What happens when you sell your house, pack up your kids, and move halfway around the world for your biggest adventure yet, and then war breaks out in the region ten days after you arrive? That’s what happened to Chief Communications Officer Jennifer George when her family moved from California to the UAE. With flights being canceled, Jenn took her two children on the flight she could get out, to Thailand. In a hotel room in Cambodia, trying to make sense of the chaos around her, she opened her laptop and started writing The CCO Dispatch, a wildly popular and no-nonsense newsletter that helps leaders make sense of what’s happening in the world and communicate through it.
What happens when you sell your house, pack up your kids, and move halfway around the world for your biggest adventure yet, and then war breaks out in the region ten days after you arrive?
That’s what happened to Chief Communications Officer Jennifer George when her family moved from California to the UAE. With flights being canceled, Jenn took her two children on the flight she could get out, to Thailand. What she expected to be a week away became six weeks traveling through Southeast Asia. In a hotel room in Cambodia, trying to make sense of the chaos around her, she opened her laptop and started writing The CCO Dispatch, a newsletter that helps leaders make sense of what’s happening in the world and communicate through it.
Jenn calls herself a “master chaos coordinator,” and she’s spent 25+ years helping founders and organizations communicate through change, including roles at Headspace, Shutterfly, and The Wonderful Company. Adventure has shaped her own path, too, from getting her first passport to volunteer in Kenya to earning an MBA while living in China.
Jenn joins Anne to talk about navigating uncertainty with her family and building trust with teams when you don’t have all the answers. As she puts it, everyone wants a map for what comes next, especially with AI changing work. What leaders can offer is a sense of north: who we are, what we stand for, and what we’ll protect even when the trail changes. And when the whole journey feels overwhelming, Jenn carries a lesson from ultra-running: focus on the mile you’re in.
Jenn on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jennegeorge
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