Army of Entrepreneurs

About the Author

Jennifer Prosek is the founder and CEO of CJP Communications, an award-winning international public relations and financial communications consultancy with offices in New York, Connecticut, and London. CJP has been named an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company and has been recognized as one of the "Top Places to Work in PR" by PR News. Prosek has experienced firsthand the power of instilling an "owner's mindset" in every employee, transforming a small PR business into a highly successful, international communications firm. Her book, Army of Entrepreneurs, is a testament to her innovative approach to business management.

Main Idea

The main idea of Army of Entrepreneurs is to create an internal force of committed employees who develop an "owner's mindset" and become powerful drivers of growth within the organization. Prosek presents an action plan that any company, large or small, can use to build a workforce dedicated to generating new business, creating breakthrough products and services, and sustaining growth. The book emphasizes the importance of motivating, training, and rewarding employees to foster entrepreneurial thinking and align their goals with the company's success.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Part I: Taking a New Approach to Building Your Business
• Part II: Developing an Action Plan
• Part III: Putting It All Together

Introduction

In the introduction, Prosek defines an Army of Entrepreneurs (AOE) as a structure and mindset that enables a business to grow beyond its founder, owner, or CEO. Each employee develops an "owner's mindset," becoming a powerful force for growth within the organization. This section sets the stage for the detailed action plan that follows.

Part I: Taking a New Approach to Building Your Business

Prosek begins by introducing the concept of Commission for Life. This incentive program rewards employees who set up successful new business meetings with 5% of the revenue from the account for the life of the business as long as they remain with the company. This simple incentive aligns employees' financial and professional goals with the company's growth and success. She states:

"What I've just described to you is a system I call Commission for Life™, and it became the first building block of my new management model — the cornerstone of an AOE." — Jennifer Prosek

The effectiveness of this program lies in its ability to encourage entrepreneurial behavior and align individual goals with company objectives.

Creating a Core Culture

Prosek outlines four key elements essential for creating a strong corporate culture:

1. Authenticity: Demonstrate genuine commitment to building an AOE culture. Leaders must live by the rules they set and adopt transparency and honesty in all aspects of the business.
2. Commitment to People: Focus on the treatment, care, and training of employees. This includes celebrating successes, offering professional development, encouraging autonomy, and providing challenging opportunities.
3. Commitment to the Business: Align individual success with company success through financial rewards and maintaining high ethical standards.
4. Continuous Effort: Ongoing evaluation and improvement of communication, training, and challenge levels are necessary to maintain a strong culture.

Prosek emphasizes that a company's success depends on fostering innovation, retaining top employees, and maintaining a strong connection with customers. She uses General Motors (GM) as an example of a company that failed to innovate and keep in touch with customer preferences, leading to its decline.

Part II: Developing an Action Plan

Prosek shares her experience at CJP, where she realized the importance of training employees to understand their roles and the path to success. She developed a training framework called "Grinder, Minder, Binder, Finder" to categorize the skills and attributes necessary for a successful employee:

• Grinder: Efficiently juggles tasks and completes jobs effectively and profitably.
• Minder: Manages people and projects with excellent communication and organizational skills.
• Binder: Strengthens client relationships and ensures ongoing trust and communication.
• Finder: Identifies and creates new business opportunities, expanding the company's reach.

Training the Troops

Prosek emphasizes the need for structured training programs to create an AOE. She proposes four boot camp workshops:

1. Teaching the Business: Establish a common understanding of business basics among employees.
2. Hunting for New Business: Train employees to identify and pursue new business opportunities.
3. Advanced Hunting: Develop strategic lead generation techniques for targeted business growth.
4. Intrapreneuring: Focus on nurturing existing business and ensuring client retention and customer service.

These workshops should be short, intense, and frequent to keep employees constantly thinking about business opportunities.

Recruiting and Retaining Talent

Prosek highlights the importance of a continuous pipeline of potential candidates and suggests strategies for effective recruitment: