A coffee with Joe Sclafani, Jayva’s Technical Project Manager

With various ‘coffee with’ articles already in the bag, this time our questions are directed at Joe Sclafani, over a nice cup of tea, so it turns out.

If you haven’t ‘met’ Joe yet, he’s Technical Project Manager in our American team, supporting clients migrating to LEAP Legal Software with their technology upgrade projects, drawing upon the knowledge gained during his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, and using the extensive skills developed while progressing his career since he joined the Jayva family in 2021.

Aside from his technical and operational expertise, Joe’s a downright nice guy who’s down to earth, hard working and a huge music geek, as you’ll discover.

Without further ado, grab your hot (or cold) drink of choice and read about Joe…

What’s your business/professional motto?

I guess my motto in the workplace would be to do everything and learn everything you can. I believe learning makes you the most valuable team member it’s possible to be – and this ultimately delivers the best service to clients.

How do you make contacts which are useful for business?

As a priority, I take time and spend effort building professional relationships with LEAP-related individuals. Jayva is LEAP’s certified consultancy partner in the USA, as well as other jurisdictions, so it’s important to strengthen the entire LEAP network. I attend LEAP partner events and similar networking forums to get to know everyone involved in the installation and training of LEAP Legal Software. By doing so, I’m able to do my job that much better.

Although on-site client meetings take place less these days, it’s just as vital to build relationships with end users remotely. That’s another of my areas of focus when involved in joint Jayva-LEAP technology projects.

Finally, I use LinkedIn to grow my contact database. I don’t use the social media platform in a structured way though. It’s more ad hoc and sporadic. With a longer list of connections on LinkedIn, I can help spread Jayva’s news, and share tips and tricks on managing law firms optimally.

Which individual has inspired you the most in your business life and in what way?

My father has always been a source of inspiration. Interestingly, he’s a lawyer. It’s strange we’ve ended up in the same sector, albeit wearing very different hats. He’s a very outgoing person and an absolute perfectionist with so much drive behind him. When I need to push myself professionally, or even personally, he’s at the forefront of my mind. I compare myself to him lots which is mostly helpful, but occasionally I take a small step backwards and remind myself we’re different people with different goals and different careers. He’s a hard act to follow, so to speak.

What’s your proudest achievement in business?

Having started work at Jayva in March 2021, this is my first professional job outside of college. Despite the short timeframe thus far, my personal growth has been phenomenal. My roles and responsibilities have expanded beyond recognition. Beginning on LEAP installations and configurations only, I’m now doing pretty-much everything under the sun including training and transition.

Where training is concerned, this was a hurdle for a while as it was something totally new to me. I had to shadow my colleagues and practise in my spare time while familiarizing myself with LEAP’s software. It’s been a rapid learning curve and I’m still improving.

Although my father is a lawyer, I wasn’t familiar with the practices and procedures of law. Mastering this is my proudest achievement to date, but there’s room for ongoing development.

What do you think makes Jayva different?

I’ve had plenty of jobs, having worked in retail before and during my college years, including grocery and pet stores, but this is my first graduate position. Because of this, it’s difficult for me to compare Jayva with other employers. What I can say is I’ve gravitated towards small businesses. That’s the vibe you get from Jayva. It’s a friendly, family oriented and supportive company. Everyone here’s got each other’s back. This begins with our CEO Nicola Moore-Miller who’s a fantastic role model, not just due to her impressive knowledge and skillsets, but also for her ability to create a nurturing workplace that gets employees excited to wake up for each morning.

What’s Jayva’s greatest asset?

What makes Jayva great is its people. Every individual contributes towards the overall team’s greatness. Stemming right from the top with Nicola Moore-Miller, filtering straight down through every tier of management, you’ll find the strongest sense of teamwork. Nicola’s made a deliberate decision to hire people whose personalities fit together harmoniously. This is reflected in the united front which Jayva presents.

How does Jayva benefit from the unique skillset you bring to the business?

