5 Questions with Kaitlin Jarvis

Kaitlin Jarvis is the Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Telemetry. She's spent 10 years in the agency world, driving communications strategy and operational excellence for small and medium-sized agencies that support Fortune 100 brands. Her sweet spot is combining operational rigor with a creative vision to transform processes and deliver unmatched client service.

1. What inspires you to work at Telemetry?

Integrity defines our team. I’ve been in the nonprofit and for-profit sectors at agencies both large and small, and I've seen many trade their ethics for profit. We don't do that here, and I sleep well at night knowing that we are honest and transparent about expectations and challenges, and clients know exactly what we're delivering day in and day out.

2. What's a project you’ve worked on that you’re especially proud of—and why?

I’m so proud of a lot of the PR-related projects that gave us our start, but I’m especially proud of how we’re helping clients publish the content today that we used to pitch to journalists. I can't count the number of stories that were left on the cutting room floor that were worthy of being told. What’s really powerful about some of the projects we're working on today is that we get to own the narrative. Whether it's op-eds, research reports, or content published on owned channels, we're not begging someone for a mention or a paragraph; we're telling the whole story in our own words. That's powerful!

3. What's a lesson you've learned that shapes the way you approach your work today?

The power of adaptability has shaped my approach. Early in my career, I said "yes" to everything, trying to get my feet wet and find my niche. But I never became a specialist in any one thing because the more time I spent with my clients, the more they relied on me to find a way to make the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

Many are frustrated by rigid agencies that call themselves partners but behave like vendors. Real business needs evolve constantly, and true partnership means adapting alongside clients, jumping through the hoops together rather than cheering from yesterday's sidelines. An adaptable approach, showing up in true partnership for clients, has served me better than being the expert on a single subject. 

4. What’s a surprising or fun fact about you outside of work?

I’m a DIYer at heart — YouTube has taught me more than my two degrees. I love to get my hands dirty in the garden or tearing down walls in my fixer-upper. While my husband would probably prefer I retire my hammer, I’ve found nothing more satisfying than building (or growing) something with my own two hands. 

5. What do you hope readers take away from your posts on this blog?

I’m an operations junkie, so my literal job is to find out how to turn lemons into lemonade. Many of my blogs will percolate on what we can do right to overcome the things that are going to go wrong. The lemons will always be sour, but a healthy dose of sugar and some soda water turns sour into the best beverage for a hot summer day. There’s always going to be a new challenge — something that’s threatening your industry, your livelihood or your career — and you can either ride a wave or drown in it. My blogs will almost always center on getting on top of the wave, and 9 times out of 10, that usually comes down to your mindset.