Army of Entrepreneurs
Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth
By: Jennifer Prosek
Pyblished: February 2, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 224 pages
ISBN-10: 081441673X
ISBN-13: 978-0814416730
Publisher: AMACOM
"I had been working on a new way to configure my business, one that tapped the tremendous talent of the seventy-plus people in my company and inspired them to rise up and face the challenges of the day whether or not I was in the office to see it. I had amassed, trained, and deployed an Army of Entrepreneurs™ (AOE)", writes founder and CEO of CJP Communications (CJP), a leading international public relations and financial communications consultancy,Jennifer Prosek, in here visionary and insightful book Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth. The author describes how she transformed her employees into an AOE, an internal force of highly committed employees, trough a rethinking of both the company's structure, mindset, and culture to ensure continued sustainable growth and success.
Jennifer Prosek offers the business changing perspective, that if every employee is empowered to use all of his or her resources to help the company succeed, they will develop what she calls an "owner's mindset". As a result of this complete sea change in individual thinking and personal identification, from that of employee to that of an entrepreneur, a powerful force for growth is unleashed within the organization. The author calls this this powerful and unstoppable force an Army of Entrepreneurs™, or an AOE for short. Jennifer Prosek shares the ideas, tools, and techniques for revitalizing any company from the ordinary to the extraordinary through the creation of an AOE, unique to that organization.
Jennifer Prosek (photo left) understands that her revolutionary concept requires a complete change in the corporate culture of the business. She describes a recreation of the culture to emphasize authenticity, commitment to people, commitment to the business itself, and continuous effort to build the organization. She recommends building an incentive program that dovetails the personal goals and aspirations of the individual with the continued growth and success of the company. At the same time, she points to the need for a company boot camp to educate the employees in how the company operates, and why they their role in the organization is important.
The author points to changing the recruiting and hiring process to discover potential entrepreneurial talent, as well as becoming more creative with developing openings to add valuable people when they become available. As with any new initiative, Jennifer Prosek stresses the importance of enhancing internal communications, including more intensive use of technology, to help employees reach their fullest entrepreneurial potential. The author also suggests important ways to maintain the momentum through a blend of rewards, both tangible and personal, and through building a fun and engaging work environment.
For me, the power of the book, is how Jennifer Prosek combines both theory and practical advice into an overall organizational approach to tapping into the latent entrepreneurial drive among employees. This holistic concept engages the employee at the level of generating a sense of ownership of the company. As a result, Jennifer Prosek goes far beyond most books on employee engagement. Instead of motivating employees as staff, the author recommends enlisting them into the Army of Entrepreneurs™. The entire AOE idea transcends the usual employment contract and enters into the realm of shared responsibility from the ownership point of view. The process for the transition from an employee based firm to AOE style organization is well described, and the steps are clear and logical to follow.
Jennifer Prosek has broken into entirely new management territory regarding the role of employees within an organization. The process for the changeover is not expensive in either money or time, but the rewards are potentially unlimited. The incentive for employees to perform optimally is ensured by the array of rewards, and by the sense of taking ownership of the job, the customer base, and the of the company itself. For many owners and managers, the choice is usually to raise more capital through sale of part of the company. Instead of that option, Jennifer Prosek provides a much more creative, effective, and sustainable strategy for achieving more business growth. The AOE system works well, as made very clear by the author, for any size of company, regardless of industry or market.
I highly recommend the groundbreaking and organizational changing book Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth by Jennifer Prosek, to anyone serious about revitalizing their company through empowering their employees. Through the AOE process, employees become the driving force for growth and change within a dynamic and customer aware organization.
Read the brilliant and empowering guide book Army of Entrepreneurs: Create an Engaged and Empowered Workforce for Exceptional Business Growth by Jennifer Prosek, and change the way that you think about employees. Instead of considering them as only staff, transform them into entrepreneurs who will build the company through growth and innovation. Let an Army of Entrepreneurs™ turn your business into a winning organization.
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