It should be the easiest question to answer – what do you do, Marc?
Twenty years ago, the answer was as neat as a Japanese zen garden. I was a psychologist, working in a hospital, navigating the politics and contradictions of the medical model.
Since then, I’ve done so much more. And to be fair to my early-2000s self, I did a lot even then. Like many people, I defined my “doing” by what I had studied, then by the roles I was asked to play: consultant, general manager, executive coach, facilitator, colleague, thinking partner, insolent employee. No matter how I saw myself, most people labelled me as a life coach, a business psychologist, or – cringiest of all – a motivational speaker.
Of course, I am also founder, traveller, father, husband, leader, mistake maker, problem solver, problem maker, aging athlete, and grumpy mid-lifer. The list is endless – and far too long to help anyone truly understand what I do.
What people really want to know is how I make a living. When they ask, “What do you do, Marc?” they mean: how do you spend your working hours, what do you offer that someone will pay for, and where is the mutual value?
It isn’t about what I do. It’s about what I contribute that is meaningful enough for others to invest in. I could list a thousand things: I listen, question, guide, reflect, give feedback, teach, share, make light, smile, challenge, make space, make safe, learn, stay curious, acknowledge, encourage, demonstrate care, empathise, get enraged, dispel, propel. To do all this, I must observe, read, discuss, engage, debate, disagree, decline, fail, celebrate, consume, relate, rest – and more.
More specifically, I lead a ten-year-old consulting business, partnering with over 30 peers to deliver coaching, consulting, and facilitation across the globe, every working day of the year. I strategise, lead, take risks, manage finances, bill people, pay people, hold accountable, imagine, experiment, gather, listen, and occasionally disappoint. And so much more.
Try fitting all that into a LinkedIn headline. To make my answer clear, I’ve had to invent a new word.
What do I do?
I am a Reminder-er.
I have spent over 20 years working with thousands of people across cultures, ages, countries, and careers. I’ve been in hundreds of thousands of conversations and observed millions of actions and reactions. It has taken decades, but now I can comfortably share what I actually do – and why I am a Reminder-er.
Across all my work, the greatest value I offer is helping people remember the very best of their humanity, and all that they already intuitively and cognitively know. A Reminder-er helps people find the courage and confidence to trust themselves and be character-strong human beings.
So, when people ask me, “What do you do, Marc?” I reply: it’s not what I do – it’s what I first and foremost believe: that every person is a deep oasis of hope, potential, and meaningful possibility. I remind them where that oasis is, and that digging deeper into desert sand while starved and scorched is not who they were designed to be.
