Creating Memorable Experiences, Personally and Professionally
Creating Memorable Experiences, Personally and Professionally
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show notes
In this week’s Local Marketing School episode, Emily Steele interviews Jennifer Magley, a dynamic speaker, author, and Chief Brand Officer at The Basketball League and Basketball Super League. Jennifer shares the why and how to create memorable experiences, both in personal interactions and in business settings. She shares insights from her experiences as an emcee and host, emphasizing the value of surprising and delighting audiences. We chatted about our favorite business books and also got to learn a little more about Jennifer’s book, "How to be Queen," a leadership fable exploring career growth and self-worth beyond achievements. This was such a great conversation for marketers and business owners on creating impactful experiences and developing essential leadership skills.
TUNE IN FOR TOPICS LIKE:
3:35 Jennifer’s journey from professional athlete to Chief Brand Officer at The Basketball League and Basketball Super League
5:30 Creating priorities and managing your time
6:54 Jennifer’s first priorities when stepping into the role at TBL and BSL
7:57 How to ask for what you want
11:26 Building a personal brand
13:23 How to increase attendance at your next event
18:33 Creating memorable experiences that your audience wants
22:26 What current networking events are getting wrong
29:09 Engaging an audience as an emcee
35:22 Authoring How to Be Queen
36:38 Jennifer’s book recommendations
38:15 Where you can find Jennifer
Listen to this week’s Local Marketing School conversation!
Other episodes you'll enjoy if you enjoyed Jennifer’s episode:
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Find Basketball Super League: Website
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Emily Steele (00:00)
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Local Marketing School. It's Emily here. I'm coming at you from Indianapolis today. I'm excited to be here. I have so much going on today, meeting up with our content creators, our hummingbirds in Indianapolis, and meeting some of our teammates who I've never met in real life before, and getting together with investors and the LPs and the fund. And oh my goodness, it is a journey this week in Indy. I have just had so much fun.
And I've only been here like four hours. I've loved every second of being here, especially like this time of year. It's like perfect weather. It's the beginning of October. We are officially in Q4. Does anyone else think this way? Like most people are like, it's a new month. I'm like, Q4 has begun. Let's go. Please tell me I'm not the only one. So I'm excited though. I have Jennifer Magley on with me today. She's actually based in Indy. We totally should have done this recording in real life, but here we are.
We did the whole studio thing and it was really fun. I'll give you a little bit of background on her, but I think before we get into some of the amazingness of her bio, today's episode is really focused on personal brand strategy. It's a lot about events and how to add intention and strategy and aha, wow moments that really draw in the right people and get people excited to experience the events you create and you bring to life. She has just an incredible background that I'll tap into shortly. But what I really loved about this conversation is all of her wisdom around the books she's read and how she's applied things she has read and understood from other people. What I think is so interesting about Jennifer and so amazing is that she just like, she walks the talk and if she learned something and she's telling others to do it, she is doing it every single day. So asking for what you want, negotiating, rooting for yourself. I think she's just such a powerhouse. So grateful to have her on today.
So let me tell you a little bit about her and then we'll jump into the show. So Jennifer Magley is the Chief Brand Officer of the Basketball League and Basketball Super League. She's a speaker, contributor, Forbes, and former professional athlete who connects top talent with opportunities on stage, on camera, and in the boardroom. Magley has placed talent at Fortune level companies and has a background in recruiting, partnership relations, and contract negotiations.
As a keynote speaker and consultant, she spent over a decade helping successful people become unstoppable. She's a former NCAA Division I head coach and has received national media coverage, notably by USA Today, CNN, ESPN, Boundary Magazine, and US News and World Report. Jennifer was the United Nations Global Film Festival host and has been the master of ceremonies for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon twice.
She's been the emcee for Rally Innovation Conference with Alex Rodriguez and will soon take the stage to emcee the 25th anniversary of Stepping Out in Style by Dress for Success. She was named woman of the year by Pass the Torch for Women Foundation and her leadership fable, How to Be Queen, is a top selling book for Archway Publishing. She is on fire. You will absolutely love this conversation. Let's dig into the show.
