Time has made me an optimistic pragmatist.
Failure has made me generous.
Success has made me proactive.
janis nakano spivack
lucid | chief navigator
Zenapse & Brite Catalyst| Co-Founder
In the maelstrom of the 90’s dot com boom, I discovered my passion. Navigating companies through high-change environments - by nurturing structured collaboration between leaders and their teams- regardless of whether it was to build, revive or scale their business. My joy? Creating a sandbox for innovation where just enough guides are in place for the business to run efficiently, while leaving room for brilliant new ideas to flourish.
Why am I good at it? Change is in my DNA. I was raised on military bases round the world. I've been in constant and purposeful evolution: Artist to Art Director, Creative to Product and then Marketing leader. I've had the privilege of sitting in lots of different company seats; strategic to hands-on, creative to logistical operations, and lots of places in between.
My past experiences include guiding, as well as being a member of the C-suite. So far, my crossings have included an IPO, acquisition, partnerships, a pivot, a bankruptcy…marriage, giving birth and grappling with K-High School from a seat on a red-eye flight.
30+ years of crossings have helped me to understand how to create positive patterns within companies. Decades of managing creative, product and marketing organizations, as well as over 50 independent client projects, has resulted in templates, tools and workshops that have been time tested. And more importantly, shown to help leaders and their teams integrate positive collaboration with practices that add value to every part of their lives.
A network isn’t just a series of dots to me. Instead it is a matrix of inspiring people with whom I’ve had the privilege of experiencing memorable challenges and accomplishments. Together with other subject matter experts, I provide a variety of services to a wide range of business leaders, thought-provokers, game changers, and product builders.
Working for and with individuals I enjoy and respect, enables all work possible for me.
To keep me honest, walking the walk, I'm co-founder of two companies, both with friends and co-workers I've known for over two decades. Zenapse, a MarTech platform with Emotional Intelligence launched in early 2022. Brite Catalyst, is a Wellness Insights and Intelligence company. The first service under Brite Catalyst is ,CRUSH, a micro-masterclass to build personal skills and knowledge for continuous positive change.
Emily Robinson, my fantastic business partner, has a delightful way of asking, "What's Next?" that launched Lucid Navigation. In between business building, you can find me once a year, teaching life explorers at Chip Conley's, Modern Elder Academy, as well as leading mastery classes at conferences and institutions.
In my spare time, I enjoy keeping up with my college-aged kid and husband. Their regular practice of KungFu and weight-lifting help them maintain their sense of humor with me. And my daily wooing of hummingbirds and succulents helps me enjoy the serendipity of life.
Thank you.
To the people who've inspired, informed and kept us LUCID, in the evolution of our services over the years.
Michael Hudes- Who first introduced Emily and I, Amy Critchett Pauline, Rep. Lynne Woolsey (ret), Matt Bernardini, Landon Pollack, Amy I. Rosenthal, Debra Amador DeLaRosa, Chip Conley, Tom Melcher, Jen Smith, Brian Careway, Marci Weisler, Steph Haumueller, Larry Wiesler, Shane Pollack, Nicole Buckberg, Marita Scarfi, S Colombatto, Inessa & Timothy O-Childs, Elaine Coleman, Jon Fox, Kathy Gowell, Sara Ortloff Khoury, Michael Ribero, Gretchen Anderson, Jen Theaker, Rick Bidgood, Mark, Jeff & Lynne Kraselsky, Colin Cowie, Laurie Bell Bishop, Diane Schreiber, Andy Donkin, Michelle Reeves Fisher, Sarah Kornfeld, Paul Krygowski, Jane Metcalfe, Jason Nakano, Maureen McGurl, Todd Krieger, Debra Moses, Neil Cohen, Betsy Book, Hani Hong, Michael Wilson, Leslie Santos, Brandy Reece, Oz Eleonora, Wayne Willis, Lizann Slotta, Fanny Krivoy, Josh Goldberg, Roxann & John Hendrickson, Britanny Wray, Sharon Jacks, Conrad Wright, Jeanne Nicastro, Michael Schaiman, Shelley Alger, John Ferneborg, Sally Rosenthal, Donna Hemmert, Dr. Chuck Clanton, Pat Caruthers, Janet Kasdan, Christi Dunlap, Michael Harshfield, Amy Jo Kim, Kaity Fuqua, Mary Piontkowski, Alisa Lemberg, Chris Murchison, Karen Carbonnet, our Ohana, related by blood and heart who keep us grounded and remind us what's important.