Strategy & Speaking
Brick by Brick Strategy, LLC.
A small advisory practice. Strategy, board work, and speaking for organizations whose missions touch recovery, workforce, or civic strategy. Direct, structured, and limited to a few engagements a year so each one actually gets the attention it deserves.
Brick by Brick Strategy, LLC is the parent entity behind the book and the platform. The work serves organizations whose missions touch recovery, workforce, or civic strategy. It also serves individuals whose executive role asks them to think clearly under pressure.
Engagements are direct, structured, and time-bounded. The deliverable is always a written plan, not a deck. The work happens at the speed the organization can absorb it.
A note on what brings me to this work. I’ve spent my career in workforce development, building programs at the intersection of recovery and employment. I’m also a person in long-term recovery. The combination is uncommon and it shapes how I think about both sides… the strategy side and the human side. If the engagement you have in mind would benefit from someone who reads workforce data for fun and who has been on both sides of the second-chance conversation, this is probably a fit.
What I do.
Strategic planning engagements
For civic, recovery, and workforce-adjacent institutions. Structured work that moves an organization through a sequence of real decisions, not a deck. Typical engagements run six to twelve weeks. Output is a written plan the board can vote on and the team can actually run.
Board advisory
For organizations where the work touches recovery, workforce, or both. Quarterly board-level briefings, occasional retreats, or a standing seat on a working committee. Tailored to the organization, not the consultant's playbook.
Keynote speaking
Recovery-friendly workplaces. Workforce development as economic strategy. The integration of personal recovery and professional work. SHRM-adjacent audiences. State workforce boards. National policy convenings. Smaller rooms too — community colleges, church basements, shop-floor break rooms where the people doing the actual work are sitting. Speaking is by invitation and limited to a small number of engagements per year.
Speaking topics.
- The recovery-friendly workplace — what it actually requires beyond a policy statement
- Workforce development as the throughline between social services and economic development
- The Three Tests as a framework for organizational strategy decisions, not just personal career decisions
- Composite-character storytelling as a discipline for treatment programs, EAPs, and HR communication
- Building from a 12-step floor — recovery principles applied to organizational leadership
Inquiries.
Strategy and speaking inquiries route through mthibideau@brickbybrickstrategy.com. Mike responds personally. Engagements are limited to a small number per year so that each one gets the attention it deserves.
Write to Mike