S1E14: Pass or Play: Using EOS® to Discern the Right Opportunities | Jeff Hennen and John Green

In 2012, Jeff Hennen and his wife, Carolyn, purchased The Rag Company, which had been started in 1999. Both had MBAs and wanted to see if they “had what it takes.”  

When a video review of the towels they manufacture went viral, their business took off overnight. At that point, they had only a couple of employees, so they were scrambling to find help. That’s when John Green came on board. 

Jeff,  co-owner and Visionary, and John, COO and Integrator™, share how embracing the EOS framework helped them navigate exponential growth and build an effective team. 

Key Takeaways:

• You can’t take on every opportunity that presents itself; it needs to be the right fit for the direction you are trying to go. 
• As the company grows, you need more organization.
• Making sure the Visionary and Integrator do the work to become aligned will help the team see the vision.

Some Questions Asked:

• How did the Hennens find out about the opportunity to purchase The Rag Company?
• Why did Jeff and Carolyn hope the original owner would turn down their purchase offer?
• Has The Rag Company had any videos go viral like the first one did?
• Can you work as a part-time Visionary?

Managing Opportunities With an Effective V/I Duo™

When a video review of the Rag Company’s microfiber towels went viral, Jeff and Carolyn’s business took off overnight. This experience helped them realize that social media was going to be a significant tool in growing their business and that automotive detailing was going to be their niche. 

During this time of exponential growth, John Green came on board. John and Jeff began to work closely together, handling the growth and day-to-day challenges of The Rag Company.  

They began their EOS journey when Jeff’s wife, Carolyn, started reading Traction and told John, “This is us. You need to read this.” Once they were all on board, they began working with their Professional EOS Implementer® to define their roles.

“We needed some sort of mechanism to help us slow down a little bit, focus on what’s in front of us, and understand which opportunities we should take and which ones we may need to pass on.” – John [14:49] 

Jeff is a natural Visionary who tends to want to seize every opportunity. In John’s role as the Integrator, he has learned to put on his “referee shirt” and not only help Jeff determine which opportunities they should pursue but also communicate that information to the rest of the team.  

“You can’t do it all instantly. You have to pace it and use the resources you have.” – Jeff [17:09]

Jeff and John describe how their leadership team has become more effective at tackling the “meaty” issues. They link much of this success to the progress the two of them have made in their Same Page Meetings™. Now they are able to get to a resolution quickly.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how EOS can help you learn when to seize an opportunity and when to give it a pass, you won’t want to miss this episode of Rocket Fuel™.

Learn More:

Jeff Hennen | [email protected]

John Green | [email protected]

The Rag Company