Emily Steele (03:26)
Hey Jennifer, welcome to the show!
Jennifer Magley (03:28)
Hello? Hello, hello?
Emily Steele (03:31)
Thanks so much for being here. I would love to kick off with just a question about your life as going from a professional athlete to chief brand officer at the basketball league and basketball super league. So tell us more about you.
Jennifer Magley (03:44)
Boy, so I come from a big sports family. My father played in the NBA. So for him and my mother to start this pro league, it's pretty special. And my mom is the first woman to own a professional sports league in history, not a team, an entire league. And this league is about 38 different teams across America and six teams, soon to be eight in Canada. And they feed into the NBA G League. So my role as chief brand officer.
I mean, although it would be kind of sexy to say I get to do the social media and I get to do all those things, at the moment I'm really focused on partnerships, which is, you know, part of how we have gotten into this conversation. So partnerships and then making certain that people know my parents' name. That's really important to me.
Emily Steele (04:23)
Yeah. Yeah. So when it comes to partnerships, what does that look like in your role?
Jennifer Magley (04:39)
Yes, so that could be anything from a QR code company to a liquor, you know, and it could be anyone when it comes down to it. Right now we're in conversations with a company that sells fruit out on the West Coast. And the ideal partnership for one is that we can create a bespoke experience and have unique activations. So that could be at our draft combine this February here in town and also with our like junior TBLF which is really sweet. Our boys are involved in that, our sons.
Emily Steele (05:13)
Oh that's so fun. Okay, I love that. Just being involved at the brand officer level as like a partnership says just bringing things to the table has to be so creative. Do you find you get a mix of like your creative hat and strategy hat? Like how do you like to spend your time mapping all these things out?
Jennifer Magley (05:30)
Yeah, mind you, how do I spend my time? Isn't that like the question for all of us? I feel like first of all, yeah, self-caregiving, as I call it, takes up so much time. I think when we really do put ourselves first, it's incredible to see how much it takes to be running at 100%. I don't know if that's 100 % of the time, but just to run at 100%. So I would say the way I split my time is first on me.
Emily Steele (05:36)
It is, tell us everything.
Jennifer Magley (05:58)
Additionally, I'm very committed to my personal brand, but then there's a lot of pitching, video calls, meetings, follow-up that happen with the whole process, the whole cycle of landing a partnership. And this is a rule that I started in January. So it's still, you know, I've got my feet under me, but my North Star in life is no one knows your name, let's change that. And that definitely applies to a league that is historic but not tip of the tongue when you talk about professional basketball at the moment.
Emily Steele (06:33)
Yeah. Yeah. So was that as you came on board in January? That is so recent, by the way. January feels like a while back, but it also is like yet this year. How did you think about the priorities of the brand and how you could really make a dent as you got started?
Jennifer Magley (06:39)
Yes, so since we are essentially still a sports startup, we've been around for seven years, there's things I had to let go of that I didn't want to. First off was social media. And my father, bless his heart, is the one who does it. And I respect his commitment. And he knows he's at his point of limitation now and he's ready to shift that off. So although it would have been nice to just like You know, we talked about flying the plane while you're building it to focus on how shiny the outside is. It really has come down to focusing in on the relationships that I have. How can I turn those into business partnerships? And then who else do people know? So I really have a habit and a hobby of asking. And that's something that I think is a skill that a lot of us have been discouraged from scaling up in is asking as women. That's something it's critical.
Emily Steele (07:16)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Jennifer Magley (07:42)
Asking for help, asking for intros, asking for support.
Emily Steele (07:46)
I completely agree. Like you can never get what you don't ask for. So how do you encourage women or people in your life to practice and get what they want?
Jennifer Magley (07:50)
Yes, yes, I am a really big nerd. So I believe in books. So when it comes down to it, I think that we all have the intentionality. know, lot of studies show that we're better negotiators for others than for ourselves. And if that's true, then I think it falls on the shoulders of language. So I read a lot of books about asking. So consider checking out the book, Exactly What to Say by Phil M. Jones.
Emily Steele (08:17)
Hmm.
