Desi Jagger's Blog
Get Unstuck Story #25 – Overcoming fear with humour
Desi Jagger's Blog Get Unstuck Story #25 - Overcoming fears with humour There is no easy way to hear “you’ve got a 7cm tumor on your ovary and we have no idea what it is.” Especially when you’re a 32-year-old girl who really wants to have children. Oh, and to live....
Get Unstuck Story #24 – Staying positive in stressful times
Desi Jagger's Blog Get Unstuck Story #24 – Staying positive in stressful times Hospitals aren’t traditionally known as fun places. But why follow traditions that don’t serve you? Before my checkup this morning, I took a long walk through Hyde Park with my husband...
10 thought-provoking questions to ask yourself
Desi Jagger's Blog 10 thought-provoking questions to ask yourself Meaningful action comes from deep insights. Deep insights come from thought-provoking questions. Thought-provoking questions are simple, short and powerful. As your GetUnstuck coach, I use...
My Story #23 – What do you see?
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #23 – What do you see? Kayaking is one of my favourite things in life. I used to kayak fast and hard. The bigger the waves, the harder I would paddle and the more I would feel fulfilled. Today is the first time I kayaked in a year (due to...
My Story #22 – What are you waiting for?
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #22 - What are you waiting for? Think of the last time you were waiting to hear whether you passed the test, got the promotion or were confirmed healthy by your doctor. How did you feel? I used to have a terrible relationship...
My Story #21 – What facing my fear taught me about business
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #21 – What facing my fear taught me about business I was always afraid of cutting my hair short. Long, thick hair was my identity. Then the Alien (how I call cancer) arrived, and with it – chemotherapy. I was terrified of losing my hair. I...
My Story #20 – Top 9 lessons from 2017
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #20 - Top 9 lessons from 2017 There is a special energy towards the end of the year: holiday cheer, reward for the year just gone and the hopes for the year ahead. In the midst of all this excitement, I like to pause and reflect on my life...
![My Story #19 [P&G] How to make decisions with limited data](https://desijagger.com/wp-content/uploads/et_temp/stuck-for-lack-of-data-8912673_400x250.jpg)
My Story #19 [P&G] How to make decisions with limited data
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #19 [P&G] How to make decisions with limited data I wanted to implement some new in-store claims for our brand. The effectiveness of these claims was supported with internal data. I created a mockup shelf and brought it to the next team...
![My Story #18 [P&G] When push doesn’t work](https://desijagger.com/wp-content/uploads/et_temp/when-push-doesnt-work-pull-518552_400x250.jpg)
My Story #18 [P&G] When push doesn’t work
Desi Jagger's Blog My Story #18 [P&G] When push doesn’t work I spotted an opportunity for my brand. I did some analysis and showed my recommendation to my manager. “This is too complex. We don’t need a portfolio strategy.” Just like that, my work was...
My P&G Story #17: When I wasn’t promoted
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #17: When I wasn’t promoted A few of my peers, including my close friend, got promoted before me. This caused a confusing bundle of emotions within me. I had performed really well since joining the company and I was ready for the...
My P&G Story #16: The last thing you should tell a creative
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #16: The last thing you should tell a creative I was training a big group of newly recruited P&G marketers. Paco was one of them. Fresh-faced-straight-out-of-university, exceptionally sharp and incredibly outspoken. As part of...
My P&G Story #15: How to inspire without a big budget
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #15: How to inspire without a big budget I was briefing the creative agencies on our latest Herbal Essences campaign – ‘tame the wild’. How could I inspire them without a big budget? The P&G office, as bright and spacious...
My P&G Story #14: How I made stewardship sexy
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #14: How I made stewardship sexy “I have an ‘opportunity’ for you,” said Jim, my manager. Translation: I have a horrible project that no one else wants to do and I’m going to speak in a high-pitched, excited voice in order to make...
My P&G Story #13: Superdrug & the inflatable kangaroos
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #13: Superdrug & the inflatable kangaroos My very first day at P&G. I dressed up for it. Over-dressed, in fact (P&G had a fairly relaxed dress code but of course I didn’t know this at the time). I was smart and ready for...
My P&G Story #12: What’s your dream job?
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #12: What’s your dream job? A new manager had joined our team. He knew we felt uninspired. On his first day, he took us out of the office for lunch (yes, it’s possible even when you work in an industrial estate with noisy trucks and...
