From lemons to deadlifts: What goes in the mind of Dione Song, Love, Bonito’s first ever CEO?

For many CEOs, weekends are just another work day. But for Dione Song, the CEO of Love, Bonito, her Saturdays are sacred—she typically abstains from work and sets “non-negotiable blocks” for self-care and family time.

Yet, it’s not easy to maintain a healthy work-life balance while juggling the demands of being a CEO. This is why Song embraces a more fluid approach, instead of completely separating her personal life.

“I believe in work-life integration instead of work-life balance,” she shared. For Song, the key is to ensure that work and life complement each other—she believes that work and life should be one when you’re passionate about your job.

At the end of the day, the workplace is where we spend 70 per cent of our time, and it’s important that we understand our ‘why’ and have a strong sense of purpose at work.

A day in the life of Dione Song

On most days, Song wakes up at 6 a.m. to kickstart the day early.

And as to why she prefers such an early start, she shared, “I do have certain quirks, such as preferring to leave office before the sun sets as it makes me feel sad when the sky is already dark. I’d compromise by waking up early and starting before everyone else does.”

At Love, Bonito, the team adopts a flexi-work culture, so this means that Song gets to spend her Mondays and Fridays at home. Even then, her weekdays are meticulously structured: Mondays are for uninterrupted deep work, while Tuesdays to Thursdays are packed with meetings, team check-ins and networking events.

Despite her busy schedule, she still manages to makes time for herself and her loved ones. On a daily basis, she adheres to a strict “no phones at dinner rule” to ensure she remains present with her family.

Her Fridays, on the other hand, are reserved for winding down, with no calls scheduled after 3:00 p.m., and she typically decompresses by watching reality TV shows on Netflix, spending quality time with her family, and going for longer holidays twice a year.

One specific “life-changing” habit Song has adopted is to disable push notifications for email and Slack on her mobile. This means she only sees messages when she opens the apps, reducing the temptation to check her phone constantly. This also helps her start her day with positive intentions, rather than diving straight into work.

She achieved a personal best of 67.5 kg for her deadlifts

On most mornings, Song makes time to squeeze in a workout session before her day begins. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she discovered her love for running outdoors.

“I like running. I enjoy being out in the sun—it energises me,” she said in an interview with PageExecutive. “You get to think about what you have achieved, and absorbing nature is also great. Having good music piped into my ears doesn’t hurt, either.”

But she unfortunately had to put her running routine on pause last year when she discovered she had scoliosis, a condition where the normally straight spine curves to form an “S” shape. 

“It started out as a nagging ache, and it soon escalated to severe back pains which resulted in terrible sleep. I stopped running due to the pain, and I also couldn’t sit too long during meetings,” she shared.

For the most part, Song is mostly pain free right now, but it wasn’t before navigating through a bunch of different exercises and recovery methods.

Her current workout routine includes weekly personal training sessions focused on strengthening her back and building muscle—she recently achieved a personal best of 67.5 kg for her deadlifts. She also mixes in yoga or pilates sessions, outdoor HIIT workouts or runs, and whatever strikes her fancy for the rest of the week, whether it’s a long walk, a game of tennis, boxing, or a refreshing swim.

When life gives you a lemon, you must eat it

There’s no denying that being a CEO demands an exceptional level of dedication and resilience. When the pressures of leadership mount and the path ahead seems fraught with challenges, Song’s motivation often comes from a personal source of inspiration—a poster by David Shrigley that hangs in her living room. 

It reads, “When life gives you a lemon, you must eat the lemon (all of it including the skin)”. For Song, this serves as a daily reminder for her to embrace difficulties with a positive and healthy mindset.

When guiding her teams, Song believes in leading from a “place full of consciousness, clarity and love”—she prioritises authenticity, and strives to “lead in a way that is congruent to her true self”.

Personally, she’s not a fan of big titles, so it took her some time to come to terms with the weight of being a CEO. “It’s been four years since taking up the mantle, and I have finally grown to be more comfortable in this role,” she said.

Song is actively involved on the ground to gain a stronger understanding of the challenges faced and to break down silos across her teams. On top of hearing feedback from direct reports, she frequently engages in skip-level conversations with junior employees to better understand their motivations and future aspirations.

But leadership is an ever-evolving journey. To continually refine her approach to leadership, the CEO turns to reading. “The latest book that I’m loving is 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Chapman, Jim Dethmer, and Kaley Klemp,” she shared.

“It provides tools on how to be a leader that drives change through trust instead of leading in fear.” Her other go-tos include Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, and The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday.

In Song’s free time, she also enjoys networking with various subject matter experts, founders and CEOs, on their day-to-day experiences and gleans insights from the various challenges they face.

Championing inclusivity in the workplace

Love, Bonito has achieved remarkable growth over the years, evolving from a blogshop to a global brand with teams in various regions, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and even the USA. Yet, the brand’s core mission has never changed: to empower the everyday Asian woman and inspire self-confidence.

The company champions inclusivity and exists to “support women to be the best versions of themselves, to stand a little taller, speak a little louder, and shine a little brighter”.

And it’s this very reason that drove Song to embark on her journey with Love, Bonito.

As someone from the LGBTQ community, I’m fortunate to have been in work environments being comfortable in my own skin. That’s why at Love, Bonito, I strongly believe in creating a safe space for everyone to come to work as their true, individual selves.

“The key to championing inclusivity in the workplace is to first ensure that we have a diverse mix of employees within our own teams,” said Song. The company strictly hires based on merit, regardless of race, religion, language, physical ability, gender, sexual orientation, or location.

With more varied individual experiences, Love, Bonito’s teams are able to have “healthy discussions and bring more ideas to the table”. The organisation also actively promotes inclusivity through internal initiatives such as the Bronitos Panel, where male representatives in Love, Bonito can have healthy debates on inclusivity.

“We’ve also engaged therapists from Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped to provide massages for our employees, with a larger goal to expose teams to people with disabilities and nurture a stronger sense of empathy and appreciation,” Song added.

To cultivate an open and safe environment, Love, Bonito allows its employees to share any feedback to management anonymously via an “Ask Us Aything form”. “Here, we can gain a stronger pulse on on-ground sentiments and address them promptly and tactfully via appropriate channels,” she shared.

Ultimately, Song envisions Love, Bonito to “be that big Asian sister brand that everyone looks up to”.

We want to be known and remembered as the go-to brand for functional apparel that supports your everyday life, a place where you find strong friendships, and also a brand that journeys with you through various seasons.

Featured Image Credit: Love, Bonito