Beyond Expertise

Beyond Expertise

If you’ve spent decades building a career and now find yourself wondering what’s next, this podcast is for you. Beyond Expertise is a podcast about identity reinvention for professionals ready to explore who they are beyond their careers.

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Recent Episodes

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Why So Many Smart Professionals Feel Stuck Right Now
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
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Why Writing a Book Is Not Always the Best Business Move with Ally Machate
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
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From Corporate Stability To Retail Shelves With A Side Hustle with David Ask
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.
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From Corporate Creative To Sci-Fi Author Without Quitting Your Day Job with Christian Hurst
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.
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Reinventing After A Successful Exit with Jack Calhoun
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.
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The Grief of Outgrowing a Successful Career and Feeling Unfulfilled
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
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Recent Blog Posts

When Getting Fired Is the Beginning, Not the End: Merry Korn's Career Reinvention Story
May 21, 2026

When Getting Fired Is the Beginning, Not the End: Merry Korn's Career Reinvention Story

Getting fired is one of the most destabilizing career experiences a professional can face. It can strip away your identity, your income, and your sense of direction, all at once. But for those willing to sit with the discomfort long enough, it can a…
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When the Corporate Blueprint Stops Fitting: Ivonne Furneaux on Career Reinvention and the Hidden Gaps at Work
May 19, 2026

When the Corporate Blueprint Stops Fitting: Ivonne Furneaux on Career Reinvention and the Hidden Gaps at Work

Some careers look like a straight line from the outside. From the inside, they feel like a long series of decisions made under pressure, in motion, with no map. Ivonne Furneaux spent more than 25 years navigating corporate America, from Target to Of…
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About the Host

Eric Dickmann Profile Photo
Eric Dickmann

Host | Fractional CMO

Eric Dickmann is a former corporate executive who built a successful second chapter as an entrepreneur, fractional CMO, and podcast host. After years of leading marketing, product, and growth initiatives for organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging startups, he made the leap from corporate leadership to building his own consulting business to help B2B companies grow through strategic marketing leadership.

As the host of The Virtual CMO, Eric has published more than 130 episodes featuring marketing leaders, founders, and growth experts. Through those conversations, he noticed a deeper theme that extended far beyond business strategy: many successful professionals eventually reach a point where they begin asking what comes next when titles, roles, and career identity no longer feel like the full story.

That realization inspired him to launch Beyond Expertise, a show exploring reinvention, relevance, confidence, and building a meaningful next chapter in midlife and beyond. Eric brings a rare mix of executive experience, entrepreneurial perspective, and personal honesty about navigating change in real time.

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