Reinvention
Life changes. Leaders adapt—and then act.Reinvention is not abandoning what came before. It is carrying hard-earned experience into a new chapter with intention.
Program · Project · Operations Leadership
Never Out of the Fight.
Reinvention is not starting over. It is taking everything life has taught you and using it to build the next chapter with courage, purpose, and action.
I'm Brian Swartz, PMP, a program, project, and operations leader with 20+ years of experience developing people, delivering projects, and leading national service programs. My career spans military service, law enforcement, business ownership, construction, startup growth at HOMEE and SFR3, and Amazon operations.
I've helped develop app-based services, connect technology with field operations, and guide teams through changing business models. I also build AI tools and agentic AI workflows to strengthen operational decision-making, improve customer experience, and support continuous improvement.
Never Out of the Fight brings those lessons together to help people navigate change, apply new capabilities, and build their next chapter.
ServeResponsibility and mission
AdaptLearn what the next chapter requires
ActMove before certainty arrives
MultiplyHelp others lead their own change
The leadership framework
Five ideas. One practical philosophy.
Leadership, AI, project management, and operational excellence are powerful tools. The larger purpose is helping people and organizations reinvent themselves without losing who they are.
Never Out of the Fight
Resilience is the decision to keep moving.Getting knocked down is part of life. Refusing to stay down is a leadership practice built through purposeful action.
Leadership
Leadership is influence, service, and development.Titles matter less than the standard a leader sets, the trust they build, and the people they prepare to lead next.
Intelligent Adaptation
Learn the change. Then lead it.AI, technology, operations, and continuous improvement are tools for helping people and organizations adapt with confidence.
Legacy
Success matters. Significance lasts.The work is ultimately about developing others, sharing what experience has taught, and leaving leaders better prepared.
MissionHelping people reinvent themselves with courage, purpose, and action so they can build meaningful careers and meaningful lives.
Writing & ideas
Where lived experience becomes useful.
Essays, practitioner thinking, and future books exploring reinvention, leadership, intelligent adaptation, and the choices that shape meaningful next chapters.
When the Next Chapter Needs to Mean Something
Approaching MBA graduation brings an honest question about what comes next. A reflection on meaningful work, the contribution you want to make, and the life your next chapter needs to support.
Choosing Your Next Chapter
How to explore a new direction without having the whole plan. Understand what you can contribute, consider the working life you want, and test one possibility before making a larger commitment.
A Pause Is Not the Same as Quitting
A practical reflection on setting honest priorities, protecting a meaningful goal during a demanding season, and returning without guilt or an unrealistic attempt to make up for lost time.
Who Are You When the Title Is Gone? Rebuilding Identity After a Major Life Change
A practical reflection on separating identity from a role that ended, reclaiming the values and capabilities that remain, and finding a new place for them to serve.
Control the Controllables: How to Move Forward When Life Changes the Plan
A practical reflection on self-leadership, support, preparation, and purposeful action when injury, loss, disruption, or another life-changing event rewrites the original plan.
Why Reinvention Is the Most Important Leadership Skill Nobody Teaches
Before leaders can guide other people through change, they must learn how to lead themselves through it. A practical reflection on career transitions, purposeful action, and building the next chapter from everything that came before.
Read the articleSelected MBA and practitioner work, adapted into useful, accessible ideas for leaders.
Future work on reinvention, leadership, intelligent adaptation, and building a life of purpose.
A career of reinvention
Not separate jobs. Connected chapters.
Across each chapter, the work has meant developing people, managing resources, and following through on commitments. These experiences shape the practical guidance I share through Never Out of the Fight.
Chapter one
Serve & Protect
U.S. Navy · Law EnforcementService built the foundation: responsibility, courage, discipline, and the understanding that leadership begins with protecting and developing others.
- U.S. Navy veteran
- 65 officers and sergeants
- 16 detectives
2008–2016
Build a Business
Founder and President · DUN-RITE Contracting LtdFounded and scaled a contracting company to approximately $3.5 million in annual revenue. Developed 14 employees and coordinated up to 60 skilled trade partners while owning estimating, sales, project delivery, cash flow, and customer relationships.
