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What’s up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Jessenia Francisco, Director, Marketing Operations at Lucid.

We’re exploring Youtube this year if this is your jam, watch the full episode below or continue with our usual GPT-powered summary and key takeaways.

Summary: Jessenia shares her journey from nonprofit to tech, emphasizing adaptability and purpose. She tackles imposter syndrome by fostering an inclusive culture, explores the strategic use of tools like Lucidchart in her own day to day, and advocates for mindful martech selection, particularly the integration of AI, balancing innovation with practicality. Her work with Women in Revenue underscores the power of mentorship in empowering women in revenue roles, highlighting the importance of community and strategic thinking for professional and personal growth.

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• Career Leaps From Small Ponds to Big Tech Oceans
• Reflections on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
• Cracking the MOPs Code with Lucidchart’s Visuals
• Feasting on Your Own Martech The Secret Recipe for Operations Success
• Martech Pilots and Choosing Wisely with Options
• A Strategic Approach for Integrating AI in Martech and Finding Use Cases
• Empowering Women in Revenue through Mentorship

About Jessenia

• Jessenia started her career in Finance at Merril Lynch and Bank of America
• She pivoted to the non profit space joining the Association of Latino Professionals for America where she started to get in fundraising operations
• She was later recruited by the NewSchools Venture Fund and moved out to the Bay area to roll out Salesforce across the organization
• She then joined the Opportunity Fund as Development Operations Manager focused on improving the donor acquisition process and marketing automation implementation
• Jessenia then made the mega move to Asana where she started in Sales Operations and later pivoted to Marketing Operations leading Martech Program and eventually becoming Head of Marketing Automation
• Today she’s Director of Marketing Operations at Lucid Software, the creators of the popular flowchart and diagram tool; Lucidchart

Shifting from Counting Coins to Making Change

Jessenia’s career evolution from finance to the nonprofit sector was not just a job change; it was a pursuit of impact over income. She sought to make a tangible difference, moving away from the profit-focused dialogues of her finance days towards creating systemic change. This quest for purpose led her to the nonprofit world, where she found the work deeply rewarding.

Reflecting on her journey, Jessenia realized she had been involved in operations long before it became a recognized field, combining her analytical skills with business operations even during her finance tenure. This foundation served her well in the nonprofit sector, allowing her to apply her skills to support community-driven initiatives. She was particularly moved by the stories of the communities she worked with, finding a profound connection to the people and the transformative changes her efforts contributed to.

At NewSchools Venture Fund, Jessenia experienced the intersection of venture philanthropy and educational reform. This organization, pioneering in merging investment with educational innovation, aimed to disrupt traditional learning models. She was fascinated by project-based learning, as seen in a Napa school, where even kindergartners engaged in complex concepts like velocity and gravity. Such moments underscored the significant impact of strategic funding in education.

The nonprofit sector also presented Jessenia with numerous growth opportunities, from implementing CRMs to leading marketing operations. These experiences built her expertise in sales and marketing operations, highlighting the sector’s potential for rapid professional development. Jessenia appreciated the creative challenges and the “champagne taste on a beer budget” mentality, which taught her to maximize limited resources effectively.

However, Jessenia also faced challenges, including under-resourcing in technology and potential career stagnation. The nonprofit world’s inclination to deprioritize tech investments and the limitations in career growth posed significant hurdles. Additionally, leadership changes and political dynamics within organizations could disrupt projects and affect the effectiveness of operations work.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia’s narrative reveals the dual nature of nonprofit work: its capacity to fulfill a deep-seated need for purpose and impact, juxtaposed with the practical challenges of limited resources and career growth ceilings. Her journey highlights the importance of adaptability, creativity, and a steadfast focus on mission-driven work amidst these challenges.

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Career Leaps From Small Ponds to Big Tech Oceans

Jessenia’s career leap from niche nonprofits to tech giants like Asana and Lucid sheds light on the value and versatility of working in different organizational sizes. Initially joining Asana when it was a relatively small team of 350, she quickly dispelled the myth that smaller entities lack significance. Her experience at Asana, a company that grew from a “cult classic” to a major player, exemplifies the unique advantages of smaller companies, such as a close-knit work culture and rapid adaptability.

Small companies, Jessenia notes, offer a level of intimacy and direct impact that larger organizations can struggle to match. From knowing a colleague’s preference for Diet Coke to having the ability to influence business outcomes directly, these environments foster a sense of community and effectiveness. Yet, she also confronts the misconception that privilege and pedigree are absent in smaller settings. Even in a tight-knit team, backgrounds of privilege and elite education can influence dynamics, something Jessenia encountered firsthand.

