Today, we're joined by Jeanne Cummings, a turnaround CEO with a specialty in guiding founder-led companies towards manifesting their visions. She delves into her unique approach, an 'inside out engagement,' which begins with grasping the founder's vision and extends through conversations with employees and customers. This process offers invaluable insights into the company's viability, free from the biases of entrenched leadership.

For Jeanne, transparency, purpose, and leveraging the right human resources are paramount in fostering a robust business model. Our dialogue shed light on a fascinating concept: the notion of "focus on your core." While I once interpreted this as a rigid adherence to past successes, Jeanne reframes it as staying closely aligned with customer needs. This distinction is crucial; clinging to a static "success formula" - relying on what made your company successful - can spell disaster in a dynamic market landscape.

Thinking points:

1. How are you preparing to grow your business?
2. Are you 'stuck' personally and professionally?
3. Do you have the right perspective in understanding the true state of your company? 
4. How are you doing for your customer? 
5. Why do your customers continue to work with you?