Heather Rogers: So, they held about a million dollarsā€™ worth of our inventory hostage. They refused to honor payment terms, and then they also threatened to violate our intellectual property and launch a competitive product on the market and compete against us.
Drew Dinkelacker: Welcome to Bullseyes & Blind Spots, a series of The Marketing Accelerator Podcast where chief executives share their pivotal decisions that define their leadership and the blind spots that reshape their perspective. I'm your host, Drew Dinkelacker, president of MarketingAccelerator.com, and today's guest is Heather Rogers. She's co-president of Time Timer. That's a device that provides a clear visual representation of the remaining time on a countdown. It's widely used by teachers and parents and professionals who rely on a quick visual cue to manage time, and it's available in over 60 countries. Heather, welcome to Bullseyes & Blind Spots series of the Marketing Accelerator podcast.
Heather: Thank you, Drew. I'm really happy to be here.
Drew: Well, we're glad to have you. So, let's dive right in. Can you tell us about a time where you've had to make a decision and history has shown you knocked it out of the park; you hit the bullseye? Tell us about that.
Heather: So, we found ourselves in a situation back in 2019 where we had made a decision to leave a key supplier that we were working with and move to a new supplier. So, this was a very strategic decision. So, we were ready to... We were laying all the groundwork, getting everything ready to go, and we're ready to let the old supplier know because we didn't want them to have too much advance notice. And this is all kind of happening around early March 2020. So, we let the supplier know that we wanted to end our relationship. It was a handshake deal. We didn't have a contract in place. We didn't have to notify them with six monthsā€™ notice or anything like that. And they reacted very badly. Terribly, in fact. So, we had a really integrated relationship. So, they held about a million dollarsā€™ worth of our inventory hostage. They refused to honor payment terms and required that if we were going to take our inventory, we would have to pay them up front for it instead of having the terms that we had already established. And then they also threatened to knock us off if we left.
Drew: Knock us off? What does that mean?
Heather: To violate our intellectual property and launch a competitive product on the market and compete against us. Yeah. And my business partner, who happens to be my husband, this was a terrifying time because the pandemic is happening, we are trying to figure out how to get a million dollars in short notice. And my husband is really, he's fairly risk-averse, so he was like, "Let's consider staying with them." And I was vehemently opposed to that. I felt like they had shown their true colors, and this was not the type of company that we wanted to do business with. And so, a really awful time ensued where we were negotiating with an attorney in the morning and then negotiating with the supplier in the afternoon and then revisiting with the attorney in the evening. And we ultimately figured out a process. We raised the money, paid off our inventory, shipped it to the new warehouse, and the pandemic is playing out around us and everybody's sales are down and are you going to survive? Is your business going to survive? We've had this massive outlay right when we're trying to survive a massive downturn. And it was the right choice. I am convinced that if we had stayed with the original supplier that we would have gone out of business. I think they would have taken our cash and sacrificed us to save themselves because that's what they showed me. Every once in a while, I hear through the grapevine that they're in financial distress. And so that reinforces that we made the right decision to leave. And it was, I was of a mind like, even if it's the wrong decision, I'd rather go down fighting than just roll over. So that was it.
Drew: Those are tough leadership decisions. And you have to live with the ripple effects of those decisions. So how do you feel as a leader that you've made that kind of tough decision? How does that impact you moving ahead?
Heather: It's really... I have a lot of confidence that I can do hard things. That is probably one of the hardest professional and personal times that I've ever navigated. And we came out, like, we're still here. It's 2024 right now, so we're well past 2020 and we've grown, the company's grown since then. So, it's... I can do hard things. And that carries over to my personal life too. Whenever I face a challenge there, I have this foundation of I can do it.
Drew: Isn't it amazing how we sometimes have to convince ourselves that we can do hard things? Even people who have had a list of accomplishments still sometime have that still small voice saying, "Nah, baby, nah, you can't do this." And instead, you've silenced it.
Heather: Well, I have to tell you, when I would negotiate with this supplier during the day, in the middle of the day, it was on the phone. It was kind of before Zoom really got big. I would literally take three minutes and do, like, stand up and do a power pose before I got on the phone so that I could get all the confidence I could possibly get channeling through me.
Drew: Nice, nice. Very good. That's great. What a great story, Heather, about real authentic experience I think a lot of CEOs could relate to in leading a business. So now what I want to do is shift gears to blind spots. Every leader has blind spots. You can't avoid them. The trick is discovering them. So, can you share a time when a blind spot in your leadership came to life? What did it cost you? Tell me about that.
