Why We Have the Best Job: How Jen Brought Vision Boarding to the Corporate Lexicon

Since March I have been secluded at home with a husband who works full-time, an energetic toddler and now, a newborn. It’s a lot to manage during a pandemic, so my mother moved in to help us keep it all together. This is certainly not the holiday season I imagined. In order to feel connected to the outside world I find myself reflecting on things that bring me joy, both now and when we leave quarantine. One of those things is my job. 

I absolutely love what I do. This was tested at the dinner table when my mother proved that she had no idea what I do at work – “I wish I knew someone who helped businesses really harness ‘the internet’.” Mom, that’s literally what we do.   

I realize that people outside of corporate tech might have no idea what it means to be a Solution Engineer (yes, the name is vague). We don’t code or develop SAP solutions, but we are experts on how the solution works, and we help our customers understand the benefits of technology to make their business better. Our line of work is often not what people expect – and in my opinion, it is one of the best in the world, made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds: from education to amateur wrestling. The diversity of our team is what makes the work so fun. So, to escape pandemic haze and make most of this reprieve from the usual bustle of my workday, I’m resolving to post a small series of stories on amazing teammates that exemplify what this career is all about. If nothing else, perhaps my mother will read this and finally understand what I do at work! 

To kick this series off, meet my colleague Jennifer DerHovanesian. Jen is a Senior Solution Engineer (and a super-friendly California girl who seems to win over everyone she meets). She became a technology consultant after getting her master’s in English, so she has a reputation for taking a different perspective on business and technology challenges. She absolutely shines when it comes to communicating this perspective both effectively and creatively. In her recent work with a notable beverage company, Jen used her propensity toward taking creative risks to drive her teammates to think beyond our solution set and help the client explore the potential in marketing to their consumers directly.

Here is why Jen’s approach in this customer interaction reminded me that we have the best job in the world: 

1. She brought vision-boarding into the corporate lexicon.

Covid-related virtual meeting fatigue is a common phenomenon these days. It goes without saying that anyone who can breathe life into virtual collaboration is treasured. "It got to a point where we were beginning to talk in circles on calls," Jen reflects. Jen opted for a different approach in order to keep team collaboration intact: a digital vision board. Vision boarding, typically more of a crafting exercise than a corporate one, created a less stagnant medium for the team to better understand this beverage brand.  

Jen “pinned” imagery from social sites to a collaborative document. Instead of listening to the loudest voice on a call, Jen and the team were able to work innovatively, openly, and creatively through visual research and brainstorming. Most importantly, Jen’s vision board brought empathy for the customer and their consumer to the forefront of their work together.

2. She challenged the team to take a second look at the consumer.

In the spirit of empathy, something Jen said about her line of thinking jumped out at me. "You never want to go to a brand and simplify them down based on assumptions," Jen says. This philosophy is what drove Jen to scan intently through social media and bring her creative vision board to her teammates in the first place. Her and the team’s assumptions were all tested. They quickly learned that this drink wasn’t just for extreme athletes, but also common in the gaming community and even used by busy parents with careers that require them to work night shifts.

Curiosity, a common trait within our team, drove Jen to unlock a world of understanding that could have easily been missed. She took an outside-in view and paved the road for her team to build out the case for a client looking to navigate new waters.

Jen proved that there is no single ‘textbook’ procedure on how to build empathy for that end consumer. Be it a medical device company who makes replacement joints, an oil and gas company expanding their operations, or a small fashion retailer trying to grow their business online, success in our role happens when we put ourselves in the shoes of the patients, car drivers, and iPhone shoppers of our customers.   

How we make that connection is up to the individual –which gives us license to challenge the traditional view of a career in corporate tech. It is what makes being a Solution Engineer so fun…thus making it the best job in the world. ??

P.S. If your mom also has a hard time understanding what you do at work, shoot me a note. We can talk.