Jennifer Magley (08:24)
And I really enjoy Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. He's a FBI hostage negotiator. And I think the problem as women is we were taught how to achieve, but we were not raised with the words, how to talk about what we just achieved. So it's an interesting skill set to develop as an asking habit.
Emily Steele (08:41)
Yeah, do you have an example of like how you've asked for something and gotten to a yes? Like I don't mean to put you on the spot, but maybe have something that comes to mind.
Jennifer Magley (08:55)
Totally. No, like 100%. 100%. Recently, I wanted my mother to be featured in a magazine. So again, she is a 60 plus year old black woman who used to be a music teacher. She has experience in basketball and in administrative capacity. And it's like, how do you land this woman who doesn't fit the profile of a typical feature in a magazine? I had to reverse engineer it. I have the photos taken first rather than after they were landed and I paid for them myself. And then I pitched to the magazine and I knew that that photographer was one they usually worked with. So when they did finally say, yes, we'd like to feature her, these were photos that were already at the quality of what the publication was used to. So that's an example of kind of reverse engineering and ask, yes, you got the grit and the guts to go after it but building it up beforehand. I'm sure you've done very similar things preparing for that.
Emily Steele (09:58)
Yeah, yeah, it's the preparing of it and really doing the homework and the research to say like, motivates this person? What inspires them? What do they like to talk about? What don't they like to talk about? like taking that time sets you apart too, because you've clearly done the work. I think so much of what you see out there, I think with pitches is like your typical press release template. Like everything looks the same. And so I think it. I wouldn't say it's easier to stand out, but when you actually have intentionality and it looks like you did your homework because you did, like, it goes a long way.
Jennifer Magley (10:34)
Yeah, it does. And I think that speaks to the work that you're doing with, well, some call them micro influencers, but these folks have worked really hard in their brands to cultivate that audience. And that's why they're trusted is because they've done all that pre-work that you're talking about.
Emily Steele (10:40)
Totally. Yeah, I think it's really interesting to dig into that too of just like the trust and how do you build a platform where people know, like, and trust you. I think this is something you really excel at. I think, yeah, like I think what can we learn from the experience you've had in building a personal brand and building a following and getting these opportunities to emcee? And maybe that's not the path for everyone, but I think at our core as humans, like we want to be seen and validated and trusted for the next opportunity or just as a human, so what kind of advice would you give to be?
Jennifer Magley (11:24)
Yeah, like to say it's better to know them before you need them. So know the people before you need them. And although I am active on Instagram, my main space is LinkedIn, which is a little cringy, right? Like LinkedIn's a dinosaur, it doesn't evolve. It's like, it's kind of awful, but it's great because you can stand out. It's still a place where you can stand out. So although I'm not a traditional influencer or brand kind of person, I really believe in the power of in-person events. So when you cannot be too worried about your online, your online is just amplifying the work you're doing in real life, IRL. And that's what you'll see with me with my monthly power lunches that are sold out. No agenda, no speaker, no membership, just women having lunch.
Jennifer Magley (12:21)
That's what you'll see when I'm on a stage keynoting at a, keynoting, also in seeing that's kind of my new thing, new the last two years and getting to meet with a lot of unique celebrities and work with Alex Rodriguez. He was the keynote of Rally and hosting Stepping Out in Style last month. All of those opportunities came to be because I show up in real life, but then I check that box every day online.
Emily Steele (12:28)
So showing up in real life is the first step. Like how are you showing up in and around your community? So what that looks like for you, you're based in the Indianapolis area, so you get to show up in and around this physical, I say this because I'm here right now recording this. We're not in the same room, but we're like, you know, a little bit closer to each other than when I'm in Iowa, but It looks like showing up in Indianapolis. So can you just talk a little bit? You said this luncheon's like what an incredible opportunity, but how else are you showing up and then amplifying that on social is almost an extension of the work you're doing.
Jennifer Magley (13:23)
Yeah, I would say my main area of like super skill or talent would be mobilizing people to go to in-person events. So showing up for me has been the experience of learning that women will not just respond to an open invitation, like an announcement. Women are not going to be like, let me buy a ticket unless you're Taylor Swift to this or Beyonce you pick okay pick your pick your shero right well whatever but women are not going to respond to an open announcement or an open casting call invitation to everyone. Women respond to one-to-one invitations so that's how i've used social media i've used the messaging feature it's not about posting to me it's about messaging.
