We have a really interesting guest on our show today. Jenny Thompson is the CEO and Founder of SafetyPIN Technologies, as well as the author of The 3-Day Business Cleanse: How to Get the Sh*t Out of Your Business and Get Things Moving Again. In today's episode, Jenny shares her business background. She talks about being promoted to manager and the mistakes she made as a young new manager. She realized she needed to improve her leadership skills and in the process became a better leader and a better business person.

We have a no-holds barred conversation about what it takes to run a business and manage people. Jenny shares when cuts need to be made with products and people. She even shares a straight forward firing script. We also talk about the four quadrants that are included in the 3-Day Business Cleanse. This a fun and lively conversation. Jenny even has a hilarious story about how she was inspired to create a new start-up called SafetyPIN.

Show Notes:

• [04:27] Jenny decided to dictate her book, because it was the same process that she is given in presentations. She shared the presentation with her dogs, and they were riveted.
• [06:10] The process of dictating it made it a better book.
• [07:58] Jenny worked for a health publisher, and there was a sink or swim mentality. She went from 1 employee to 45 employees. She shares (in her book) how this was a learning experience. She realized that she was a horrible boss and lost sight of the hierarchy when being promoted.
• [13:43] Jenny knew it was time to brush up on her leadership skills and read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
• [14:17] As a boss, you're going to have to be willing to be the most hated person in the building. Jenny took responsibility for her previous actions and started working on her leadership skills.
• [16:55] She started bringing people who she clicked with into the company.
• [18:23] She decided to do an audit of all of the products that her business was promoting. If a product didn't contribute $50,000 net, they got rid of it.
• [19:49] Eliminating distractions is such an important part of focus and resources.
• [21:41] The Three Day Cleanse is about unpacking. How you define what you do is important because it defines your KPIs. The first day they define what the business does, and they look at the products, then they redefine the SWOT analysis.
• [24:29] Marketing is like sex. What you do is fine, but what everyone else does is either extreme or prudish.
• [25:16] What are you better at than anybody? Every company has something that the employees are embarrassed by. Customers should be able to take time with the product. Stop doing the thing employees are embarrassed by.
• [30:28] Sales goals can limit success. Goals define failure. Jenny looks at dreams as opposed to goals. They break down dreams that are real and attainable.
• [34:37] Distractions need to be identified and gotten rid of.
• [36:37] Starting at no and letting people defend products is a much better starting point.
• [38:01] Day two is where they create the product grid and assess everything. Resources aren't only money. In fact, money is the least important resource.
• [38:41] A low opportunity and a high resource product gets a skull and crossbones and that project is killed.
• [41:02] Significant opportunity without significant resources is the thing that we focus on.
• [42:32] When doing a 3-day cleanse, hire a facilitator that's not afraid of the CEO.
• [44:19] On day 3, they do a creative brainstorming to position the five most important things that they are going to work on.
• [45:29] Have someone you know and trust facilitate for a small business.
• [46:52] It's important to be able to fire people who aren't performing. This can be an issue especially for small businesses.
• [47:52] Reticence to fire people is a weakness in leadership. If you would be relieved that the person is resigning, then firing them is probably a good idea. Give someone you want to stay a raise.
• [49:14] Jenny shares her firing script.
• [54:24] Jenny has her own startup called SafetyPIN which is a universal trust badge representing online screening.

Links and Resources:

• jENERATE Marketing
• jENERATE Marketing on Facebook
• @jeneratemktg on Twitter
• The 3-Day Business Cleanse: How to Get the Sh*t Out of Your Business and Get Things Moving Again
• The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You
• SafetyPIN

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