One skill which directly benefits Jayva is programming which was taught in my degree. I was familiar with technology from a very young age though, as I was constantly on my computer. Being employed in the technology industry, these technical abilities and general computer knowledge are proving extremely useful.

Added to this, I’ve got resilience and capabilities to deal with awkward people, coming from my string of jobs handling the public. Being resilient while remaining professional in order to get the job done is what I excel at.

Give one tip for a successful business.

This is a tough question, but I think if you look after your people, they’ll look after you. On a personal level, to aid your career, as mentioned previously, make it your mission to learn everything and do everything you can. Say yes to 99% of things you’re asked to do. Just give it all a go, as you never know where it’ll take you.

Do you dress up or down for business?

I tend to only visit clients on site once or twice a year. Primarily, I connect with clients remotely. As such, I wear business casual clothes at my home office, and switch to professional clothes, for example a button-down shirt, Jayva polo t-shirt, dress pants and dress shoes, for occasional face-to-face meetings.

If you hadn’t gone down your chosen career path, what would you be doing instead?

Although inspired by my father, I never actually considered being a lawyer. I saw the long hours he worked when I was young and stuck in his office waiting for the working day to come to an end. There’s a possibility I’d still be working in retail if I hadn’t applied myself academically in school and college. Now, I simply can’t imagine doing anything else. I love the sector, I love Jayva, I love the team, I love my day job. It’s ironic I’m in the same realm as my father, just in a different guise.

What item(s) do you always have with you?

To keep hydrated, I have a glass of water on my desk. A pen’s my second essential item as I’m forever writing or fiddling with it.

At what time of day are you most creative or inspired?

I’m more of a night owl for sure, but I’m fairly consistent energy-wise throughout the day. It takes me a few minutes to warm up in the morning, then I’m good to go all day long.

When do you take your coffee break – morning, afternoon, evening? And where do you take it?

I try to take a couple of small, five-minute breaks each day, once in the morning and once early afternoon. This gives me a chance to refuel by drinking water or tea, and eating a banana or healthy snack to keep going.

Espresso, americano, latte, cappuccino, macchiato, flat white, frappe – what’s your coffee of choice?

I rarely drink coffee. I’m more of a tea drinker. As Jayva first launched in the UK, perhaps I’m embracing my British side by drinking tea?

Who would you most like to have a coffee with?

I’m a massive music fan and follow lots of musicians. If I could have a coffee, or rather tea, with anyone, it would be James Hetfield from Metallica. Not only is he one of the world’s finest songwriters, his lead vocalist and guitar skills are enviable, especially by someone like myself who’s a self-taught guitar player. Plus, Metallica was the first true metal band I gravitated towards and presented my gateway into the heavy metal world.

How do you relax outside of work?

Music is my main pastime, particularly the heavy metal scene. I relax by playing the electric guitar on the side too; something I’ve been doing for over ten years. Video games and movies also keep me busy outside of work.

What’s the most inspirational book you’ve ever read?

I don’t read many books. I read articles on my interests or on the industry. Back in the day, I read a book by Tony Hawk, the skateboarder turned entrepreneur, about how he perfected his craft and pushed himself ever onwards towards sporting success. He inspired me enough to try my hand at skateboarding. Sadly, this didn’t work out, so I turned to the Tony Hawk video game instead.

What’s your favorite film?

Mostly, I watch TV shows such as Breaking Bad. However, I do watch films as well, with original films being my preference. The Jurassic Park films are a case in point. The originals are far better than any of the later remakes. They’re terrifying, in spite of special effects being less sophisticated, and still hold up in today’s modern world. The original Back to the Future and Matrix films are classics too, in my opinion.

Further reading

If ‘A coffee with Joe Sclafani’ has whetted your appetite for more ‘coffee with’ blogs about other amazing members of the Jayva team, check out our existing Q&As with Rosa Pelaez-Vinuela, Viona Retkowska and Chris Nelson.