Jenny Decker

Reflecting on a creative career spanning many creative disciplines, including marketing, communications, PR, branding and graphic design, I’ve realized that my what appears to be scatter shot experiences are connected to one another by a drive to make a difference through creative problem-solving. Project descriptions differ, but the mindset of embracing constraints rather than bristling against them has enabled me to lead effective campaigns, foster community, and fuel purpose-driven solutions that make an impact.

Never act small. Your team, your budget or your client may not be large, but don’t let that stop you from taking your project seriously. As you work through a creative challenge from all sides, use the resources you have at your disposal to the utmost. The more you demonstrate respect for your work and the process of making it, the more others will be inclined to do so as well.

Give yourself permission to play. Brainstorm, try out different ideas, let your creativity run amok! Good ideas can benefit from an iterative process of refinement, but some just don’t resonate the way you intended. Don't fear failure, and beware of the sunk cost fallacy - be prepared to leave ideas behind that aren’t the right solutions for the moment. Permission to play is permission to move on and try something else, a tried and true strategy for unleashing creative energy.  

Figuring out how AI plays a role in creative fields. It is definitely having an impact on analytics - seeing how campaigns land, seeing how web traffic has slowed or changed - and tools to help do more with less. To be honest, I'm a department of one working with multiple stakeholders, so the biggest challenge and opportunity is learning how I can use new tools to help streamline my workflow while maintaining the integrity of the work. It takes a lot of input to learn something new, so sometimes you have to create space for that.

Perseverance and integrity are values that are very important to me. First, taking challenges head-on and continuing to work through the had work of resolving them. There will be false starts and failures, but perseverance means that you keep trying. And then integrity - being forthright, truthful and doing the right thing even when no one is watching. I hold myself to high standards in these areas and I very much admire others who demonstrate them.