What does
GOKOTTA mean?
Gokotta represents the passion and dedication our team has to igniting growth in brands and the people leading them.
GOKOTTA
(pronounced zho-'kOt-tah)
Verb: the act of rising early to greet the dawn, listen to birds, and to see the sun rising.
Our definition: Early bird gets the worm.
CHRISTINE MIDDLETON
FOUNDER, GROWTH STRATEGIST + EXECUTIVE COACH
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Master's in leadership, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
ICF-certified transformational executive coach
Brand, reputation & Google-certified digital marketing expert
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I love being a special projects and innovation arm for important missions. Whether working "in-house" or as an advisor, I enjoy partnering to create what's possible.​
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I started my career as an associate TV producer with CBS (in DC and New York), but felt that content creation and storytelling without strategy fell short of having the impact it could. So, I used the jobs I accept – in associations, corporations, top agencies, consulting firms, and government settings – to gain experience influencing change, action, and scaling reputations to national and international levels.
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Along the way, I noticed organizations were often siloed and each division held different goals – especially the marketing and communication teams. Fortune had it that I become a senior strategist at Fleishman-Hillard, a top PR firm, where I created and led large-scale, national campaigns for the likes of First Lady's Office, AARP, and Library of Congress at a time when the internet, social media, and digital marketing were both emerging and merging ("MarCom") – ultimately changing the nature of business and its relationship with consumers/members.
With change comes resistance. Bringing people along to benefit is important so I obtained a master's in business leadership from Georgetown University – a degree focused on building profits (and social responsibility) based on a company's greatest asset: its people and leaders.
I later also became a certified transformation (executive meeting life) coach, and went on to spend over a decade holding c-level positions launching start-up ventures, if not assisting CEOs, senior teams, and boards modernize their approaches, systems, cultures, and team structures. Their common goal: providing more value to members/customers and resonating with diverse audiences and younger generations.
Whether serving as an advisor, full-time colleague, or pro-bono consultant (especially to small women/minority owned businesses), I'm so thankful for the roles I've held as the missions, goals, and people allow me to keep learning and using my diverse experience to help grow important missions and visions.
This ethos and a value system of integrity, honesty, solution-oriented, and down-to-earth approach is what I share with the talented partners I work with through the Gokotta Group. ​​
THE NETWORK
Diverse Talent With A Global Reach
Need additional arms and legs to get the work done, faster? The Gokotta Group can offer that capacity.
Here are a few facts worth knowing:
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TALENT IN THE NETWORK
A hand-picked group of people-focused experts who I have worked with over the years. Together, we have helped organizations, brands, teams and/or individuals reposition, launch and thrive in different ways.
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OUR COLLECTIVE APPROACH
We customize who comes to the table based on your needs – not to cover our overhead.
Instead of reusing other client plans or sell out of the box concept, we customize all recommendations and develop easy-to-read plans that serve as growth roadmaps. We spend the time building these based on each client's unique challenges and opportunities. We work in reality and recommend what's practical and possible AFTER listening to our client. We understand internal politics and/or buy-in drive success as much as the needs to external audiences.
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SKILLSETS
Our collective skills represent the type of expertise needed to bolster reputations, foster growth and ensure lasting impact internally and externally:
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Brand + business strategy with emphasis on customer/member/ stakeholder experience (CX) as key to success
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Digital marketing, communications
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Research (internal assessments to external positioning, messaging, audience/persona)
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Operations, change management strategy, digital transformation
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Executive + transformational leadership coaching
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Web design/development (UX, UI) + social media marketing
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Diverse audience/generational engagement, including employees, partners, members/customers
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HOW WE MET
Most of us met at one of those big agencies (Booz Allen, Fleishman-Hillard, Edelman) so we know how to think big, build practically, manage effectively, and most importantly, make things happen. We also don't mind disagreeing as part of the creative process building effective approaches that catapult clients forward but don't break the budget.
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ADDITIONAL ADVANTAGES TO CLIENTS
Our network spans different time zones so virtual working is not new to us. We've been doing it for years so we can integrate with your team seamlessly and hit the ground running.
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Also worth pointing out: Gokotta is a woman-owned, minority small business.
And because the network is made up of all small businesses (many minority owned), you're not covering expensive overheads, golden parachutes, or real estate behind what big firms charge – only for the experienced talent from these firms who will bring their best every time.
FEATURED NETWORK PARTNERS
Web Design/Development + Partners in Crime
All things digital experience, strategy and design, Matthew Billingsley and Jay Buys lead this socially conscious team who have been 'doing digital' before it was even mainstream.
BIG THANKS
To all our clients for your trust. To my partners for your genius-ness and friendship. Friends and colleagues for your input and support. The talented photographers on pexels.com: Jopwell, fauxels, ekaterina bolovtsova, christina morillo, ketut subiyanto, cottonbro, and countless others.