The Art of the Pause and the Fractional Future of Work.

02.14.24 | JEAN BATTHANY

"Don’t just do something, sit there." -Nhat Hanh

It’s my birthday and it's Valentine’s Day.

I’m not one to look back, but I learned a lot about LOVE in the last year.

About choosing LOVE and doing more of what I LOVE.

With purpose.

🤍

After leaving my role as Chief Creative Officer at Walmart, I paused. What did I want to do in this next chapter? Both personally and professionally. We live and work in a culture of toxic productivity. After 30 nonstop years of building and growing brands, creative teams, creative cultures, creative capabilities and award-winning creative campaigns only taking time off to bring two tiny humans into the world, I committed to taking time off.

Giving myself permission to rest, reset, reprioritize.

Practicing the Art of the Pause:

Creating more time and space to be more creative and innovative.

Time to be proactive vs reactive.

Time before jumping into the next thing.

Time to get in alignment with my assignment, with the help of my coach, Afdhel Aziz (He/Him) co-founder of Conspiracy of Love.

Time to clearly define my purpose.

TO BE A CREATIVE FORCE FOR GOOD.

Shine a light and my LOVE on the unseen, the underserved, the underdog.

Use the power of creativity to create impact and drive cultural change.

Partner with like-minded people to make the world a more equitable, more sustainable, more beautiful place.

Time to practice self-LOVE.

Taking care of my physical, mental and spiritual health.

LOVING on the people I LOVE.

Protecting my peace.

Living a big creative juicy life to bring big juicy creative ideas to the table.

Prioritizing collaboration.

And community.

And that is what I found at THE BOARD.

A community of passionate fractional C-suite executives founded by April Uchitel.

Part Creative Salon.

Part Business Incubator.

Part Innovation Lab.

Part Group Hug.

A community diverse in expertise, like minded in passion and purpose. Connecting brands with curated DREAM TEAMS of expert talent to accelerate growth and transform business. Leveraging the power of our collective knowledge and experience. Brand visionaries, marketing experts and futurists bringing fresh perspective, focus and growth mindset for a fraction of the time and cost of bringing on full time hires. Especially as companies rethink their organizations and seek talent that can step in and deliver excellence, quickly and efficiently.

As a fractional Chief Creative Officer, I can do more of what I LOVE to do. Lead creative vision. Build and grow brands, integrated creative platforms, diverse creative teams and cultures. Tell brave stories. Create impact.

Choosing projects and partners that align with my purpose and values.

If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a big NO.

I believe we are put on this planet to LOVE.

To LOVE on ourselves, our families, kids, partners, friends, community. Our pets.

I lost my bulldog Walter Cronkite last year to an inoperable brain tumor.

That dog taught me a lot about unconditional LOVE.

Our time on this planet is finite.

Life is too damn short not to live, LOVE and laugh big.

To thrive rather than just survive.

Time to redefine success.

For me?

Success is freedom.

Time is wealth.

And good health is priceless.

Time to create the future of work.

Working smarter. Not harder.

And be nice to people.

Especially yourself.

🤍

#artofthepause #creativity #collaboration