Today for our 41st episode, we will talk with Jeff Allen, president at Hanapin Marketing, who you may also know as PPC Heroes.

Jeff and I have struck up a friendship over the years based on mutual respect and admiration, so I was really excited to hear that he was an avid podcast listener. After his Twitter comment on our David Baker episode, I invited Jeff onto the podcast. The rest, you could say, is history.

Of course, I was most excited to talk with Jeff Allen because of his fascinating career journey. He knows what it is like to work his way up to the top of an organization… and then start his career path over again… and then make it back on top for a second time.

It’s particularly interesting to hear his perspective, because you can see how much he learned in between these career stints, and how it has affected his work at Hanapin.

Very rarely do you get to someone who has had a chance to A/B split test careers, so I look at this as a real-life case study. You’ll appreciate Jeff’s insights on the value of focus, building a culture, and how to approach major career risks.

I can’t say enough about how interesting it was talking to Jeff. I even got to ask one of my favorite questions of all time, when I asked Jeff to describe the setting and surroundings when he was asked to be agency president. It’s not a story you hear every day.

Did you ever want to know what it was like to be asked to be the president of an agency? Then make sure to listen along to Jeff’s action packed insights.

Quotable moments from our talk with Jeff Allen

On beginnings and maturity:

On staying ahead of the game:

On hiring:

Links related to this week’s episode

* Probably the best PPC blog out there

* How to become a PPC Hero?

* Path of Least Resistance

* Critique of The Fifth Discipline – another one of Jeff’s favorite books

* Jeff Allen on LinkedIn

* @JeffAllenUT on Twitter

Did you like this episode? Listen to past episodes on SoundCloud!