Time has made me an optimistic pragmatist.
Failure has made me generous.
Success has made me proactive.
janis nakano spivack
lucid | chief navigator
Zenapse & Wellyst| 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… alongside life's milestones; giving birth and parenting - many times from the seat of 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.
Emily Robinson, my fantastic consulting partner, has a delightful way of asking, "What's Next?" Lucid Navigation, is the continuation of services I've offered for over 20 years, as a soundboard and safe council to leaders looking to quickly get "unstuck" and find a path forward in unknown waters.
Our current approach is based on my personal transformative career change towards Wellness. In 2015, the methodology developed (with the support of many listed below) - and prompted again by Emily- resulted in CRUSH, a micro-masterclass to build personal skills and knowledge for continuous positive change.
Fast forward to today, I'm a co-founder in two companies - both with longtime co-workers and friends. Zenapse, an MarTech AI platform with 2+B consumer interactions integrated with the world's first Large Emotion Model (ELM) was founded in late 2021. And, Wellyst is a consumer Wellness marketplace network, launching in 2024.
In between business building, I teach Mid-Life Transformation for Chip Conley's, MEA Wisdom School, 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 support others on a daily basis.
Lucid Navigation for me, comes from the gift of working with (and for) individuals I enjoy and respect. Preparing for small, steady adjustments, looking for synchronicity and trusting that powerful second brain- our gut- to guide when to do big shifts. Surprisingly, our technique has turned out pretty well for our clients as well. I look forward to connecting with you and hearing where you are in your journey,
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.