Jennifer Davis, Chief Marketing Officer and Board Member
Jennifer Davis is on a mission to build better businesses.
As a proven c-suite leader and board member, her superpowers are to build, advise, and lead collaborative teams who have fun obsessing about their customers, solving problems, growing profitably, and building a brand.
With experience at LEARFIELD, Amazon Web Services, Honeywell, and growth companies, she brings a wealth of experience to the C-suite and advisory roles.
She is the author of Well Made Decisions, published in 2021 by New Degree Press.
What do you like about your current role?
My last role was as the CMO of LEARFIELD, a media, technology, and data leader in college sports. I worked with a talented team to rebrand the company, launch the first content marketing campaigns in the company's history, and work collaboratively on strategy.
What are your favourite books?
I have SO MANY recommendations. I just finished Jason Feifer's "Build for Tomorrow" and appreciated his historical perspective on change and how adaptability is a differentiator.
Michael Bungay Stanier's "The Coaching Habit" is a new classic for managers leading teams. Anything by Patrick Lencioni, although I am partial to the one-two punch of "The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team" and "The 5 Temptations of a CEO." I am rereading "Develop" by Ted Fleming which is great for those who want to work on their career.
Who do you most admire and why?
I learned a lot from Jeff Bezos during my time at Amazon, especially about what it takes to truly be customer-obsessed and turn intention into action.
I admire Condoleezza Rice and recommend her autobiography.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
“Ask more questions.”
What motivates or inspires you?
My family inspires and motivates me. In the workplace, I love seeing people placed in situations where their superpowers are on display, and they can have an outsized impact on customers, other employees, on their industry, and even on culture. Seeing people thrive is a joy.
What would you like to highlight and share with our audience?
In my book, I share one principle that I learned at Amazon, which really speeds up decision-making.
In it, you ask whether the decision is a one-way door or a two-way door. Is it reversible? Can it be walked back or revisited? If so, then delegate and decide quickly. If it's a one-way door that is hard or impossible to undo, then it requires more diligence. But most decisions are two-way doors, and for those that aren't, I suggest ways to install hinges.