Emily Steele (13:56)
Yeah, truly. Yep.
Jennifer Magley (14:20)
So when I did the one-to-one invitations over the years for Power Lunch, that's how my list has grown to nearly a thousand women in Indy. And that's how they're moving is because I will ask them, would you like to join us for lunch? Would you like to meet up for lunch? It's not always one-to-one. Now I have a newsletter, et cetera. But in the beginning, I think that's something that gets overlooked for populating events. It has to be an invitation, not an announcement for women. Has that been your experience too?
Emily Steele (14:40)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. Dang, I think you nailed it on the head. I was just thinking, I last week hosted a pitch competition for three women business owners in Des Moines. And we got about a week or two out and I was like, numbers are fine. But I know it's gonna take me sending a personal invitation to everyone. And I spent the time and I was like, this is a lot of effort, but I know it's way more meaningful. And that when people trust, know, like, and trust me that feels so much different than a Facebook event or just seeing a post on Instagram and being like, that looks cool, but then you keep scrolling because that's what you're in the mindset to do most of the time when you're on social and kind of seeing what your friends are up to. Like things stick, but it's not quite the same as a personal invite. So I absolutely resonate. I love a personal invite too. It means like you thought of me for whatever reason. And that's just like, again, taps into that worthiness. Don't we all want to feel seen and important and heard and so totally nailed it. And then I think you're totally spot on too of, you know, people come to the event, they have a good experience, they get on the list and then they want to come back again because of those connections. You don't have to work as hard at that one on one, but it's instrumental in beginning days.
Jennifer Magley (16:03)
It is huge. I I tested the limits of my reach this February. I had a lavish Galentine's luncheon. And you know, this Galentine's concept, like what I learned, Emily, is that regardless of if you're partnered or not, chances are very high that your partner is not checking the box when it comes to surprise and delight at Valentine's Day. So that's why I believe Galentine's Day will continue. And that's like with your gal pal, instead of Valentine's, it's Galentine's Day lunch. It's like $195 ticket. And I thought, know, indeed, we don't have enough events that aren't charitable, that are just for a good time. You know, we can have just fun. Well, just like they do in big cities, right? And so this event sold out. I did shamelessly anchor my 40th birthday to it because I'm shameless. So it's like part networking. And I said that, I said, it's part networking, part party. Hey, you get to write it off. But it was so much fun. And again, it came down to individual invitations, but I will say, you know, you're going to have a successful event when you're asking them if they're coming a week in advance. You go down the list, hey, looking forward to see you. Will you make it? And their questions are, what should I wear? I bought two or three outfits. They're coming. So your attrition, My attrition, I thought I would have maybe like 10, 15%. No, every single person came or transferred their ticket. And that just shows you when you have a good idea, a little bit of a base, and you're willing to do the work like you did and invite folks, you can have sold out events. That's a part of your brand is can you mobilize people to do what you want them to do because they want to because they want to do it.
Emily Steele (17:32)
Yeah, and so it's really interesting. I didn't plan on diving into this, but I think it's so important for people listening, they're marketing professionals or business owners, to really tap into what their customers want. It sounds like you got really clear on that. And I don't know that people really get super clear on that. So when they create this event or this meaningful engagement, they get all of the social media posts out, they get it live on the website, and they only get like 20 signups when they had 200. You know, there's like this, like I created something really cool, but how do you get to the core of what you believe or know your customer wants? What does that discovery look like? How have you done it?
