Jovial

?? Want to learn all the AI things and more? You’re in luck! Boston Code Camp is back, and Jovial is here for it! Join Richard and I at Microsoft Sales & Technology Center in Burlington this Sat, Nov 23 @ 10:15am ET. We’re chatting about Storytelling for Engineers. ?? Storytelling for Engineers?! But why should I care, I just code!?Do you ever have to: pitch your idea to a Product Manager? Advocate for engineering tool investment? Or a hotly debated topic these days…convince your manager in-office work doesn’t always make sense for engineers? Storytelling helps you connect, influence, and bring stakeholders along for the ride. There are a ton of incredible sessions–here are a few I’m looking forward to: ?? Agentic AI: Unlocking the Power of Multi-Agent Systems ?? AI: Humanity’s Hero or Hilarious Harbinger of Doom? ?? SQL Server 2022: Advancing Modern Hybrid Relational Databases ?? Using ChatGPT for Audio Development ?? Become a Better Designer with AI Tools Registration closes tomorrow, Nov 20 @ 6pm ET. Don’t miss out! Register here: https://lnkd.in/eqHsPJ7K #engineering #bejovial #networking #storytelling #boscc

?? Last night, we witnessed something truly special: people coming together not out of obligation, but from a genuine desire to support and uplift our community. ?? A huge thank you to everyone who joined us—community leads, members, facilitators, organizers, and supporters. Events like these wouldn’t be possible without you! In June, we united three product communities. Yesterday, we took it further with Tech Communities Unite!—a collaboration between Jovial and Jellyfish ( ?? Jules, Luke), bringing together eight incredible organizations spanning design, engineering, and product: ?? AIGA Boston ?? UXPA Boston ?? Boston Code and Coffee ?? AIPMM The Association of International Product Marketing and Management ?? Boston Product Management Association (BPMA) ?? Mind the Product ProductTank Boston ?? Underscore VC Product Core ?? Women In Product Boston Attendees explored these amazing communities and joined facilitated small-group conversations, sparking meaningful connections. The energy, engagement, and joy in the room were inspiring! Special thanks to Industrious (Amika, Tamara, Megan) for hosting us in their stunning new South Station space! ?? Have ideas for future events or want to get involved? Let’s chat—we’d love to hear from you. ?? Photo (and ?? co-emcee) creds to my co-founder Richard ? #TechCommunitiesUnite #ProductManagement #Engineering #Design #Networking #bejovial

In just over a week, we’re uniting SEVEN Boston tech communities for one big gathering—Tech Communities Unite—hosted by Jovial and Jellyfish! With groups like AIGA Boston, Boston Code and Coffee, Boston Product Management Association (BPMA), Mind the Product ProductTank Boston, Underscore VC Product Core, UXPA Boston, and Women In Product Boston, it’s set to be an incredible night of: ?? CONNECTION – People connecting with people—in real life. Everyone’s looking for meaningful connection, and Jovial events are designed to make networking effortless and impactful. With light facilitation and unique experiences, you’ll find specific, actionable ways to support each other. Plus, seven communities in one room? It’s the most efficient, impactful networking event you’ll attend! ?? COLLABORATION – Having previously led product teams, I strongly valued my engineering and design counterparts. Within an organization, these teams need to be closely collaborating to ensure they are aligned on what they are building and why. Why not promote that same collaboration across communities? ?? LEARNING – We aren't hosting panels, speakers, or fireless ?? fireside chats (?? find me a fireside chat actually by a fire's side). But Sandra, you say, how will people learn? From one another. My perspective has always been that there is much to be learned from anyone and everyone, and the opportunity to not only connect, but also learn, multiplies when you create moments and places where people may do so. ?? REGISTER HERE: https://lu.ma/9wk2adj4 – Note: there is a waitlist - sign up asap, as we’ll be releasing more spots soon! Thank you to Industrious for sharing their beautiful space at their newest South Station location! We are excited to be the very first event hosted at this location! #TechCommunitiesUnite #ProductManagement #Engineering #Design #Networking #bejovial

