With an extensive two-decade background as a full stack digital marketer, Dennis Consorte successfully sold his initial ecommerce venture back in 2004. Presently, he serves as the head of a firm specializing in publicity, digital marketing, and content strategy. His diverse clientele encompasses micro cap public companies, startups, and online businesses. What sets Consorte apart in the realm of digital marketing is his distinctive approach, wherein he views each interaction throughout the customer journey as an opportunity to establish connections reminiscent of face-to-face communication. At the core of his methodology lies team-building and storytelling.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Consorte derives immense pleasure from quality time spent with his wife and cherishing moments shared with friends and family whenever circumstances allow. Being deeply committed to his weight-loss endeavor, he is resolute in his pursuit of improved dietary choices, better sleep patterns, and, naturally, regular exercise. Additionally, he nurtures a passion for writing, aspiring to impact people worldwide through his forthcoming book centered on recovering from burnout, aptly titled Back After Burnout. His ultimate aim is to assist individuals in discovering fulfillment and purpose within their respective professional lives.
Could you highlight one or two instances in your book, Back After Burnout, where renowned psychologists or leadership experts share their advice? What valuable insights can readers gain from these chapters?
Dr. Mark Goulston, MD is the Co-Founder of Deep Coaching Institute, a Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches member, a former UCLA professor of psychiatry for over 25 years, and an FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer. He is the author or co-author of nine books including international best-seller, Just Listen. One of Dr. Mark’s mentors was the world-famous radio host, Larry King. In Back After Burnout, Dr. Mark shares a funny story about how he consults with Larry King’s spirit beyond the grave from time to time. He then shares several tools that help people with their burnout recovery. My favorite is a framework for elevating your oxytocin levels that happens to benefit other people, too.
Other experts that share their stories and advice include human resources expert Dr. Troy Hall, persuasion expert Dr. Kevin Hogan, and executive coach and team-building expert, Larry Sharpe.
As an author, what do you hope readers will take away from Back After Burnout? What impact do you aim to make in their lives?
I know how dark life can get when you’re in the middle of burnout. My hope is that I can serve as a fellow traveler for someone who needs me by their side, while they sort out their own recovery. Most people won’t assimilate every single lesson in this book. There are many tools, frameworks, and workbook exercises that can bring tremendous benefit to the reader. My hope is that each person who reads Back After Burnout will come away with a few tools that they love and use often to take ownership of their lives through mindset development, habit-building, and leading a joyful life full of purpose and meaning.
In your opinion, what are some common misconceptions about burnout recovery, and how does your book address and dispel them?
The most common misconception about burnout is that it’s simple to explain. Nuance surrounds every individual’s burnout experience. For example, some people believe that burnout is caused by working too many hours. I would say that the hours are only part of the problem. The environment in your workplace can play a significant role, especially if there is a weak team culture under toxic leadership. Additionally, spending time on something that doesn’t bring you joy and a sense of purpose can burn you out, even when the hours feel manageable. The truth is that if you love what you do, it won’t feel like work, and you might find yourself wishing that you had more hours available. One of the goals in Back After Burnout is to help you find your true calling in life, so that work no longer feels like work, but an extension of a more complete and joyful life.
Were there any significant challenges or obstacles you encountered while writing this book? How did you overcome them?
The biggest challenge was setting priorities while advancing the completion of the book. I had to balance writing with performing good work for my marketing clients, the online MBA program I’m in, and of course keeping my wife happy and my marriage healthy. To overcome this, I used a number of tools including the SMART framework, which I explain in the book as part of my burnout recovery solution. Put simply, you set specific, achievable goals to complete any major task. In the case of Back After Burnout, I had set a goal of completing one or two chapters per week, plus a workbook exercise, to get my first draft done. I didn’t worry so much about the quality of the writing, and just focused on getting my thoughts into written format. From there, I took a break so that I could look at it again with fresh eyes, edit and expand the content. After that, I recruited several experts to contribute a chapter or two each. For that leg of the journey, I employed my superior “cat-herding” skills to get people to focus on writing. Once their content was complete, I reorganized the content a bit more and used software to tighten it up and improve the flow. Finally I had my editors clean it up some more, with instructions to trim my storytelling with a heavy hand and remove redundant material. I also had to do several iterations of improvements to nearly 30 workbook exercises.
What is your go-to celebratory drink of choice when you complete writing a new book? Or is it a cigar?
Unfortunately, I have asthma, so I avoid smoke whenever possible while living vicariously through the joy that others experience. I’m not a heavy drinker, but I enjoy bourbon, wheat beer, and wine whenever the mood strikes me. For me, the celebration is knowing that I am helping other people to find joy and purpose in their own lives.
For more information, visit dennisconsorte.com.