Jennifer Magley (18:21)
Yeah, I think since I am a person that the kids would say is outside a lot at these events, I would say the majority of events suck. And that's just what it is when it comes down to networking. Now, other events that are just brand launches and parties and teas and brunches, okay, fine. But everything doesn't have to look like a baby shower with a balloon wall and a step repeat. I mean, you can go ahead and change that experience up. And that's what I just decided to lean into. So I knew that most women were a bit like me. They didn't want to dress up and put on heels and walk around for appetizers like we do for a lot of events in Indy. They wanted a plated meal. Boom. So the event would have a plated meal. They enjoy live music and want to be feel like they've been transported. Awesome. We have a live cellist, right? And these aren't used as hook points or selling points. These are surprises when they enter. Everyone wants to win something. Great, we've got $13,000 in giveaways. So you continue to build up the event and you say, what is their partner not doing? You know, what do they want? They want fresh flowers. They want all these things. They don't necessarily, you know, want to, a photo in front of a flower wall is great, but getting to take home the flowers is better. So that's really my aim. It's like, you know what's good? That's good, but how could it be better? What do we really want? What do we really want when we go to these events? We want somebody saying, where'd you get those flowers from? I think, yes.
Emily Steele (19:58)
Huh. Yeah. And the connections, like you clearly are greeting like a group of people who, you know, you're thinking about like, these people enjoy meeting with these people? Have they ever met? I'm sure they have some overlap because of their interests and that if you can nail it those first couple times, people just feel excited to come back to an ecosystem that feels like, these are my people, whatever that gets to mean for them in that scenario.
Jennifer Magley (20:26)
You know what's unique? I think that there are a lot of women that come to the event because they know there's quality humans there. But the biggest point of feedback that I've heard is, love your events because everyone's so different. It really is drawing from all kinds of demographics, all kinds of walks of life. mean, you could have a mom who's staying at home trying to decide what's next, next to somebody who just did a 20 million raise. And they're never going to get to interface unless they come to a power launch or Galentine's Day. So I think that's been kind maybe I would, guess the way that's happened has been because I know so many different types of people. It's neat to see these women come out and it looks different than most events because there's no membership. I think that's the other part is it's always a random first experience is very random. And then 15 minutes in, it's like, okay, the room warms up, but that's the science. They say nobody feels like they've arrived until they've been there for 10 or 15 minutes to events. So, yeah.
Emily Steele (21:38)
Yeah, of course. Yep. yeah, that's so true. You just gotta settle in, whatever that looks like, and every, you know, every location feels different. Sometimes some people need a little cocktail in their hand, you know, go with a friend. It's okay. Yeah. I love this conversation about in-person events. I think it's just something that has changed so much post-COVID. Like you said, a lot of events have just kind of either gone downhill or they just aren't full anymore.
Jennifer Magley (21:49)
Right? Yeah. Yeah. It's true.
Emily Steele (22:14)
Any other recommendations as you've looked at the conferences you've been at as an emcee? Like what are brands doing well to reignite kind of the event space? Any other recommendations?
Jennifer Magley (22:14)
Yeah, I would say I can tell you what the brands are doing very poorly. Yeah. You know, because I wrote a post about this on LinkedIn again. LinkedIn is a great place for trauma pornography. Like all this highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Like if there's your dog died or you're in a hospital gown, you're going to go viral on LinkedIn. I so it's a great place to air your grievances. And so some of the feedback that I gave like my top five reasons of why networking events are awful, they're too long. So I would say first off, conferences are too long. They're often vague. A lot of times there's the wrong food at the wrong time. And then again, I would also say too long. So brands that are looking to make a difference, 90 minutes. Like just because somebody has a building the entire day doesn't mean you have to go all the way from eight to five. Let's be real. Most people aren't coming at eight and most people aren't going to be there in the end. I feel like what does it look like to, for brands to shrink that down and just go hot and heavy just in the middle of the day. So at like 10 to three, wouldn't that be a neat conference to go to? I think, right. And then also I'm, I'm seeing, I haven't been to brand activations that are more about exclusivity. I don't think it's a numbers game anymore, Emily. It's like we used to ask questions like, how many people are going to be at the conference? Now we ask who's going to be there. So I'd love to attend more events. It's about the access rather than the size.