?? Are you a product manager, engineer, or designer (or aspiring to be one) looking to connect with others in your respective function and swap ideas? ?? Are you in HR recruiting and in search of the best talent across tech roles? ?? Are you someone in an adjacent role that wants to learn and make genuine connections in a fun, welcoming environment? Look no further - we got you! After a fantastic turnout in June, we’re excited to share that Jovial & Jellyfish are partnering up to host Tech Communities Unite—an event bringing together Boston’s top tech communities across product, engineering, and design for an evening of collaboration and inspiration. Meet peers from Boston Code and Coffee, Boston Product Management Association (BPMA), Mind the Product (ProductTank Boston), UXPA Boston, and Women In Product Boston communities. Later in the evening, join a fun interactive activity designed to get us all thinking in fresh ways. All are welcome, so come ready to make meaningful connections, discover new groups, and strengthen Boston’s tech community! Register in the link below - capacity is limited! ?? DATE: Thursday, November 14 @ 6-8pm ET ?? LOCATION: TBD, Boston area ?? RSVP: https://lu.ma/9wk2adj4 #TechCommunitiesUnite #networking #productmanagement #engineering #design #collaboration #community #bejovial

If you asked me a year—or five years ago—I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be teaching graduate students. But as I always say, expect the unexpected. ???????????? Last week, Richard and I had the pleasure of joining Northeastern’s Galante Engineering Business Program to teach a Jovial workshop on “How to tell a story.” We covered communication foundations, the key elements of storytelling, and visual design principles for slides. ?? I’ve realized everything is a story. Whether you’re selling, teaching, or inspiring change, storytelling is at the core. In corporate world, we’ve grown so used to generic business jargon, that we’ve lost the ability to tell stories which has been central to how humans have communicated for over 50,000 years. Everything starts to sound the same. Proposals, ideas, missions are shared - but to lost ears. No one is listening. ?? Enter the magic of storytelling. Neural coupling is a phenomenon where the brain activity of a listener mirrors that of the speaker. Think: through my words only, I can get you to visualize a koala floating in a hot air balloon ( ?? ??). ?? Want to learn more about how we teach storytelling and apply it to real world scenarios? Reach out! ?? About the Northeastern Galante Engineering Business Program Founded in 2007 by former ExxonMobil SVP Ed Galante, the Galante program blends engineering and business, emphasizing leadership, communication, and entrepreneurial skills. Participants earn a graduate certificate in engineering business and engage in various personal and professional development activities with their cohort. ?? Thank you to Program Director Professor Mohammad D. and Program Coordinator Hailey Bloch for having us kickoff their seminar series! #storytelling #collaboration #communication #bejovial

No one would guess this smiling crew was just chatting about layoffs ??! Awesome sharing the stage with Abbey, Nate, and Colin at Startup Boston Week. Real talk – no one starts a company planning layoffs. There are way too many other priorities, and of course, we all think it’s going to take off ??, right? But sometimes it’s inevitable: running out of cash, market downturns, wrong product features… you know how it goes. Here are some key takeaways: ?? FINANCE: Hire a great finance leader, not just a number-cruncher. You need someone who can interpret the numbers, understand the market, and plan for best / worst case scenarios—and communicate all of that clearly. ???? PEOPLE: Don’t hire just because you raised money. Hire for clear roles that drive your next milestone. People teams should push back on ambiguous hires—those tend to be the first to go. ?? TRUST & TRANSPARENCY: Be honest about company performance. Don’t gloss over the metrics in the all-hands meetings. You’re literally wasting your collective company’s time (meetings are expensive!!). Share what they really mean, so layoffs don’t come as a surprise. ?? EMPATHY: If layoffs happen, communicate with empathy. Forget the business speak and scripts. Be human, and listen—both to those leaving and those staying. There’s a reason we have two ears and only one mouth. ?? SUPPORT: While it’s a nice gesture to offer help to those impacted, what’s even more helpful is if you can be specific on what you can help with. Specificity enables people to be more actionable with their asks. Layoffs are tough and bring a wave of uncertainty, but for those going through it, remember: it’s just a blip. Bigger things are ahead that will lead you to your life’s purpose ??. Catch more in the recording (link in comments)! Have thoughts? Let’s chat! ?? Photo creds to the legendary Kevin Thai #SBW2024 #collaboration #trust #layoffs

