The value isn’t in what something does.

It’s in what it invites people to do.

THINK OUTSIDE THE TOY BOX™

We’d get a free TV placement and then do nothing with it. Once we realized we were paying our PR team thousands to recreate work we already had, it was obvious something was broken. Charlene helped us see what we were missing and how to turn one win into something that actually worked harder for us.

BSM MEdia

Three Ways I Can Help You

1

Why Things Get Stuck

We learn to treat the way something is introduced as the only way it has to be used. Over time, that shuts down curiosity and trains us to stop asking questions.

2

How People CAN Look Again

I help people see what they’re overlooking in plain sight by changing the question they’re asking from “what does this do” but “what else could this be.”

3

What I Care About Most

I care about building people who can still think. In a world full of tools, scripts, and shortcuts, that skill matters more than any new thing.

Most things are designed to launch, not to last.

TOYS ARE THE WAY IN

I didn’t take a straight path here. I began my career as an attorney, then moved into the world of media and marketing, eventually specializing in kids’ toys and play after becoming a mom. Over more than a decade in that space, I produced events, wrote more than 400 articles, appeared on TV over 175 times, and worked closely with toys as tools, not just products.

But along the way, I saw a play problem.

Toys were being used exactly as directed. Kids were learning to ask, “What does it do?” instead of, “What can I do with it?” And once I noticed that pattern, I started seeing it everywhere else too.

Teams were focused on getting things shown, not getting them used. They cared about features more than follow-through, and coverage more than continuity.

We’re set up to treat things as disposable instead of expandable. Built to move on from, instead of build on. It’s a pattern that cuts across home, work, and everything in between.

That’s when the work I do now came into focus.

How we teach kids to use toys shapes how adults work.

The work I do sits in that gap, helping families and teams shift from container thinking to capability thinking. At some point, we started confusing sources with skills and outputs with paths.

Play became about doing it right instead of learning how to think, and that mindset didn’t stop at childhood. You can see it now in the workforce within one-and-done projects, rigid roles, and work that’s designed to launch, not grow.

My work is about interrupting that cycle by rebuilding the thinking underneath it.

See how I work with your team →

The Charlene Pop Quiz

MY DAILY UNIFORM

Anything but skinny jeans, but I love statement earrings, and my fairy hair highlights from my Mom. I might be deep in a strategy conversation or crawling out of the carpool line, but I like sparkle.

A NON-NEGOTIABLE

Dressing my ceramic porch goose for every holiday and season. This is how you build culture, and help people quack up when they visit.

PEOPLE DON’T EXPECT THIS

I’ve run seven marathons and competed in collegiate and masters artistic swimming. Apparently, I like structure, suffering, and sequins.

My GUILTY PLEASURE

Chocolate-covered caramel candy. Bonus if it is homemade and has pecans. If it’s in the house, it will not be there long. (Diet Schmiet.)

CURRENT OBSESSION

Hunting vintage Chinese Rose Famille and collecting Labubu figures. One is historic and refined. The other looks like it might attack while you're sleeping. Balance.

The Hill I'll Die On

Toys are a great gift at any age.

Play is not a phase you grow out of. There is a toy for every occasion and stage of life. Expect it as my gift.

We stopped treating content, people, and wins like one-off moments and started building on them. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it, and honestly, you start wondering how you ever worked the old way.