Meet Jared Haworth

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jared Haworth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jared, thanks for sitting with us today to chat about topics that are relevant to so many. One of those topics is communication skills, because we live in an age where our ability to communicate effectively can be like a superpower. Can you share how you developed your ability to communicate well?

I’ve always been a fairly introverted person, which probably comes as a shock to anyone who’s seen me do my P.T. Barnum routine during a tour or demonstration. My background is very technical, so I’d gone to school initially to learn how to be a video engineer and computer animator, and felt very out of sorts when the college required me to take four semesters of communications classes, including public speaking, oral interpretation, and voice and articulation. At the time, I couldn’t see the sense of those classes in pursuing a primarily solo, technical path, but they turned out to be the most valuable skills I’d developed in my time in school, and I still put them to use every day.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I left a 20 year career in technology (software development and leadership) to launch Lightship Neon, Raleigh, NC’s only neon design studio. Instead of building social media sites or healthcare software, I’m now spending my days creating custom neon signs, repairing & restoring older signs, and teaching workshops and events which allow folks to get hands-on experience in bending glass tubes with fire to create their own signs.

Neon is an incredible, hand-made form of art and advertising, every neon sign you’ve ever seen has been made by hand by an artisan, with every bend, turn and splice being done step by step in a 1,000ºF flame. There’s no machine that can create neon signs, and there’s no exact science to the bending, it’s up to each glass bender to determine how much heat to apply, how long to heat the glass, and when to bend it. Once the glass is hot, there’s only about 5-10 seconds in which it can be manipulated into its final shape.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Passion is key – if you’re not excited about what you’re doing, how can you expect others to get excited about it? And passion allows us to step out of our comfort zone as well, I’d mentioned being introverted, but there’s no room for being an introvert when you’re trying to build a new business.

Networking is another one, people are inherently social, connected creatures. You never know where that next lead is going to come from, and it’s been essential for me to insert myself into peoples’ consciousness as “the neon guy.” Someone I meet out and about may not be a customer, but they might know someone who is building a home bar or decorating an office, and then my business comes up in that conversation.

Thirdly, curiosity, or a lifelong interest in learning & growing your knowledge. Become a subject matter expert in your passion, it means nothing to be able to speak about it if you’re not also an authority figure. Read everything you can get your hands on, learn from those who’ve been doing this longer than you have, and just become a sponge to take in all that information.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

One of my last roles in technology was leading a team of managers, and I bought for each of them a copy of Gene Kranz’s book “Tough and Competent,” which is an incredible study in leadership. Kranz served as a NASA Flight Director during the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo eras, and continued to work in Mission Operations into the Space Shuttle Era. The book doesn’t just touch on his own leadership at NASA during the Apollo 1 disaster, and the Apollo 13 rescue, but also illustrates other examples of human-focused leadership that he’d encountered throughout his career, and how they’d shaped him into the sort of leader that could thrive in an innovation culture.

The title of the book itself comes from a speech Kranz made to his flight controllers at NASA, “Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do… Competent means we will never take anything for granted. We will never be found short in our knowledge and in our skills.” Those pieces of wisdom have stayed with me from my work in technology through to owning a business in the creative space, they can be as true for a 100+ person team directing human spaceflight, all the way to a 2 to 3 person company just serving a local community.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lightshipneon.com
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/lightshipneon
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lightship-neon/
• Other: Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/lightshipneon.bsky.social

Image Credits

All photos by Jared Haworth, Lightship Neon