Emily Steele (24:12)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm going to a conference in a couple weeks and as an attendee I have the opportunity to see who else is going and request meetings if I want to. I think it's interesting. We'll see how it shakes out. I don't know how the matchmaking will fall into place or not, right? Like everyone could say no. Everyone could say yes. A couple of people could say yes. Is that still worth it? I just find it interesting to be like, who actually shows up at these things? Where do they hang out online? I think just the list itself is fascinating to be like, who are the types of people who enjoy these conferences? So I completely agree. I am less drawn. I think that's also shifted as we think about even like the partnership and creator space. It's less about like, I want to reach millions of people, but it's like, no, I want to reach the right people. Where are those people hanging out? Where are they making decisions? And how do they think about the world? And so I love that shift personally. It's very refreshing.
Jennifer Magley (25:11)
Well, and wouldn't it be neat to be involved in a leadership summit or in a startup culture that was so targeted? Like if it was women, I know, for example, in the venture capital space, having an annual retreat at a beautiful property and you get to do things rather than sit around. And I think that's the other issue is we're trapped in this antiquated way of doing business when business is really done while experiencing other activities. For men, traditionally, the heterosus men, is golf, this is cigars, this is where deals are being made. It looks different now, but I don't think that we're leaning into that difference yet. Like, hey, what would it, know, spa day with a bunch of top-ranking execs, like who wouldn't want to do that? That seems neat, you know? So I think there's space for more events that are more targeted and focused with time.
Emily Steele (25:42)
My gosh, you got my wheels are turning for the end of year. Like, what are we going to do? I'm like, say no more. Like, where do I go?
Jennifer Magley (26:11)
Yes, let's do it. You know who does this? You know who does a decent job? Yeah, I think the one who does it well, so the question was who does it well, would be the female quotients. And you probably see a lot of their content now. Shelly Zales, like she does, they've really leveled up in the past two years with their Instagram. But what she did is she created the Equity Lounge and She goes to different places, Davos and Adweek. You don't have to have access to go there. You can actually go to the Equity Lounge, go there for free and see programming with women and so that you can connect with other women. That's why she created that space. So I would say they probably do it best in my view.
Emily Steele (26:51)
So if someone's like, need someone to look towards as inspiration. I love that like what that's what social media has become is like you can really Visualize that impact and you can feel that energy frankly from photos and reels and quick snapshots. So So cool. I think there's just so much we get to learn and evolve with as you think about technology like online events to in-person and I lean towards your perspective of the in-person is so much where the magic happens. Like some of those connections are just, like you would never get them online or in the same way online through like a commenting or a message. I think it's still powerful and like you can't ignore it, but the in-person, if you can prioritize it and make it happen, I think that's the magic. It's a good step.
Jennifer Magley (27:37)
People like surprise. You know, at the last lavish, the lavish Galentine's lunch, I shared a story about how when I was a young girl, I watched in PBS and there was an opera singer and I used to dream about being this important woman in business and having all these friends. And everyone's kind of like, yeah, it's been around in my tutu. So to help everyone feel like that little girl today, please welcome and I brought up a soprano opera singer to sing a beautiful, beautiful song and everyone's like crying. Well, that's the surprise. The surprise is you're coming to this Galentine's lunch with your girlfriends. You weren't expecting all of these things, these giveaways. And there was an opera singer that just was attending the lunch too. So I think that surprise factor just doesn't happen at conferences the way that it should. That's why everyone loved Oprah. Love her but. They still love her, it's just when she used to do those giveaways and the, it's so funny. Yeah, everyone. Yeah. Me, like I'm worthy, like you see me. So I think that's what you get in the in-person experience is that you don't get online for sure.
Emily Steele (28:47)
Yeah, yeah. Okay, so I want to talk a little bit about your experience as an emcee. You said you kind of picked up doing that the last couple years. That's so exciting. What is, how do you think about engaging an audience and getting people excited as an emcee? Because I think we could all learn from this as people who, you know, have microphones or listening to podcasts or hosting events, et cetera.