Join us at Startup Boston week on September 12th to chat all things layoffs. In our tech-AI-automated-optimized-enabled world, it's even more important to focus on your people during tough times like layoffs, and remember that ultimately, we're all humans ??.

When’s the last time you did something different? Unexpected? Surprising? (***without technology) ?? That was the intention behind our recent Jovial Women Leaders event hosted in partnership with the stellar J.P. Morgan Innovation Economy team. ???In this hyper tech-enabled world, we’re often so reliant on our screens, especially within our work, that the idea of doing something creative isn’t part of our daily routine (beyond the “hey I found a cool way to leverage AI to optimize my workflow” creative problem-solving ??). ?? This day was different. A group of remarkable women founders and operators came together for small group conversations while working on a secret craft project ??. Participants weren’t told what they were making, and each step revealed new and whimsical materials, gradually shaping their final masterpieces. The energy in the room was palpable, and I left feeling inspired by the creativity and support that flowed through this incredible group. ?? I’m a big believer that ideas come from unexpected places, and it’s necessary to expose ourselves to new environments, people, and disciplines in order to spark truly innovative, creative ideas. Part of creativity is being comfortable not knowing where the path might lead you and trusting in yourself. ?? What was the surprise project? A beautiful, hand-made, wind chime using a matte black planter as a base and adorned with Tibetan bells + colorful wooden & glass beads. A multi-sensory experience dreamed up by Alexandra Adamo of Alex Makes Art. ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ???Tell me - what are the people, places, and things that have sparked your creativity lately? Rose Muratore McCarthy, CPA Britt Gardner Katherine Meeks N'kyla E. #womensleadership #community #networking #founders #bejovial

?? Are you looking for product folks? Look no further - there are a TON of talented product leaders in the Greater Boston area as evidenced by the huge turnout last week to our first ever #ProductCommunitiesUnite event! ?? We had nearly 100 product people gather for a night of joy, connection, and learning! My co-emcee, Richard, and I had a blast being surrounded by so many in the community who were eager and ready to be a part of the conversation. Thank you to our four guest speakers who joined us to provide overviews of product topics and to facilitate small group breakouts discussing challenges and group learnings of each. DESIGN: Yerri Portillo ROADMAP: Ashley Serotta CAREER: Avani Desai STAKEHOLDERS: Melissa Appel ?? Now here's the intriguing part: even though these groups had separate discussions, for every single topic, the key learning shared was the SAME. Crucial to the success of all of the above are the PEOPLE (e.g. relationships, trust, and communication)! ?? This event would not be possible without leaders coming together from each organization (plus the many volunteers that helped throughout - thank you!): Hillary of Boston Product Management Association (BPMA), Tcheilly of Mind the Product (ProductTank BOS), Eliana of Women In Product Boston, and Jovial. We can do more for the community when we come together. Lastly, a huge thank you to Pillar VC for sharing their wonderful space and supporting this community! #product #community #networking #bejovial

Great to have CEO Sandra Ma join HBR IdeaCast's Tech at Work series to chat about challenges with digital collaboration tools (in this case messaging apps at work...Slack overload, anyone?), the challenges that have come along with them with her prior teams, and how teams can set themselves up for successful collaboration. Have a listen here: https://lnkd.in/ejtB3w6c