My P&G Story #11: The 3 unexpected benefits of my sabbatical
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #11: The 3 unexpected benefits of my sabbatical I had decided to leave my safe, well-paid corporate job and I thought: “I might as well take a sabbatical now. Who knows when the next possibility might arise?” Like most...
My P&G Story #10: How I got my confidence back
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #10: How I got my confidence back People are often surprised to hear that I became more confident after leaving P&G. Didn’t I feel prouder saying “I work for P&G” than “I work for [some unknown] company”? At first I did, but...
My P&G Story #9: When I let my team member go
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #9: When I let my team member go I was recruiting team members to deliver a new hire training. Ana was perfect for the job – enthusiastic and with a quirky perspective. When I asked her to join the team, she was thrilled and...
My P&G Story #8: Now is perfect and perfect is now
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #8: Now is perfect and perfect is now Just a year after I started working at P&G, I was asked to join the team that trains the new marketers. Me? But I’m quite new and still learning myself. On the day of the training, I was...
My P&G Story #7: They took my idea and ran
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #7: They took my idea and ran I have a confession to make. I usually write my stories about how I get unstuck in work and life. But today is different. Today I have an unresolved story and I would like to hear your advice on how to...
My P&G Story #6: “Your idea already exists”
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #6: “Your idea already exists” Seeing marketers (myself included) struggle at retailer meetings sparked a brilliant idea in my mind. I would create a commercial training for brand managers to help them understand how retailers...
My P&G Story #5: When I drowned in data
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #5: When I drowned in data In my first month at P&G, I was asked to do a business analysis. I had no idea what that meant but I enthusiastically took it on. I locked myself in the quiet room, I opened all the data files (and in...
My P&G Story #4: Are you a ‘human being’ or a ‘human doing’?
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #4: Are you a ‘human being’ or a ‘human doing’? I committed to doing nothing for the first month of my sabbatical. My objective was to disconnect from the structured and often uncreative corporate world. This meant no alarm clock,...
My P&G Story #3: How I got my first client
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #3: How I got my first client I never planned to work as a freelance coach. In September 2015, I left P&G and went on sabbatical with the plan of becoming a full time trainer in another big company when I return. But during this...
My P&G Story #2: “We don’t need you”
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #2: “We don’t need you” “We don’t need you” – the HR manager dismissed me with a long wave of her hand. “Only top management can deliver training.” My heart dropped. Developing people was my passion... and I had so much to offer....
My P&G Story #1: When I Blindfolded the Boots Buyers
Desi Jagger's Blog My P&G Story #1: When I Blindfolded the Boots Buyers Years ago, when I first started working on Olay, I felt the brand was stuck in a rut. We churned out the same old powerpoint slides, proclaiming benefits that sounded too much like the...
Why I miss having a manager
Desi Jagger's Blog Why I Miss Having a Manager I have had a wide range of managers – from the inspiring rock star “I want to be you some day” to the demoralizing ogre “I’d rather run into the woods than to report to you”. The latter, combined with my strong value for...
7 Things I miss about my corporate job at P&G
Desi Jagger's Blog 7 Things I miss about my corporate job at P&G I didn’t leave my safe, well-paid corporate job at P&G to become an entrepreneur. I was under no illusion that it would fulfil the overhyped promises of working from a remote beach whilst sipping...
Why it took me 3 years to quit my job
Desi Jagger's Blog Why it took me 3 years to quit my job It took me 3 years to quit my safe, well-paid job. These were the years of internal dilemmas ripping me apart, spontaneous outbursts of self-pity tears and brining home the unhappiness I had suppressed all day…...
How I found my passion & 4 questions to help you find yours
Desi Jagger's Blog How I found my passion & 4 questions to help you find yours When I published my last article Why I quit my safe, well paid job at P&G, people around the globe from Vancouver to Cairo reached out to me for advice and ideas on how to find...
Why I quit my safe, well-paid job at P&G
Desi Jagger's Blog Why I quit my safe, well-paid job at P&G Why would you ever consider leaving your secure, well-paid job in one of the best companies in the world? How could you detach yourself from a strong corporate culture and a network of intelligent,...
3 Things I learnt at P&G
Desi Jagger's Blog 3 Things I learnt at P&G Today is my last day at Procter & Gamble – I am leaving to follow my passion for learning and development. My seven years here have been an incredible experience and I would like to capture some of the most important...
I'm Desi Jagger
I help Changemakers to trust themselves and focus on what matters most.