“What an amazing speaker and concept for creating true well-being for all areas of your life!”
My Values
A man by many names, Dr. Bongiovanni is sometimes called Dr. B by his former patients, and Dr. Love by those who know his work. He works with executives, entrepreneurs and professionals worldwide, helping them to define, engineer, and experience wellbeing in their own life, so that they can perform at their best, whether at work, home, or in the game.
If you’re curious to know a little more about me, these are some of the most common questions people ask about me:
Were you really a doctor before this? What kind?
What were some of the leadership challenges that you overcame?
Why does your approach to wellbeing have such tremendous success where others have not?
How did you come up with merging your lessons learned in medical practice with executive leadership?
What is the extent of the current workforce well-being “crisis”?
How do you help people with your expertise and lessons learned?
What about any hidden superpowers?
Were you really a doctor before this? What kind?
Yes, I have a licensed Naturopathic physician for over 20 years. I went to four years of college, four years of medical school and then a one-year family practice residency.I specialized in nutritional and hormonal psychiatry, where I focused on the root dietary, nutritional, hormonal, inflammatory and lifestyle-based causes of my patients’ health challenges.
What you may not know is that my career for 8 years also took me to work for a global medical education company, where I worked myself into a VP of Global Medical Education position, affording me the opportunity to work closely with some of the world’s most renowned thought leaders in medicine. It also gave me plenty of experience in executive leadership navigating the landscape of both internal and external stakeholder needs and expectations.
Why did you pivot to a speaking and consulting career?
After 20+ years in medicine, I learned some fascinating lessons about what really moves the needle on people reclaiming their health, and how that bled over to ALL aspects of their life, including their work and careers. I learned these lessons actually have scientific substantiation in the research literature and began diving deeper.
Now, I want to impact MORE people, so my purpose has evolved to teaching other leaders how to install and experience these lessons for themselves, their organizations and their people.
What were some of the leadership challenges that you overcame?
In my VP role in medical education, I started as a manager, then director, then VP as part of our executive team overseeing all things medical for the company. I experienced being managed from the top, and then managing down, as well as those time I was sandwiched in the middle of meeting expectations from both ends. The way I overcame was to use my doctoral training in listening and looking for the root causes of any problem. As I distilled those causes, I had to keep my purpose clear, my own stress in check, and build in-roads horizontally and vertically inside the organization.
Why does your approach to wellbeing have such tremendous success where others have not?
Because wellbeing is not a ‘program’, it’s a cultural transformation guided by sound strategy and customized to the leaders’ and/or organizations needs. I’ve experienced the “corporate wellness” model, and it’s too piecemeal. I’ve seen consultants come in with piecemeal solutions like productivity suites, time management modules, employee health initiatives, roll-your-eyes team building events. They never stick, because no one has focused yet on the foundation. Those “pieces” of the puzzle are important, but only when they can be placed ON TOP of a foundation of wellbeing that incorporates physical, financial, career, social and community elements.
How did you come up with merging your lessons learned in medical practice with executive leadership?
Well, I had my own experience as an executive, and then I also treated MANY executives as patients. And these were usually my most successful patients because they understood better than most that for things to change, they must TAKE ACTION.
Some executives and organizational leaders believe that they will embrace well-being after they have successfully hit their goals, when they have the time and money.
What is the extent of the current workforce well-being “crisis”?
We have an increasing epidemic of chronic disease on our hands. These people are in our workforce. Data projections for 2020 were that 157 million people will suffer with at least one chronic disease.
We can’t look away for the sake of them, our businesses and our economy. By teaching and inspiring my message, I hope to impact thousands of leaders who can impact thousands of people in their own organizations, families and communities, and then I will be able to impact millions of people on the way total well-being or lack thereof, affect our lives and places of business.
How do you help people with your expertise and lessons learned?
- I am a keynote speaker for corporate audiences and other interested groups nationwide on wellbeing as a performance driver.
- Post pandemic, I will once again work with executives and leaders in more personal and intimate settings via destination retreats.
- I conduct strategic work sessions for small groups to dive deeper and begin to train on definition of, and strategy to create a CULTURE of wellbeing that improves productivity, performance and profits.
- I reach and inspire followers through my article publications and social media channels, Instagram, Facebook, and Linkedin.
What about any hidden superpowers?
I can be a master of disguise, keeping boxes of props to entertain my family and friends when they least expect it. I happen to be an AMAZING miniature golfer, an unapologetic fan of Neil Diamond and Rudy Ruettiger, husband to the kindest woman I know (Leigh Anne), father of 2 humans and 2 four-legged kids, and I am guilty of dancing in the grocery store if I hear a good disco song.