something clicks.

And all of a sudden it’s about clearing out. Simplifying. Distilling. Prioritizing. Words like that.

But still, I get asked, what’s on your list this year?
(Meaning: if I were to buy you something, what would it be?)

And here’s the thing…

I LOVE gifts.  I love things.  I’m not ashamed to say it. 
I love receiving almost as much as I love giving (so Taurus).
Soft blankets. 
High-thread count sheets. 
Things that smell amazing. 
Cozy things to wrap myself in.
Jewelry (always).
Cashmere (duh).

So yes—I like things.  And I’m no stranger to finer ones.

But these days, they feel different.  More intentional. More meaningful. Not just stuff for the sake of it.

And lately, I’ve had a harder time answering that “what do you want?” question.

Because what I want most doesn’t come wrapped.

It’s time.
Ease.
Spontaneity.
The kind of life that lets me follow my nose. 
Say yes to the moment. 
Go where the energy is.

And more than anything: it’s about people.  

Being with the people who make me feel most at home in myself.

Stuff or no stuff.

That’s what I want more of.

That’s the real list this year.

Top 10 Favorite Moments from the Boston #GlobeSummit2025.

What. A. Summit. 

Here are the moments that made it unforgettable:

1️⃣  Surprise drop-in by Dr. Rochelle Walensky.  The former CDC Director reminded us what calm, clarity, and leadership in a crisis really look like.

2️⃣  Watching Ben Collins, CEO, The Onion, render Jackie Kucinich, Washington Bureau Chief, completely speechless. No small feat—and 100% hilarious.

3️⃣  Listening to Elin Hilderbrand wax poetic about her very real, very passionate love affair… with Nantucket. And yes, it was as beachy as it sounds.

4️⃣ Elbowing my way to ice cream from Ben Cohen.  Nothing says “New England grit” like competing for scoops from the Ben & Jerry's’s co-founder himself.

5️⃣  Getting a different kind of scoop from JetBlue’s president. Marty St. George confirmed it: a new JetBlue lounge is coming to Logan Airport in 2026 and two new destinations. You heard it here first.

6️⃣ Feeling real hope from Rev. Chris Hope.  His human-centered take on AI reminded us that compassion and innovation aren’t mutually exclusive.

7️⃣ Jumping out of my seat like a true fan during the women’s pro sports panel.  Jennifer van Dijk of Boston Legacy FC , Morgan Tuck of Connecticut Sun, and Katie McInerney brought the 🔥.  Boston is becoming a women’s sports town. 

8️⃣  Reviving the middle class involves letting a thousand flowers bloom.
The “Massachusetts Miracle” panel made it clear: equity, diversification, and access aren’t miracles. They’re choices. And they’re possible.

9️⃣  FIFA World Cup™ Boston 2026.  Enough said. Boston’s ready.

🔟  Being a proud #GlobePartner.  Thank you, Boston Globe Media for the opportunity. What an honor for me to be part of this conversation—and this community.

And BONUS:  Seeing Maura Healey do this 👇 !

I’ve had a complicated history with Thanksgiving. Maybe you have too.

Last year, I shared a story about it—the weight, the expectations, the quiet resentment that can build over time. I was honest about the ways it hasn’t always gone how I’d hoped, and the stories I’d been telling myself, sometimes for years.

The pressure to make it perfect? I helped create it.
I played a role I didn’t even want, and I played it well.
And it was always a performance.  

So many people reached out—mostly women, mostly mothers—to say: yes, this.

They totally got it.

So I’m sharing it again, ahead of the biggest food event of the year. Because while some parts of it are baked in, others—how we show up, what we hold onto, what we do differently—we get to choose.

And if you’re celebrating, just a gentle reminder: check in on the people in the kitchen.

It’s not just about the meal.

It never is.

***

#Thanksgiving 
📷 dream kitchen

Original post date: November 24th, 2024 Worth reposting: November 26th, 2025 Thanksgiving is around the corner—a time for pumpkin pie, laughter, and c

Open article: When It Isn’t Working, Flip the Bird by Amy Reinert • 7 min read

Gratitude creates abundance.

Practice it today.

And every day.

#Thanksgiving
#GiveThanks

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Amy Reinert

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The Battle

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Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Drew Fortin's LinkedIn Performance

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