Jennifer Magley (29:09)
Boy, it's something that I fought for a long time. During the pandemic, I ended up emceeing the United Nations Global Film Festival. It was virtual though, so that was like an honor, but also an interesting thing. And I got asked to do like, you the monumental marathon, 15,000 people. And I was like, okay, I'll do these things, I'll emcee. But then recently, I just started to lean into it and all the opportunities have come my way. So how do you get these big, how do you get big energy? Your stadium energy, SDE as we'll call it. How do you get your SDE? I would say consider hyping up people around you in your day to day life. So I love a strong introduction where you get to brag on folks. That's why I like to find out, you know, what is your goal and what do you like doing? And so then when you make the introduction to someone else in person, everything is a little bit of a hype person, or a hype man or hype woman. And that's how I think that we all can grow our stadium energy because when you go out on stage, you're hired to be Santa Claus. So you better bring that spirit. And I got to, I got to at the rally conference with Alex Rodriguez and Marcus Salonis and I get to be entrusted with the 25th anniversary of this and the gala of that. And I went blonde halfway through the most recent gala. Like I came back out on the arms of these firemen with a full blonde wig on and this sassy dress. Again, surprise, right? You weren't expecting me, you know, to be blonde mid-show. So I think those are the little, the fun parts that we all remember when we growing up, kind of, you know, what took our breath away, what would be really unexpected. That's how you grow that stadium energy in real life and I was always asking what would knock their socks off right now?
Emily Steele (31:24)
Yeah, yeah, and you're like, that's what I'm gonna figure out and that's what I'm gonna bring as the MC. Noted. I love that.
Jennifer Magley (31:29)
Yes, that's right. If you give a toast on stage, why not buy a champagne flute that's like three feet tall? That's what I did. know, big toast, you know? So just think big when you have them on. Even if you're doing a wedding toast, go get the biggest glass you can and tie it into your story. You know, why not have a little prop? Little camp never hurt anybody.
Emily Steele (31:38)
I love it. I think the Jennifer vibe is why not? know, like you're like, why not ask for what you want? You got to ask the questions. So one thing I was going to ask you, I know you're very into reading books. Have you read Unreasonable Hospitality yet?
Jennifer Magley (32:00)
Yeah, yes, it's all like...Who's gonna tell you now? know? What? Totally. Absolutely, and it ruined my restaurant experience everywhere.
Emily Steele (32:19)
No, I just bought it. So I'm like, I'm very excited about it, but it just talks of, I'm assuming there's a lot around surprising and delighting and building just like a world-class restaurant, but also beyond that.
Jennifer Magley (32:26)
Girl! It is, you know, yeah, I mean, listen, like you've got to take it with a grain of salt because sometimes you're like, this guy is just, is he even for real? Is anybody this intentional? You know? But he is. And that's why they're number one. And that's what I enjoy. And that's what I love. I mean, the other day I got from GoldBelly this gigantic fortune cookie in the mail from a friend. It was like a two hand fortune cookie. And it was a gift to say thank you and I got to crack this thing open. So that's the kind of unreasonable hospitality type of thinking is, okay, like something really small, how can we make it gigantic? And that's something that I will mimic her and pass that along to someone and say, like, hey, look at your, congratulations on your great year and another year of good fortune. So I think that's the little thing that no one's expecting.
Emily Steele (33:00)
Yeah, I love it. I'm excited to read that book and report back to you and tell you what I learned and how, Dang it. I'm like, should I read it? I like, setting myself up to fail and be disappointed?
Jennifer Magley (33:28)
You know what I think the biggest takeaway from that book and again, I'm speaking to like a lot of heteronorms here. think women in general put other people first. So there's nothing new when you're reading this book. It's just this is what it looks like scaled and a corporate level and the kind of money that can get behind that intentionality just like what you all are doing. You know, the way that you're like, this makes sense. You know, reach the people that are already following the people that would buy your product. Duh, right? It's not about the number, it's about the quality. But that's what it's about. So some of it may be new to you, some of it you'll be like, I do this already, but it definitely is an excellent read.
Emily Steele (34:19)
Okay, cool. I did pick it up. I like hard, you know, hard copy of it. I'm like, whoa, when was the last time I grabbed that? I usually just do the Kindle. It makes it a little bit easier, but I just love.
Jennifer Magley (34:30)
I do all like all of them. I'm audio. Did you know you can get free books in library through your Libby app like
Emily Steele (34:33)
Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes. I have learned this recently. It is a game changer. I'm like, why did I know about this sooner?