- Approx. $3.5M annual revenue
- 14 employees
- Up to 60 trade partners
September 2016–October 2019
Deliver Projects
Project Manager and Commercial Superintendent · Nicholson BuildersLed field teams and commercial projects from $150,000 to $3 million, including ground-up construction, tenant build-outs, and retrofits. Managed safety, scope, schedule, cost, subcontractors, and turnover, and generated approximately $800,000 in additional contracted work by addressing client needs.
- $150K–$3M projects
- Approx. $800K additional work
- Field team development
2019–2023
Build and Expand a Repair Network
Area Manager → Regional Manager → National Accounts Manager · HOMEEHelped build HOMEE’s app and nationwide repair network, initially designed to put a repair professional onsite within one hour. Advanced from Area Manager to Regional Manager, then became National Accounts Manager as the platform adapted to smaller insurance-claim repairs. Across these roles, led projects, people, technology development, and more than 100 service providers nationwide. Led national managed repair network onboarding, development, and expansion, serving as a subject-matter expert in construction and technology integration, project management, and property management.
- 100+ service providers
- Nationwide project leadership
- Technology development
- Construction and technology integration
April 2023–November 2024
Lead a National Portfolio
Director of Maintenance and Project Operations · American Avenue / SFR3Led a national maintenance and project program supporting 12,000+ rental properties across 16 states and a $21 million annual budget. Developed approximately 40 project managers and employees and managed performance across approximately 300 repair providers. Reduced average repair costs from about $4,200 to $1,775, helped improve Net Promoter Score from the 30s into the 80s, and reduced emergency maintenance costs by 18%.
- 12,000+ properties
- $21M annual budget
- Approx. 40 PMs and employees
- Approx. 300 repair providers
2025–present
Lead & Adapt
Area Manager, Outbound Operations · Amazon CMH1Lead up to 65 direct-report associates across a team representing more than 10 nationalities. Selected to lead across AFE1, Pack/AFE2, and Singles, becoming the sole leader for Singles. Combine coaching, real-time operating metrics, and AI-enabled tools to improve analysis, management workflows, and execution.
- Up to 65 direct reports
- 10+ nationalities
- People development
- AI-enabled improvement
The chapter ahead
Teach & Multiply
Writing · Speaking · EducationThe next chapter is about turning lived experience into practical ideas that help other people reinvent themselves, lead through change, and build meaningful lives.
- Leadership writer
- Future educator
- Leadership platform
Professional foundation
The tools behind the mission.
Practical experience is strengthened by formal project discipline, continuous improvement, business fluency, and an ongoing commitment to learn what the future requires.
Project Management Professional
Structured delivery, risk management, stakeholder alignment, and accountable execution.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Data-driven problem solving, process control, waste reduction, and continuous improvement.
Harvard Business School Online CORe
Credential of Readiness, completed 2025. Business Analytics, Economics for Managers, and Financial Accounting.
Columbus General Contractor License
Construction experience spanning business ownership, commercial project management, field supervision, safety, and quality.
Mediation and Arbitration
Graduate Certificate, Capital University Law School. A foundation for understanding interests, resolving conflict, and working through difficult decisions.
Criminal Justice Administration
Bachelor of Arts, Columbia College. Formal study supporting a career built on service, ethical judgment, and accountability.
Reinvention in progress
Ohio University MBA
I'm completing my MBA with concentrations in Project Management and AI in Business, with graduation expected in December 2026. My Graduate Certificate in Project Management is also expected in December 2026; my Graduate Certificate in AI in Business is expected in Spring 2027. Continuing to learn helps me turn experience into better decisions and practical support for others.
Expected December 20264.0current GPA
The goal is bigger than another credential: use what I learn to teach, write, speak, and help others navigate meaningful change.
Experience across roles: Up to 65 direct reports at Amazon · $21M annual maintenance budget at American Avenue / SFR3 · commercial projects up to $3M at Nicholson Builders · approximately $3.5M annual revenue at DUN-RITE.
Take the next purposeful step
What chapter are you building?
Life may have changed the plan, but it does not have to end your progress. Read the latest ideas, share your story, or start a conversation about reinvention and leadership.