However, as companies grow, maintaining the essence of a smaller organization’s culture poses challenges. Jessenia emphasizes the importance of meeting people and business needs as they evolve, advocating for empathy and adaptability in processes. She warns against being wedded to past solutions or technologies, stressing the need to tailor approaches to the organization’s current context rather than relying on what worked elsewhere.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia makes the point that smaller companies offer a richness of experience and that you will need a nuanced approach if transitioning to or scaling within larger tech companies. She highlights the importance of adaptability, empathy, and a keen understanding of the unique dynamics at play, offering insights into successfully navigating career transitions and fostering personal and professional growth in any organizational landscape.

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Reflections on Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Jessenia tackles imposter syndrome with a unique blend of emotional intelligence and mindful reflection. Instead of reacting on impulse, she takes time to process complex ideas, valuing collaboration over solitary effort. Recognizing when to ask for help has been crucial in her journey, turning potential hurdles into learning opportunities and stronger bonds with her colleagues.

Her approach to leadership focuses on empowering her team, encouraging them to confidently express their insights and take ownership of their expertise. This method not only addresses imposter syndrome but also promotes a culture where accountability and teamwork thrive. Jessenia believes in the power of vulnerability and support, showing that admitting you don’t know everything can be your greatest strength.

Jessenia actively seeks out communities for both professional and personal growth, especially during challenging times like the COVID-19 pandemic. By engaging with networks, she ensures no one has to face difficulties alone, emphasizing the importance of collective wisdom and shared experiences.

Key Takeaway: The cornerstone of her strategy against imposter syndrome lies in fostering environments where asking questions, seeking clarity, and valuing each team member’s viewpoint are encouraged. This approach not only helps combat feelings of inadequacy but also strengthens the team’s cohesion and effectiveness.

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Kung Fu Marketing with Lucidchart’s Visuals

Jessenia addresses the challenge of explaining intricate MOPs processes by drawing on her multilingual background, emphasizing the need for empathy and clear understanding when translating complex concepts. She likens this task to switching languages, where direct translations don’t always capture the full meaning. This perspective underlines the importance of considering the audience’s context to convey information effectively.

Lucidchart becomes a pivotal tool for Jessenia, allowing her to visualize workflows and processes in a manner accessible to all stakeholders. Yet, she warns against the pitfalls of complexity in visuals, advocating for simplicity to ensure that diagrams enhance understanding rather than contribute to confusion.

Beyond visual tools, Jessenia employs analogies and carefully crafted documentation to make MOPs terms and processes relatable. By breaking down high-level concepts into familiar scenarios, she facilitates a better grasp of technical operations for her audience. This tailored approach helps bridge the knowledge gap, promoting a culture of clarity and collaborative dialogue.

She also stresses the importance of establishing a common language from the start. Introducing term sheets and defining key concepts early in discussions prevents misinterpretations and aligns everyone’s understanding. This foundational step is critical in fostering productive conversations and ensuring that all stakeholders are on the same page.

Key Takeaway: Effective communication in MOPs is about more than just sharing information; it’s about translating complex ideas into narratives that resonate with the audience. Jessenia’s methods, including the use of Lucidchart, analogies, and clear terminology, showcase a comprehensive strategy for bridging communication gaps. Her approach highlights the significance of empathy, strategic simplicity, and the creation of a shared understanding to drive success in MOPs initiatives.

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Feasting on Your Own Martech The Secret Recipe for Operations Success

Jessenia’s role at Asana and Lucid provides a compelling case study in “eating your own dog food,” a term for using the products you sell within your own operations. Her involvement goes beyond mere usage; it’s an immersive exploration into maximizing these tools for marketing operations, demonstrating a commitment to automation, visual communication, and seamless integration. This hands-on experience not only boosts internal efficiency but also enhances the products she represents, offering a unique insight into their practical applications and benefits.

Her tenure at Asana was characterized by pioneering automation techniques for managing projects and campaigns. This wasn’t just about improving workflow efficiency; it was about pushing Asana’s limits to showcase its potential as a comprehensive operations tool, far beyond basic task management. Similarly, at Lucid, Jessenia capitalized on the platform’s visual strengths to balance graphical and textual information, making complex processes understandable at a glance.

The core of Jessenia’s approach is integrating collaboration tools with other software to amplify their utility. This strategy, rooted in her deep understanding and firsthand experience with these tools, emphasizes the importance of internal feedback for product development. By using these tools in innovative ways for marketing operations, she not only enhanced her team’s performance but also contributed to refining the products for all users.

