Jessica Jobes

Slim Your Wallet Minisite

For something as mundane as a mens wallet I was surprisingly interested to learn all about this product. Bellroy makes the uninteresting, interesting.

"But it's not all science... Function without emotion feels lifeless. Instead, a slim wallet should also delight you, making every day easier and more enjoyable."

"...who are well balanced both as storytellers and data readers seemingly using all sides of their brains."

Cronulla Riots website

Multimedia storytelling at its best. Explore the events of the Cronulla Riots in an amazingly powerful mix of video documentary and interactive website. 

"On December 11, 2005 a riot occurred on Cronulla Beach in Sydney's south targeting men of 'Middle Eastern appearance'. Watch the untold stories. Investigate the themes. Explore the riots in an entirely new, immersive way."

Sony, Be Moved

This campaign from Sony uses parallax scroll and photorealistic animations to prove that Sony means what it says.

Change the way you think

This campaign from Duarte uses simple graphics timed to a strong beat to tell a powerful story. The message is clear and powerful. I couldn't stop watching.

"Around the globe, countless species are on the brink of extinction, while humans enjoy an ever-improving lifestyle thanks to natural resources we both depend on. We helped the World Wildlife Fund inspire consumers to view their impact on the world around us, one purchase at a time."

In the last inning, a home run can make you the hero, and a strikeout can make you the goat.

"Hero or goat?!" my coach, Tom Davenport would yell at us from the dugout in a tough situation. We won two Washington State Championships and went on to win Regionals and place 5th in Nationals. He knew how to build a winning team and we won a lot under his leadership. 

As I reflect on why we were a great team, a couple of things stand out. Coach Tom filled the team with athletes. Every year we would have 1-2 new players that had never stepped foot on a softball diamond, yet they were amazing athletes and Coach taught them the game of softball. By the end of the year, they were key players. 

The other thing I reflect on is that Coach Tom loved his team. He connected with us, he talked to us as adults, he shared stories, he shared his home and his family. To lead us and grow us as young adults he dedicated so much. Not only was he the best coach I ever had, he was the best leader I have ever had the privilege to be around. 

· I get to create something new every single day

My new work uniform. I was wasting too much time getting dressed. Now I grab one of each piece and I’m out the door: cami, long sleeve tee, crew neck sweater, scarf, jeans, boots. 

Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck for efficiency and to make a fashion statement. I’m now convinced women can do it too.

I spent 8 years on the Bing.com engineering team at Microsoft. Bing is a machine, they have about 1/3 as many engineers as Google, yet they have gained query share from the giant month over month for the last 3-4 years. To do this requires incredible engineering efficiencies. I was Chief of Staff to the VP, so I was close to the action and was influenced greatly. The VP’s whole life is optimized for efficiency. As an example, he spent months trying different food combinations and documenting how he felt after eating them. He was then able to figure out which lunch was optimal for his health, and he now eats it every single day. I thought he was crazy, and maybe he is a bit, but I guess that makes me crazy too.

A few weeks ago I had a long weekend visiting friends and family and by Sunday morning I was exhausted. Yet I still had another full day ahead of me. As I was getting dressed, I noticed it was taking me a really long time to pick out an outfit that was comfy, warm, and cute. I finally made my selection, got dressed, looked in the mirror and… I had put on a hipster outfit over my workout clothes. I knew I needed to start over but I didn’t have the patience. Instead I sat on the couch and watched tv in my not so awesome outfit. It was at this moment I decided I was wasting too much energy getting dressed everyday.

I needed a uniform.

I thought hard about what I wanted it to be. I needed it to be warm, comfortable, professional, and I wanted to feel inspired. I like picking out an outfit I feel good in. It lifts my spirit and gives me confidence. With that in mind, I decided on: a cami, long sleeve tee, crewneck sweater, a scarf, and a pair of sensible jeans I can wear to client meetings.

I also wear a cami and long sleeve tee to bed. And on the weekends I throw a graphic design printed hoodie over the top. 

The scarf and the weekend hoodies are my signature pieces. They're reasonably priced, keep me warm, and come in all sorts of crazy designs and colors. Voila!

I reorganized my closet with stacks of each item so now all I have to do when I get dressed is grab one of each and I’m out the door. I’ve been trying it out the past week and I’m easily saving 10 minutes a day. 

As an added bonus, when I walk into a store, I have a game plan. No more impulse buys on the shiny, sequin shirt on the mannequin. I'm only buying what I know I'll wear.  

As I reflect on my career, the teams that were the most effective had regularly scheduled project reviews and team meetings. They weren’t fun but I equate them to showing up to practice. In sports, I was taught practice makes perfect. Hours and hours of work went into getting a game-winning hit. Practice was something we just did, we had a schedule, we showed up, we ran through drills. And when game time rolled around, we were ready to compete. 

With reviews & team meetings, it's the work you need to put in to get the best possible output. As a leader, not only can you ensure the projects you’ve delegated stay on track, you will be building a stronger team. Think of yourself as the coach. If your employee raises an issue with their project and you solve it for them, that’s equivalent to fielding a ground ball. I think my softball coach fielded one grounder and not very well. It wasn’t her job, and it’s not your job to solve every issue. You certainly can’t play every position. Instead, give your team the skills they need to do it on their own. When the issue is raised, ask your employee what they would do to resolve it and your feedback will be the coaching moment that the team learns from.

When you’re passionate about what you’re working on, time flies. It doesn’t feel like work. Yarn-bombing this tree would feel like work to me, I hate knitting… or at least I think I do, but for the person with the vision and desire to make this tree a colorful stitched up masterpiece, I can imagine, time flew.

When I have an idea, I throw myself into it and don’t realize hours have passed. When this energy matches with work that needs to be done, it’s magic. As a manager, ask your employees what gets them energized, what projects do they work on that don’t feel like work and try to find a way to align their passions with what needs to be done. You’ll get a lot more mileage out them not to mention, happier employees.