Eric Dickmann's Podcasts
Welcome! This is home to podcasts designed to inform, challenge, and inspire professionals at every stage of their journey.
Here you’ll find The Virtual CMO, where Eric shares practical insights on B2B marketing, growth strategy, leadership, and the evolving world of modern marketing.
You’ll also find Beyond Expertise, a podcast exploring reinvention, identity, and what comes next when career titles no longer define who we are.
Whether you’re building a business, leading a team, or navigating your own next chapter, these shows are created to deliver thoughtful conversations and real-world perspective.
Podcasts
The Virtual CMO
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Beyond Expertise
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15
July 2, 2026
Why So Many Smart Professionals Feel Stuck Right Now
During times of change, uncertainty can create fear about the future and whether the job you have today will be there tomorrow. That fear is compounded by a job market that can make even confident professionals feel powerless: you apply, you wait, and the silence starts to feel like a verdict. I dig into why that “stuck” feeling is showing up everywhere right now, from political upheaval and social tribalism to the looming uncertainty of artificial intelligence and the future of work. If you are
14
June 25, 2026
Why Writing a Book Is Not Always the Best Business Move with Ally Machate
“Write a book, and you’ll become an authority” sounds like solid advice until you do the math on time, money, attention, and what that book is actually supposed to achieve. Host Eric Dickmann is joined by Ally Machate, a former Simon & Schuster editor and the founder of The Writer’s Ally, to pressure-test the myth that expertise automatically means you should write a book. We dig into why a book is a tool, not a trophy, and why it’s often the wrong next step when your business is still taking sh
13
June 18, 2026
From Corporate Stability To Retail Shelves With A Side Hustle with David Ask
A thermostat guard with a combination lock doesn’t sound like the start of a reinvention story, but that’s exactly why it works. Host Eric Dickmann sits down with David Ask, a Nashville singer, corporate professional turned product entrepreneur, and founder of The Ask Experience, to unpack how a side hustle that “went nowhere” quietly became a real business on the shelves of Home Depot and later Lowe’s.
12
June 11, 2026
From Corporate Creative To Sci-Fi Author Without Quitting Your Day Job with Christian Hurst
At some point, being good at your job stops being the problem and starts being the cover story. Christian Hurst is a seasoned graphic designer and creative leader, but he also carries a sci-fi universe he’s been building in his head for more than twenty years, and he finally decides it can’t stay there.
11
June 4, 2026
Reinventing After A Successful Exit with Jack Calhoun
You can “win” your career, sell the business, and still wake up wondering who you are without the role. Host Eric Dickmann talks with Jack Calhoun, founder of Encore Career Lab, to get honest about the emotional and practical mechanics of a second act after a big professional exit. Jack had something many people don’t: financial runway. What he didn’t have was instant clarity, and that gap is where the real reinvention work begins.
10
May 28, 2026
The Grief of Outgrowing a Successful Career and Feeling Unfulfilled
A big title and a steady paycheck can still come with a surprising emotion: grief. When you wake up one day and realize you’ve outgrown the career that made you “successful,” it can feel disorienting, and even embarrassing, to admit that you want something different. I unpack why that misalignment happens, how it builds slowly over years, and why so many high-achieving professionals feel oddly guilty for not feeling more satisfied. We trace how career paths often start with a practical first jo