Strategy Isn't a Title, It's a Calling
The market is loud. My inbox is quiet. I'm still here.
This hiring season has been quite a lot. I've been ghosted mid-process, seen roles vanish due to "budget," and even received rejections via LinkedIn DM after completing five rounds of interviews. If you're in this moment too, I see you.
But let me be clear about one thing: strategy isn't just what I do, it's how I am wired.
S/O to Aaron Francois
I've felt that definition in my bones across every project, pitch, and late-night deck. Strategy isn't vibes. It's a discipline.
What "Strategist" Means in Practice
Obsession with the Why: I don't stop at "what people do." I interrogate why they do it until we uncover the tension, and then we can actually move.
Culture x Commerce: I care about resonance and results. The work should resonate with the heart and reach a wide audience.
Storycraft as a Tool: I write and speak to transport, so teams can see the same future and build toward it.
Truth > Trend: Insights are the unspoken human truths everybody feels but nobody has articulated yet.
Creative Liaison: My job is to ensure the brand promise and creative ambition are aligned.
Receipts: Community, Content, Conversion
NARC NYC - Strategy lead for "the most engaged wellness community in NYC," growing from 6 to 5000+ members in <18 months. We're seeing ~20% overall engagement and over 40% on short-form content; our strategy is built on lived behaviors, not just platforms
The Strategist Table - I launched my editorial platform to show my work, not just ask for 20 minutes on someone's calendar. That decision alone generated more meaningful conversations and interviews than cold outreach from recruiters ever did.
If You Say You Want to Be a Strategist, Start Here
Use your voice now. Publish your thinking: case studies, teardown threads, POVs. Don't wait for permission.
You can build with other strategists. Community compounds, group chats Hendrick McCaskill-Bourdeau Dalvin Long Aaron Francois Tyler Jenkins Diontay Santiago Alexander Ortiz Chris Clements. Sharpen each other.
Serve where you stand. Apply the strategy to a real community, team, or creator. You'll learn faster in the wild than in theory.
You can get comfortable being early. You might be 2-5 years ahead. Hold the line (I was told athlete brand-building was a "waste of time." Look around now.)
Tell better stories with better evidence. Pair human truth with complex numbers; feelings + facts = movement.
Could you show your work? Again. And again. And again. The portfolio you ship is the one that hires you.
Operate like an athlete. As a former D1 player, my advice to current athletes (and strategists): train your career like your sport; reps, film, feedback, recovery.
This is also where I lean on my mentor Corbin Brown words, which still sit at the top of my recommendation:
A Word for the Season We're In
This market is a dogfight. I've heard more "no's" than "yes's." I might end up bouncing at a club or bartending to keep things moving. But mentors I respect keep telling me, "At your age, I wasn't the game like you are. Don't quit."
So I'm not quitting.
If you're a strategist reading this: keep going, keep fighting. Document the process. Publish the insight. Build the room you wish you were invited into. There is light on the other side of consistently producing high-quality work in the public eye.
So, yes, the job market is terrible. By the end of this, you will probably see me working as a bouncer or bartender (seriously, my 'open to work' sign has been up for officially six months). But for my fellow strategists: Show your work, show your work, SHOW YOUR WORK! There will be light at the end of the tunnel.
I say all of this to say...keep going, keep fighting.