Happy almost end of 2023! As the year draws to a close, we asked our President, Jason Dorsey, to share his 10 favorite highlights and unexpected moments from his adventures this year. We enjoyed hearing them so much that we wanted to share them with you! Please check them out below. What a year it has been! Wishing you and yours the very best New Year and a wonderful 2024.
Ten Favorite Memories of 2023 from CGK’s President:
10. Being a Spokesperson for Hilton
Yes, my first global spokesperson role! I loved this partnership because I got to collaborate on their global research study—with over 10,000 participants—and then film at a variety of Hilton hotels. The commercial they created is one of my favorite work products I’ve ever been a part of and speaks directly to Hilton’s commitment to insights, guest experience, and excellence. Please check out the commercial here.
9. Speaking to CEOs in Cartagena, Colombia
This was a surreal experience for me because I got to speak in Colombia to CEOs from across Latin America and speak at an event where the other two keynotes were Jamie Dimon and Leon Panetta! This was my seventh event for JP Morgan and they asked me to share our most unexpected discoveries and CEO strategies. Plus, I got to visit a new country and explore the wonderful port city of Cartagena.
8. Getting a Standing O’ From 4,000 Leaders
Sales leaders and entrepreneurs need to be constantly learning and evolving in order to grow in competitive markets. Understanding generations and how to build trust, connection, and influence across them is a fast track to driving growth and personal development. In November, I got to share these insights and some of my favorite stories and strategies with over 4,000 leaders in Charlotte. My message received a standing ovation and they have already booked me to keynote their next major conference!
7. Speaking for The Orlando Magix—3x!
I love sports. No doubt about it. Pretty much any sport, too. I love all the elements of peak performance, team dynamics, and the business aspects of running professional sports teams. I was fortunate to speak at three different events for the Orlando Magic this year. They have a great organizational culture and are led by visionaries in the space who have driven tremendous gains for the franchise and its global reach. They are so generous that they even hosted me, Rya, and Denise courtside! Rya got to meet some players, executives, and be in the tunnel when the team came out. They know how to put on an unforgettable fan experience!!!
6. Visiting Clients in Greece with my Family
Greece is one of my favorite places to visit. I enjoy meeting with the people, exploring the history, trying all the food(!), and supporting its rapidly growing entrepreneurial scene. On this trip, Rya and Denise came with me and got to experience the country as well as attend some of my business events. International work is one of my favorite parts of our research, speaking, and advising and it’s made even better on the rare occasions when my family gets to travel with me. I’ve been working with a Greek technology company since 2011!
5. Creating my New Speaking Brand for 2024
After so many years of focusing on delivering unique research and customized speaking around the world, our team has turned our attention to evolving my speaking and advising brand to better fit our insights, engagement, and solutions. Our team has been hard at work on a new speaking preview video, a new speaking website, and much more. All of these will be released in January 2024. I am incredibly excited to reach even more leaders around the world with my discoveries, stories, humor, and practical strategies!
4. Speaking for COACH Three Times This Year
I believe working in retail provides a valuable foundation for connecting with different people, learning how business works, and developing professional skills. (I feel the same about working in restaurants!) Having worked in retail as a teenager—including learning to count back change—I was thrilled to speak for COACH and then be invited to speak two more times. The capstone event for me was keynoting their General Manager Conference for all their store managers from across North America. They loved the insights and practical strategies and I loved their energy. Plus, I received a standing ovation! The best part: they had an entire day of learning focused on Gen Z and everyone got a copy of our latest book, Zconomy.
3. Publishing Zconomy in 7 Different Languages
Yes, Zconomy is now available in seven different languages around the world. In fact, the book continues to sell more each year as the importance, relevance, and urgency of understanding Gen Z as employees, consumers, and trendsetters only grows. Dr. Villa and I were thrilled to research and write Zconomy and are inspired to see comments—including rave reviews—from readers all around the world. So amazing. My favorite part is hearing about the impact of leaders implementing the practical strategies in the book to drive results within their organizations. If you haven’t yet ordered your copy, here is the link on Amazon.
2. Rya Making her Middle School Volleyball Team
I wanted to put this as #1, but this is supposed to be a special work highlights countdown—so I put it at #2 instead. Rya showed dedication and hard work to practice, try out, and earn a spot on her middle school volleyball team. The best part—albeit the toughest too—was when she lost her spot on the team and then practiced extra hard to re-earn her spot on the team and end the season as a starter. Go, Rya!
1. Starting to Write our Next Business Book
That’s right………! Dr. Villa and I are working on a new book! I also have a new keynote coming(!) that we are incredibly excited about. It’s an evolution in our work that combines and builds on all our business research and behavioral discoveries for leaders to drive results in very competitive markets. Much more to come in 2024, but this is the #1 focus of our upcoming year. There are great things ahead and we can’t wait to share more with you next year!
Most of All—Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Thank you for being on this journey of speaking, research, travel, discovery, and life. Our family is grateful to you for supporting our vision through your interest in our work. We wish you a very happy, healthy, and fulfilling 2024 and hope our paths cross soon.
