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dr. bernard jones.
our client:
Dr. Bernard Jones is a multi-faceted expert whose 30+ year career spans the corporate, academic, research, and athletic worlds. As a professional in disaster recovery, enterprise risk management, and business continuity, he possesses a technical understanding of systemic resilience.
His expertise is deeply rooted in his personal journey. Growing up in the South Bronx during the 1960s and 70s, Bernard faced a landscape often defined by structural disadvantage and scarcity. He used discipline, specifically through the sport of tennis and the Madison Square Boys Club on Hoe Avenue, as a lifeline to navigate an environment where the statistical outcomes for young Black men were often limited to gang life, incarceration or early death.
Bernard’s driving motivation is impact: he came to toth shop with the goal of starting a book that serves as a practical, human guide for professionals feeling "stuck" or facing invisible barriers, helping them move from mere survival to "finishing strong".
services:
After having met team toth shop at the Wake Forest University School of Professional Studies (Wake SPS) Wake 360 in-person event, Bernard engaged toth shop for a "Sprint" Package designed to catalyze his book-writing process. This advisory engagement provided a structured framework to transition from decades of lived experience to a cohesive manuscript. The scope of work included:
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A deep-dive strategy and story session: A two-hour in-person intensive to extract core themes and narratives.
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Strategic Roadmap: Delivery of a comprehensive follow-up summary featuring a book outline, key messaging, and tactical next steps.
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Developmental Coaching: A 45-minute follow-up coaching call to review draft material and provide professional support.
2-4 sentences from Bernard on how we worked together and what he loved…
Working with the shop has been both amazing and inspirational.
Meg has been my biggest supporter and has guided and inspired me to tell my story about taking my personal challenges and transforming and creating a narrative to help professionals regarding building resilience. Our partnership has been fulfilling, deeply meaningful, and extremely engaging and supportive. The strategy and blueprint that Meg presented, put me in the frame of mind to produce a quality product and the toth shop’s methodology is effective, efficient, and bears quick results.
What I loved the most is the personal touch and empathy that Meg has shown throughout the process. Meg and the toth shop provide an exceptional professional experience along with a personal touch, creating a wonderful experience for all aspiring authors like myself. Lastly, there were many very emotional sessions during this process, as I recanted painful stories throughout my childhood. Meg has been supportive the entire time and been both a professional and personal supporter, helping me to tell my story!
the action:
The strategy session focused on redefining resilience. Moving away from the conventional "weathering the storm" definition, toth shop helped Bernard codify his unique philosophy.
We organized his life’s work into 8–12 core lessons that bridge the gap between personal story and professional application. Key actions included:
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Translating Story to Lesson: Ensuring every powerful anecdote (from the South Bronx to the tennis court, to overcoming racism, to success in the corporate and academic worlds) serves a specific, applicable lesson for the reader.
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Structural Architecture: Recommending a "Foundational" chapter approach to orient the reader emotionally and intellectually before moving into the instructional core.
Authentic Voice Capture: Encouraging a "voice-to-text" drafting method to ensure Bernard’s conversational, authoritative, and relatable tone remains the anchor of the book.
the impact:
The collaboration provided Bernard with a clear, authentic framework for his book, moving it from a "traditional memoir" to a practitioner’s guide to resilience. By identifying his "Anchor Audience" (professionals facing structural blocks), Bernard now has a "muse" to filter his lessons through, ensuring the book's utility.
The strategic output transformed a lifetime of complex experiences, including navigating racism, and managing high-stakes disasters, into a structured roadmap for personal growth and resilience.
Bernard left the sessions not just with an outline, but with the conviction that his story is a tool for others to find their own way to finish strong.