Heather: We had an opening in our marketing department and we really wanted to get it filled ASAP. And it was an entry-level position, not a leadership position, but we just needed some arms and legs and brains to get some stuff done. And we were having a hard time finding candidates to come in. And so, we're getting some candidates coming through, and there is this one person, I just, I liked her. I really liked her as a person and I wanted her to be successful. And we even had done her Predictive Index, and she was an outlier from the rest of the marketing team. But we're like, "Oh, that's okay. She's got these great skills that we can really leverage." I had so many signs that she was not the right person to hire. And I was like, "Go ahead and hire. Let's get someone in. I think she can do it." And I just ignored all the signs.
Drew: Why do you think you did that? Why? You're a sharp, confident woman who can do hard things. Why do you think you ignored the signs?
Heather: Wanted her to be successful. I had blinders on. Like, I had blinders on. And really looking back, I'm like, what was I thinking? Because it was not good for her to have, like, a short-term employment and then we had to let her go when I finally was like, "This cannot continue because she's so clearly not the right fit."
Drew: So, what do you think the cost of that decision was?
Heather: It was time. She wasn't effective in her role. So, I would have rather spent another month or two finding someone who would be great than have her for the three months that we did before we decided to part ways. Money, bringing her on board, not only effort to train her, we flew her to some conferences, she was in the expo booth. After, this is another thing, after we had terminated her employment because she was the wrong fit, I got feedback from a colleague that she did not embody some of our company values. So that was kind of two conversations, like, "Well, what happened?" and then, "Why didn't you tell me right when it happened?" So, this is...
Drew: The ripple effect of blind spot can roll on for a while. And that's the challenge. That's the challenge. So, thank you for sharing that one. Before we get to our final question, I have a quick message for our audience. If today's conversation has you thinking about your own bullseyes and blind spots, well, I've created a companion resource designed for chief executives. It's called, naturally, The Bullseyes and Blind Spot Accelerated Guide. It's a fast 10-minute read that helps you cut through the marketing fog, confront your blind spots, and gain the clarity you need to lead with confidence. Download that guide and start your analysis at BullseyesAndBlindSpots.com. Okay, now to our time travel question, Heather. If you could go back 20 years and give yourself some advice about yourself, what would you tell Heather Jr.?
Heather: Oh, man, she had a lot to learn. So, what really comes to mind with this question, about 25 years ago, I was doing my master's degree at Ohio State, and I was taking an organizational behavior class, and we were talking about challenging managers. And I was so confident that if I ever had a challenging boss, I would not stand for it. And I would move to a different department, leave the company, like, I'd start my own company. I would not tolerate that. I've come to learn nothing is straightforward or clear-cut. Well, maybe not clear-cut. There's a lot of gray areas when it comes to managing and being managed. And I believe that I have been and may currently be a challenging boss myself. So, it's hard to look in the mirror there. That might also be a little blind spot for me. And I've realized that my communication style is very direct. And if that doesn't land well with you, it's going to be hard for us to communicate effectively. So that's being... Like understanding where my flaws are is kind of all wrapped up in this. And the ability to get negative feedback from me being a challenging manager, I want to hear it. I have since learned that negative feedback from any one of my colleagues, from a customer in particular, is a gift that you are being handed about when there's a problem and you know what you can do to fix it, hopefully, or you can figure out what you need to do to fix it. Me 20 years ago probably wouldn't give that feedback to anyone.
Drew: So, let's say... I mean, this was all fascinating, but let's say you're in the time portal and you get 30 seconds with yourself 20 years ago. Crunch it down. Give me that. You got 30 seconds with her. How are you saying that to her?
Heather: I'd be like, "Hey, Heather, you may think you're in 100% control of every aspect of your life. That is absolutely not true. You need to learn how to work in challenging situations and with challenging people so that you can accomplish your goals. And there's no way around that."
Drew: Nice. Very nice. Very nice. Now, what do you think confident Heather 20 years ago would think of Heather today?
Heather: Oh, gosh. I think Heather today has a life that Heather 20 years ago never even imagined was possible in a good way. I have had opportunities to meet people and see things. I never thought I'd be running a company. I met my husband 25 years ago and we're still married, going strong. When I first met him, I was like, I might just be single for the rest of my life, but that's not true. So, there's so much more than what you can envision for yourself. Be open. Don't limit yourself.
Drew: Yeah. It's fascinating. I ask that question regularly. So often when I'm talking to entrepreneurs, they'll say, "Oh, my former self would have been disappointed with where I'm at initially," because they had such big, unrealistic dreams. So, it's great to hear your perspective on that as well, because what we say to ourselves and what our expectations are of ourselves impacts how we go about our day-to-day decisions, our career decisions, and all of that.
Drew: Heather, thank you so much for sharing your journey with us. The bullseyes that gave you confidence, the blind spots that shaped your growth, your candor and insight remind us that leadership is not about perfection. It's about learning, adapting, and really staying true to what matters most and who you are. Subscribe to our podcast today and find out where your bullseyes and blind spots are with the resources at BullseyesAndBlindSpots.com. I'm Drew Dinkelacker.