Beyond the C-Suite Newsletter |
You Can’t Carry the Old Chapter Into the Next One |
From the Confidant's Chair |
The Season Between Chapters |
The Olympics always move me. Not because of the medals. Because of the training and conditioning it takes to be there in the first place.
For every moment we see on screen, there were years of preparation no one saw. Quiet mornings. Repetition. Losses. Reinvention. The private work that does not trend or get applause.
And when the Games end, something else begins. From the pinnacle to practice. It is a mental reset. A decision. Another four-years or more to build again with no promise of success.
This, like everything else in life, comes down to a choice, a decision.
For me, this time of year usually feels similar for me. For 10 years, our team would faithfully begin planning for months in advance to execute our global, virtual Summit held annually in March. Building themes and curating leaders. Identifying long-standing and new partners to support their leadership goals.Creating an experience designed to transform leaders and equip them to lead differently in the days after. There are hours invested in preparing for the moment before the moment when everything will converge.
This year is different.
I decided that 2025, our 10th anniversary of the Summit, would be our last (for now). This year, I’m not building a stage. I’m building a book and a movement. I’m launching a podcast later this month. I’m closing a chapter that shaped me, and opening one that requires a different version of me.
And if I’m honest, that requires something most leaders resist:
Letting go of the way you’ve always worked. It’s the turning of the page and the opening of the next chapter.
This requires more than motivation; it will require a new operating system. Letting go of old patterns, old presumptions, and venturing out into the new and unknown. |
|
|
|
I’m excited to share the announcement of my new book, Athleadership: The Elite Athletic Mindset: How to Lead Under Pressure and Perform When It Counts, with this community first today! We will share with the broader community and on social next week!
This is the Beyond the C-Suite Moment. This is venturing out to open up and share the mindset and the method that has grounded two decades of the work of Velvet Suite (we are 20 years old this year!). It is the mindset and the methodology you need to reclaim your identity and remain in demand as the most valued player on any team during these times of rapid change and uncertainty. |
|
| |
|
|
| I’m excited to share the announcement of my new book, Athleadership: The Elite Athletic Mindset: How to Lead Under Pressure and Perform When It Counts, with this community first today! We will share with the broader community and on social next week!
This is the Beyond the C-Suite Moment. This is venturing out to open up and share the mindset and the method that has grounded two decades of the work of Velvet Suite (we are 20 years old this year!). It is the mindset and the methodology you need to reclaim your identity and remain in demand as the most valued player on any team during these times of rapid change and uncertainty. |
|
|
|
|
This is the Beyond the C-Suite Moment. This is venturing out to open up and share the mindset and the method that has grounded two decades of the work of Velvet Suite (we are 20 years old this year!). It is the mindset and the methodology you need to reclaim your identity and remain in demand as the most valued player on any team during these times of rapid change and uncertainty. |
I’m excited, nervous, hopeful, and most importantly, aligned. The launch date is June 2026, right before the World Cup! I’ll be sharing more about how you can join this next chapter soon.
For now, my encouragement is that you can only have what’s yours in 2026 when you open your hands and…let go to receive the next chapter.
Keep going. You’ve got this! |
Melissa Dawn Simkins
CEO | Velvet Suite
Founder | Athleadership™ Movement |
|
|
|
|
Choose what you need
most this week: |
|
|
|
The Neuroscience of Context Switching
(And Why You’re Tired) |
We are processing roughly 74 gigabytes of information a day. That’s the equivalent of 20,000–30,000 photos or 16 hours of film.
We are now receiving the amount of information that a well-educated person would have received in their entire lifespan in just one day. Pause. And we wonder why we’re exhausted. It’s not a weakness. It’s biology.
Every time you switch from strategic thinking to Slack messages…
from crisis mode to parenting…
from leading a team to managing your own doubt…
Your brain pays a cost.
Neuroscience shows that context switching increases cortisol, reduces prefrontal cortex efficiency, and impairs decision accuracy. The more fragmented your attention, the more reactive you become.
Which means:
It’s not that you’re bad at managing pressure.
It’s that you were never wired for this pace.
So in order to receive the next chapter, we do need to change context. We need to see our situation from a different point of view, but we also have to change the pace to do so.
This is the mental conditioning I want you to try this week. |
|
|
|
|
I recorded a short reflection for you: The Performance Paradox: the distinction between what we do and who we are. If you’ve been carrying pressure like it’s your identity, this will steady you. Listen before your week starts, and let it reset the way you measure yourself. |
|
|
|
If context switching is draining you, try this:
The 3-Block Discipline
Instead of living in reaction mode all day, structure your day in three intentional blocks: |
1. Creation Block – No notifications. Deep work only.
2. Connection Block – Meetings, collaboration, decisions.
3. Recovery Block – Movement. Reflection. Silence. Even 15 minutes. |
Elite athletes train in cycles and condition in reps. This way, you can begin to block these times and put them on repeat. This is not just exertion time; it is the conditioning pace of exertion and recovery. Often, executives and leaders lean heavily on exertion without conditioning recovery daily. Not just downtime at the end of the day, but blocks within the day as well. This moves you from operating like a machine to a peak performance vehicle while also protecting your nervous system. Conditioning is key. |
|
|
|
|
Before your next meeting this week, ask: |
“Am I reacting to speed… or leading with clarity?” |
That question alone re-engages your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for vision, values, and executive function. It creates an intentional moment to downshift and shifts you from survival to strategy.
One question. One rep. This is how the rewiring begins. |
|
|
|
|
A Quote to Carry Into March |
“The quality of my future is determined by the quality of your repetitions.” |
This is not about the intensity of your efforts or the volume of your calendar. This is your season to shift the cadence necessary as you step into this new season.
For me, post-Olympics, post-Summit era, pre-book launch — I’m asking myself:
What am I repeating that needs to stop? What am I conditioning that needs to be strengthened daily to become the leader this new season will demand?
This month, your internal infrastructure will become stronger. I’m building right alongside you and excited to take you on the journey as we march toward the launch of Athleadership!
Together, we will be built from within and conditioned to win this year. Let’s go! |
|
|
|
|
|
