In this concise interview, host Pete Alexander asks speaker, trainer, and coach Penny Zenker six rapid-fire questions about her work and insights. Zenker explains that she helps people think and act strategically, emphasizing the 20% of actions that generate 80% of results. She highlights the importance of a profit mindset that includes financial, employee, and purpose-driven profit, and argues that this mindset shapes culture and decision‑making. Zenker advises leaders to empower employees with faster, better decisions, introducing her "Productivity Zone" model and Colin Powell’s 40/70 rule – make decisions with at least 40% but no more than 70% of the needed information. She recommends fellow leaders Tracy Hazard and John Livesay for future podcasts. Zenker shares a personal story about her first business, "Basket Case," a college‑age venture delivering Philadelphia‑themed gift baskets, illustrating strategic thinking under pressure. The episode ends with a plug to her website pennysanker360.com for more resources.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
My name is Penny Zenker, and I am a speaker, trainer, and coach. And what I do is I help people to think and act more strategically so that they can focus on the 20% that gets them the 80% results.
Penny, it's so great to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
I think the best thing about working in my industry, when I'm talking about and talking to thousands of different people, is being able to, as a speaker, is being able to impact so many people at once. And I like to be interactive, so it is also seeing the interaction and the light bulbs go off also through coaching and really helping people to level up and get to the next level.
Oh, that sounds so much like so much fun being there on stage and really connecting with a big, big group of people. Question number 3, I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
I think most companies should read the chapter on the profit mindset. So, you know, because we need to start with the end in mind, and that is we're in business to make profit, and that profit can show up in a lot of different ways. It's not just financial profit. It could be profit to the employees and how they're going to benefit. It could be profit to the higher purpose that you're creating for your customers. So, but the thing is, is that when we have a different growth mindset, we make different decisions. We look at things differently, and meaning that we're not necessarily— there's good growth and bad growth, and the bad growth means that you're doing it at the expense of profit. So when we're profit mindset, then we're more thinking about the return on investment We're going to be more focused on optimizing the process. And so it just makes us more efficient and effective. And so that's sort of the basis of somebody's culture, should be that profit mindset.
I couldn't agree more. Very insightful. Question number 4: Other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice would you give to other business leaders?
You know, I think it's also about making decisions, right? And empowering your employees to make decisions. And so really setting yourself up so that you can have a process to help you make faster, better decisions and passing that along and the autonomy for your team to be able to do that as well.
Mm-hmm. If you're empowered, because it sounds like you're empowering the employees to make those decisions. If—
Do I have time for a tip? I'm like, you know, worried about the clock that's ticking here.
Please, the advice, because I was going to try and get a clarification. So please do.
Yeah. So, so for instance, you know, in my book, The Productivity Zone, I talk about the productivity zone is in the middle of a a bell curve looking thing, right? It's not a bell curve, there's no standard deviations, but it's shaped like that. And on the outside is where over-functioning and under-functioning lives. And when we're not in the zone and we're in one of those places, we're not making decisions. So, so really it's about keeping decisions so that we can continue to move forward. And Colin Powell had a great example and he called it the 40/70 rule. So never make a decision with less than 40% of the information that you need, because then you're not having enough information. However, we have to stay away from the perfectionist side of where we need more than 70%. So 70% is enough information to make an educated decision and to move on. Otherwise, you miss the opportunity. So really empowering your team with strategies and also the autonomy to do that.
I love that, and I've never heard that 40 to 70 range. That's great. Great.
Isn't that cool?
Yeah, I do like it. Thank you for sharing that. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
Oh, wow. There's so many people who I think are doing a really great job. I would say Tracy Hazard would be somebody that would be a great leader to be on the show. She talks about, you know, she has a platform for podcasting and talks about monetizing that side of things. And John Livesay is a storyteller and he talks about how you can close more sales by being a better storyteller because it sort of shortens that sales cycle. And you know, that brings us back to that profit point. If you're selling more quickly, then you're going to be, you know, more partially more profitable because it's minimizing the resources. So those would be two people that I would think would be great, great on your show.
Oh, I couldn't agree more. Thank you for those referrals. I'll reach out to them. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
My first job. So I probably would pick the most interesting job. So when I was in college, you know, I had lots of different jobs. I worked at the deli. I was always looking for ways to, to make money. But the most interesting job was, and actually it was my first company that actually I got like a formal check for. It was called Basket Case. And I did it with my friend and it was, you know, we were trying to figure out a way to make some money so that we could go to Europe together. And so I went to Drexel University and that's in Philadelphia. So we were thinking we would bring all the new Philadelphia charm in a basket. So Philadelphia magazines, soft pretzel, peanut chews and Entenmann's, like all these brands that are specific to the Philadelphia area, Tasty Cake. And we would put those in these baskets and deliver it to the freshmen and their parents would buy it for them as a gift as they came in. So that was my first cool business and pulling that all together And, you know, actually during that process also my father had passed away. So, you know, I think it also for me, not only was it my first business, but it also was my first experience of, you know, being under pressure and circumstances really not going in the way that you wanted it. Right now we're in a pandemic situation. You know, to collect that for people who are running their own business and all of a sudden maybe their income went away or, you know, things aren't working, they don't have the same client flow that they had and so forth. It's— this is a great lesson period of how to be, you know, productive under pressure and coming back to the thinking and acting more strategically. I think that it helps us focus and get clear on what are those really most important things and to let go of the things that don't matter as much and that we can't control.
That's so very well said. And I have to compliment you too on the great name Basket Case. It's just a creative name. And I guess the one thing you didn't include in there were the Philadelphia cheesesteaks because those probably—
Oh, we did. We had a coupon for Pat's Steaks.
Oh, perfect.
So yeah, we, you know, we went all out. We went all out.
Penny, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
They can go to pennysanker360.com. That's a great place and it's got links to my podcast, to different social platforms and other programs that I have.
Perfect. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
