Who I work with
Anna Hickey -Corporate Communications Manager– OES
"I found out about Jo via a trusted friend and am just so grateful for this connection. Jo is such a calm, clear and thoughtful professional who has this magical ability to help articulate and diffuse thoughts and ideas into actionable steps. By helping me connect with my values, Jo created a decision-making framework that I can utilise for the rest of my life. I am also excited to say that through Jo's help I was able to set and achieve some important career goals within just a few short months. I can't recommend Jo enough if you are facing career overwhelm and need an unbiased guide through a time of transition. I only wish I found out about Jo sooner as she is a true enabler."
Tin and Ed - Artists and Creative technologists, NY
“Melbourne is full of amazing secrets! All the best things are hidden in Melbourne. Our best kept secret is not a place but a person. Our friend and advisor Jo-Anne Hook. She is a mentor and advisor to almost every creative person we know! I would say that she is a mother to our creative community in Melbourne and also increasingly the rest of the world. If you ever need creative advice or visit Melbourne, look her up!”
Stephen Clement – Project General Manager. QIC New Eastland Development
“Jo-Anne I want to thank you for your mentoring to the Eastland team. You were a key ingredient in the success of the project.”
Adele Winteridge- Foolscap Studio
“I have worked with Jo Anne Hook for the last 4 years and since then my business has gained in efficiency, profitability and overall flow. We have a great staff retention rate and Jo has been able to help me build systems, processes and policy to enable the business to grow. I work with Jo on the smallest problems to the biggest problems and there is always sound advice and brilliant solutions. Jo has an intuitive and Zen-like understanding. My meetings with Jo are some of the best times in my week!”
Ben Tollady – Head of UX, Origin
“I’ve been working with Jo for a number of years now, regularly catching up to talk through challenges I might be facing both professionally and in my personal life. Without question, I leave every meeting feeling significantly better than I did when I arrived, fuelled with renewed clarity and a positive, can-do energy. Jo is a delightful person, and very easy to talk to, but she’s a tough cookie too (in an entirely good way)! These aren’t social chit-chats; they’re focussed, personal development mentoring sessions, with planned outcomes and homework, which Jo does a wonderful job of holding me accountable to. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Jo. You’ll be better off with her influence in your life. Trust me.”
Jacinta Lippold - JAC&
“Jo came highly recommended to me when I was searching a business coach. I’m not quite sure what I expected from a business coach, but I know I got a lot more than I bargained for when I found Jo. My business has improved in so many ways since working with Jo, my communication and processes are refined and I have noticed a significant financial benefit because of this. What I didn’t bargain for was the effect Jo would have on my life personally. Through my relationship with Jo, I have developed invaluable clarity and confidence. Our work together helps me maintain a genuine work-life balance and reminds me to trust my instincts. I walk away from every catch-up feeling calm and purposeful, both professionally and personally.”
Lieu Pham – Content Strategist, Writer
“I am a big fan of Jo Hook and will readily sing her praises to anyone who will listen. I have had the pleasure of knowing her since mid 2013; first as a client, then as a friend and collaborator. As an individual, Jo is highly adept in the life-long pursuit of information gathering and problem solving (as per the Buckminster Fuller playbook). I can’t recommend her enough to anyone who needs a problem identified, articulated and resolved. Whatever challenge or question you’re facing, time with Jo will give you clarity and inspiration. She has an integrated approach to helping people — whether this is work, play or something more personal. Jo is a synthesiser of wisdom and is incredibly generous with sharing her insights and time with others. She does this by drawing wisdom from her own life experiences and her passion for brain studies, mindfulness and health. Jo is one of those rare individuals who doesn’t just talk about ideals and values…she lives them. And she’ll encourage you to do the same.”
Aleksandra Nedeljkovic – CEO, The Social Studio
“Jo-Anne was recommended to me when I was seeking a fresh perspective and better tactics for approaching a difficult, on-going work relationship. She went beyond helping me uncover new ideas, to giving me practical and creative tools to intuitively and logically tackle problems. I’ve been able to transfer and carry this new perspective, insights, and the techniques she instilled in me across diverse situations since. Buckminster Fuller said – ‘A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist.’ Jo-Anne is a life designer. And like all brilliant designers, she harnesses her amassed wealth of experience, her intuitive understanding of people, and an in-built logic to teach you how to creatively think about and re-design your life.”
Karina Piper, Architect
“Jo was direct and honest with me and was able to cut straight through to the important stuff, very early on in our session. It made the biggest difference to be able to talk through the challenges of balancing a career with motherhood – I now feel so much freer and confident within both areas of my life!”
Josh Gardiner – Head of Communications, Vice Australia and New Zealand
“In the many years before I met Jo for the first official one-on-one session, she was present in my life. So many close friends and peers – across many industries- regularly spoke of Jo in the highest terms as a mentor and friend (who is this Jo person?). And more personally, I know how supportive she’s been to my partner over the years, easily straddling being professional and a friend. Thank You. It’s clear, and she’ll hate me for saying this, that she is a life changer. If empathetic listening married with strategic insight is the currency, Jo is very rich. Whether your questions are large or small, I highly recommend talking to Jo about them.”
Ben Keenan, The Thought Police
“Jo has a unique ability to detect your values just through casual conversation and then show you what those values look like when dropped over your decision making. My collaborations with Jo are an endless source of clarity, confidence and wisdom.”
Bruce Easton -Director, Co-Founder Ecovantage
“I was fortunate to find Jo not long after founding Ecovantage. Jo’s ability to make sense of my thoughts and aspirations and distil these into action has been a vital element in the company’s success. I have had Jo work with staff individually and in groups and I would recommend Jo and her approach to anyone wanting clarity and achievement.”
Jeremy Wortsman - Director, The Jacky Winter Group
“In the past decade of running Jacky Winter, it’s easy to get lost making the daily transition of working both ‘in’ and ‘on’ the business. For nearly as many years, we have been working closely with Jo-Anne, where she has been an indispensable guide, helping our team to navigate and overcome obstacles on our way to growth and sustainable success. Personally, Jo-Anne has been a trusted advisor and counsellor – providing perspective and wisdom at times of change which have truly allowed me to grow as a leader. Utilising a keen sense of humour and empathy combined with extensive industry experience, I am more than confident in Jo-Anne’s ability to deliver exceptional results to any creative team or individual and would recommend her wholeheartedly”
Kristy Barber – Owner Designer, Kuwaii (clothing) – 2 retail stores
“I touch base with Jo every few months and she is a great cornerstone for me. In the demanding world of fashion, our meetings provide a moment for me to pause, and reflect on myself and my business. From helping me with any issues that come up in the day to day running of the label, to my life work balance, to simply managing a growing business, Jo’s assistance is invaluable. Jo gives me a support network, and an informed, intelligent way of clarifying my ideas and direction. I walk away from our meetings feeling clear, calm and with my directional compass point re-set. I have found some of Jo’s suggestions truly life changing. I am quick to recommend anyone to Jo, especially people looking for more direction in their life or career, or, people wishing to find a true work-life balance in a demanding creative business”
Crystal Fong – Apostrophe – copywriting agency
“Jo is an amazingly spirited woman with a holistic approach to mentoring. She doesn’t see personal and business life as mutually exclusive. Instead, she sees how the stories from both worlds cross over and intertwine. One always influences the other. The parallels aren’t always obvious to me at first, but after a session with Jo I often wonder how I didn’t see them sooner. Jo is a wonderful, smart and intuitive professional who feels like more of a friend than anything else. She’s an inspiration.”