This “dogfooding” practice highlights a key insight: the real value of internal tools lies in their ability to transform marketing operations from within. Jessenia’s experience is a powerful testament to the benefits of fully embracing the products you sell, ensuring they’re not just functional but exceptional. It’s about proving the tool’s worth internally before advocating for its external use, aligning marketing operations with the company’s broader goals through strategic integration, automation, and visual storytelling.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia’s journey underscores the significance of leveraging in-house tools to their fullest potential. By adopting the products she promotes within her own marketing ops, she’s not just endorsing them; she’s living proof of their value. This blend of personal involvement and professional advocacy exemplifies the essence of “eating your own dog food” in the tech industry, showcasing how internal tool usage can lead to innovations that resonate both inside and outside the company.

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Martech Pilots and Choosing Wisely with Options

Jessenia’s insights into selecting martech tools cut through the noise of the crowded marketplace, focusing squarely on matching tools to the specific challenges of marketing operations. It’s not about the allure of the latest gadgets but understanding the real needs of your team. She stresses the importance of digging deep to uncover these needs, moving beyond the initial “cool factor” to find solutions that offer solid value and meet concrete business requirements.

Her experiences have shown that the search for a one-size-fits-all tool is futile. Instead, she advocates for a strategy of options, engaging stakeholders and technology teams in a collaborative process to explore multiple solutions. This approach not only ensures that tools are evaluated on their merits but also aligns them closely with the operational goals they’re meant to achieve.

Flexibility and a willingness to pilot and test different solutions are crucial, Jessenia notes, especially when venturing into less-charted territories like community engagement or generative AI. By adopting a mindset open to exploration, marketing operations can navigate these challenges more effectively, identifying tools that truly enhance their strategies and workflows.

Key Takeaway: Understanding stakeholder needs, presenting multiple options, and embracing piloting for niche or emerging areas exemplify Jessenia’s hands-on experience. This comprehensive strategy ensures that investments in martech are not just about keeping up with trends but about making informed choices that drive operational success and fulfill the unique requirements of marketing teams.

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A Strategic Approach for Integrating AI in Martech with a Legal Compass

Jessenia points out that marketing operations teams, bridging martech, sales tech, and revenue tech, are ideally positioned to guide AI integration. However, she stresses that this journey requires more than just enthusiasm for new tools; it demands a deep dive into the technological stack, a clear understanding of AI functionalities, and a close collaboration with legal departments to address privacy and data protection concerns.

The potential of AI to transform areas like content creation and sales enablement is significant. Jessenia identifies these as immediate opportunities for AI to add value, offering solutions to scale content production and ensure its relevance across diverse markets. Despite the promise of AI, she remains cautious, advocating for a balanced and thoughtful adoption strategy that avoids the pitfalls of over-automation and ensures alignment with organizational needs and legal requirements.

The relationship with legal teams is crucial, as navigating the complexities of AI requires addressing numerous unknowns, particularly around data usage and privacy. Her practical experience with generative AI tools highlights the importance of identifying areas where AI can provide significant benefits without introducing unnecessary legal complexity.

Content marketing, particularly in global settings, emerges as a fertile ground for AI application, offering a way to personalize communication on a large scale. But the buzz around AI is deafening, and not every shiny new AI tool is a golden ticket for marketing ops teams. Jessenia stresses the significance of drilling down to AI’s real-world applications, specifically its prowess in tackling scalability issues and ramping up content personalization. The key? Differentiating between the allure of AI and its practical benefits.

Jessenia’s approach is methodical: evaluate whether AI solutions address an actual need or just contribute to the technological clamor. She recounts a successful AI pilot aimed at solving content scalability, a testament to AI’s utility in producing tailored content across various regions. This isn’t just about adopting AI; it’s about strategic application where it counts, enhancing content reach and relevance without sacrificing quality.

For those steering the mops ship, Jessenia advises zeroing in on processes ripe for AI integration — where automation can replace or augment human effort without losing touch. She shares a personal story of using ChatGPT for academic assistance, a prime example of AI’s potential to streamline time-intensive tasks. This glimpse into AI’s practical use extends beyond professional settings, showcasing its adaptability and efficiency in personal projects as well.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia advocates for a methodical and informed approach to AI integration in marketing operations. This involves a deep understanding of AI technologies, proactive collaboration with legal teams, and a focus on areas with immediate impact, like content creation. Dive into AI with a clear focus on use cases that promise tangible benefits, particularly in solving scalability and personalization puzzles. It’s about smart integration, recognizing where AI can genuinely enhance operations, and where the human touch remains irreplaceable.