Jennifer Magley (34:41)
It's so fun. Yes, those memes that are like the feminine urge to have no internal monologue. It's just books the entire time. I feel so attacked. Yes, I am very attacked by those.
Emily Steele (34:50)
It really is. It really is. That's the way to be. Yeah. When those memes hit so hard, you're like, I'm sharing this with 60 of my friends. And I was attacked by this image. Thank you. Well, I would love to wrap. Speaking of books, you wrote a book. Do you want to tell us a little bit about that and how people can find you?
Jennifer Magley (34:58)
I know, like I was just minding my business. I was minding my business. It came from me. Yes! in the vein of my head, it's so true. it's so true. I did! Yeah, happily. It's called How to be Queen. It's a leadership fable. So it is a reworking of the tortoise and the hare. And I like to tell people it's as long and as short as a Cheesecake Factory menu. So you can read this thing over your lunch break. It's so short. But it's basically an exploration of what it looks like to keep moving the finish line in our careers. And kind of understanding that Where do we go in a world where our worth doesn't change even if we never achieve another thing? So who are we outside of achievement? A very interesting, challenging thing to write a fable. I don't recommend writing a fable, but why not, right? I just got tired of all of these. I mean, don't get me wrong, there are some great parts on toxic masculinity, but after a while, it's hard to keep reading all these books written by men, for men, and you're just searching for the good parts that you can, what can I learn from this? So just wrote a book myself.
Emily Steele (36:14)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, so I just wrote it from my female perspective.
Jennifer Magley (36:25)
Or like, whatever. Yeah, like you guys moved my cheese, now you get something else, alright? So yeah.
Emily Steele (36:30)
My gosh, so amazing. I have just loved our time together. Any other, so you wrote a book, any other books you want to recommend to anyone I know that's such a big, it's such a, had such a huge impact on your life and where you've gotten to where you are. And so anything else you want to share there?
Jennifer Magley (36:38)
Yeah Gosh, I just kind of go back to exactly what to say by phil m. jones. It's about 24 Phrases that help you hack humans and those it's as simple as let's say you're leading a q a and instead of saying at the end you say Do you have any questions? You'd say what questions you have for me? And then you'd wait nine seconds. Things like that, easy swaps can really help us move the needle. And I have our boys who are 12 and 10 reading these books and it's brutal. They'll come up to me like, mom, I don't know if this is for you, but any chance you're open-minded to me playing technology because when I play technology, I really get a chance to unwind. So then you're like, you use three out of the four points that you could have in that. So for that kind of ask, yes. So consider any of the kiddos around you, giving them the second best gift that you can, which is the ability to ask questions, the skill of how to ask a question. And the first, I always tell young mothers is the ability to fall back asleep. giving those two gifts, those are the first skills. So asking questions, I hope that our sons remember me for that. And that's what I would leave everyone with. Consider skilling up in that area because it never ends. It's an infinite game. I'm skilling up every day.
Emily Steele (38:15)
Absolutely. Yeah, I love it. Thank you so much for being on the podcast today. Where can people find you? You hang out on LinkedIn, you say, more so than other channels, but where else?
Jennifer Magley (38:23)
I am yeah, I'm with the nerds on LinkedIn, but I'm also on and see you laughing because it's so true I'm also on on Instagram I really just use Instagram as a video editor for LinkedIn since they don't have any features on LinkedIn But I'm happy to connect either place but LinkedIn I'll see your message before Instagram because I'm an elder millennial
Emily Steele (38:31)
It is true! Yep, same, same, same. I'm like, I'm a nerd with you on LinkedIn, so people can hang out with us there. We're gonna have a great time. Even if they're not, we're gonna have fun, so.
Jennifer Magley (38:52)
Yeah! Yes, it's great because they can't troll you there. It's connected to their job. they're not good. Yeah, they're not. It's a little friendlier, a little friendlier, a little more random, but definitely more friendly of a place.
Emily Steele (39:00)
Fair. Yep, you know, it's not as evil. So we'll have fun there. We'll learn out. Yeah. I love it. Thank you so much for being on the show today.
Jennifer Magley (39:13)
Thank you.