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Empowering Women in Revenue through Mentorship

Jessenia highlights the critical role of mentorship in Women in Revenue, focusing on the mutual support among women in sales and marketing. Her approach to mentorship is deeply personal, shaped by her own experiences in the workforce. She sees mentorship as a key to navigating the complexities of professional environments, particularly for women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

The essence of Women in Revenue lies in its ability to connect emerging talents with seasoned leaders, like CMOs and CROs. This network provides not just career guidance but also practical advice for handling workplace dynamics. Jessenia treasures this community for its role in offering solutions and strategies that empower women to handle challenges with confidence.

Through her work with Women in Revenue, Jessenia underscores mentorship’s value in professional and personal growth for women. This engagement fosters a space where experienced executives mentor the next generation, sharing knowledge on technical discussions, setting boundaries, and managing gender-specific challenges at work. It’s about more than just advancing careers; it’s about building resilience and fostering a supportive sisterhood.

The global mentorship program within Women in Revenue creates unique opportunities for cross-regional learning and support, enriching the mentoring experience with diverse perspectives. Jessenia herself plays a pivotal role, guiding mentees through the nuances of workplace interactions and professional growth. Her contributions go beyond mere advice, cultivating a community of mutual respect and collective advancement.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia’s commitment to Women in Revenue illustrates the transformative impact of mentorship on women in revenue-focused roles. This initiative not only aids in navigating the industry’s challenges but also promotes a culture of empowerment, resilience, and solidarity among women. Engaging in such mentorship and support networks marks a significant step toward personal and professional fulfillment, championing the cause of women’s advancement in the workforce.

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Finding Balance and Happiness in Life and in your Career

Jessenia’s life is a testament to finding equilibrium in a world that often demands we lean too far in one direction. As a MOps Director, board member of Women in Revenue, mentor, and a creative soul with hobbies ranging from candle making to ceiling decoration, she’s cracked the code on balancing a demanding career with personal fulfillment. Her secret? Variety and a keen sense of self-awareness.

She lives by the mantra that too much of anything can tip the scales towards dissatisfaction. Over time, Jessenia has honed her ability to tune into her own needs, recognizing when work begins to encroach on her well-being. It’s a journey of self-discovery, identifying what genuinely brings her joy beyond the professional accolades.

For Jessenia, happiness is found in the diversity of her activities and the little moments of joy, whether that’s in achieving a career milestone or enjoying the simple pleasure of making candles. It’s about those moments that bring an authentic smile to her face, signaling she’s on the right path.

Setting boundaries plays a crucial role in Jessenia’s strategy for balance. Understanding her limits, learning to say no, and stepping back when necessary are critical for preserving her mental and physical health. This discipline allows her to allocate her energy to what truly matters, ensuring she remains aligned with her sources of happiness.

Her cross-country move from California to the East Coast, punctuated by a reflective road trip, solidified her commitment to pursuing joy. Documenting moments of genuine happiness along the way, she found confirmation in her life’s direction.

Key Takeaway: Jessenia’s story is a powerful reminder of the importance of self-reflection and setting boundaries in our quest for a balanced, joyful life. Embracing a mix of professional ambitions and personal passions, and knowing when to step back, is key to thriving in both domains. Her approach offers valuable insights for anyone navigating the delicate balance between career success and personal satisfaction. 

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Episode Recap

In this episode, Jessenia unpacks her career journey, highlighting the shift from nonprofit work to the tech and martech sectors. She dives into the challenges of imposter syndrome, advocating for a culture that encourages questions, values different perspectives, and fosters unity. Jessenia’s story shows us that overcoming imposter syndrome is less about quelling doubts and more about harnessing them to build stronger, authentic connections that drive success.

She also touches on her practical use of tools like Lucidchart and Asana and the principle of “eating your own dog food” when you work for a martech vendor. She illustrates that effectiveness in MOPs and martech doesn’t come from chasing the newest trends but from selecting tools that genuinely meet team needs and improve efficiency. 

When discussing AI in martech, Jessenia skillfully walks us through the balance between embracing innovation and its practical application, always with a keen eye on legal implications and real benefits. She advocates for a thoughtful approach to AI integration, emphasizing its role in enhancing scalability and personalization while navigating the complexities of responsible use.

The conversation rounds off with Jessenia’s involvement in Women in Revenue, shedding light on the critical role of mentorship in empowering women in revenue-focused positions. This effort marks a significant stride towards personal and professional achievement, showcasing the power of mentorship, strategic thinking, and continuous growth.

This episode offers more than a glimpse into Jessenia’s career; it serves as a guide for professionals seeking to make a meaningful impact while maintaining balance and happiness in their lives. Jessenia’s insights provide a blueprint for navigating career complexities, underscoring the importance of community, adaptability, and strategic innovation.

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Intro music by Wowa via Unminus
Cover art created with Midjourney (check out how)

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