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Previous Episode: https://iamceo.co/2020/04/11/iam607-cipp-us-implements-privacy-programs-and-data-strategies/
Transcription:
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Jodi Daniels Teaser 00:00
We are privacy consultants. We're operational, we're business minded. We speak in clear plain English language, and we really pride ourselves in trying to simplify a very complex law into bite-size nuggets. That a business person will be able to use and implement, and that is really what we believe sets us makes us unique and very valuable to our clients.
Intro 00:25
Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs. Without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of.
This is the I AM CEO podcast.
Gresham Harkless 00:52
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I appreciate you listening to this episode. If you've been listening this year, you know that we hit 1600 episodes at the beginning of this year. We're doing something a little bit different where we are repurposing our favorite episodes around certain categories, topics, or as I like to call them, business pillars that we think are going to be extremely impactful for CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business owners, and what I like to call the CB nation architects who are looking to their organizations
This month we are focused on technology. We're a technology company that does dot, dot, dot. Technology is no longer an afterthought or something that you might do and is actually a core part of your business. If you are a real estate investor, you're using it. If you're a financial firm, if you're a cleaning company, an author, or speaker, you are using technology. If you are in any business, you are using technology, and if you're not, then you're probably going to be disrupted by an organization that is.
So this month we are going to look into purposing episodes that are around technology, whether that be firms or organizations that are actually using and investing in technology as a core part of their products and services, or potentially those individuals that are using and leveraging CEO hacks and CEO nuggets that center around technology and sharing ways that we can leverage it as well. Remember that you are a technology company that does dot, dot dot. Sit back and enjoy this special episode of the I AM CEO podcast.
Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast and I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Jodi Daniels of Red Clover Advisors. Jodi, it's awesome having you on the show.
Jodi Daniels 02:22
Thank you. So glad to be here.
Gresham Harkless 02:24
Yes, definitely. Super excited to have you on. And what I wanted to do was just read a little bit more about Jodi so you can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. Jodi is a Certified Informational Privacy Professional with more than 22 years of experience helping a range of businesses from solopreneurs to multinational companies with privacy marketing strategy and finance roles.
You only have one chance to make a first impression, and when it comes to your customer's personal information, you don't want to leave a bad taste in their mouth. In this informative talk, Jodi will educate the audience on how to protect their customer's data and stay compliant in an ever-changing marketplace, and with her ability to explain the craziness of technology, the laws that are in place, and how to use privacy as an advantage to build relationships with your customer base.
Jodi is able to implement privacy programs and data strategies to maximize customer trust and achieve GDPR, CCPA, and US privacy law compliance. Jodi, are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?
Jodi Daniels 03:21
I am.
Gresham Harkless 03:22
Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to kick everything off and hear a little bit more about how you got started and everything you're doing to help out businesses and organizations.
Jodi Daniels 03:30
Sure thing. So I was 19 years in corporate America, four big firms, and had realized that wasn't the long-term path for me. I was waiting for what I felt was gonna be the right time for me. For anyone listening, there's no perfect right time. But for me, it was when that was going to be that time to make, to decide to go. And I just picked a date and said, I'm leaving on this date. And fast forward funny story, it ended up being 19 years literally the date I started my very first job.
Gresham Harkless 04:02
Oh, that's awesome.
Jodi Daniels 04:02
Yeah, so fun story and then I know we're gonna get into a little bit of the nuts and bolts of what I'm actually doing now.
Gresham Harkless 04:08
Yeah, absolutely. It's crazy how time flies when you're having fun, they say. And it seems like it's definitely been a way for you to build and help out so many people. So I know you definitely touched on it but I wanted to hear a little bit more what you do. I know I read some too, but could you take us through like what exactly you do for clients and how exactly that works?
Jodi Daniels 04:25
Yeah, so there are eight letters that you read off in the intro. GDPR and CCPA, and those are new and not everyone knows what they are. So GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation. It's the new privacy law from Europe. It's actually gonna celebrate its second birthday. It's entering its second year of toddlers. May, 2020 will be its second year but it affects any business globally that serves an EU audience. You don't have to have a physical EU presence to have to comply. So I could be a solo blogger in Tahiti and have a global audience. I'd have to comply.
Then there's CCPA, which is a new California privacy law. It just became effective on January 1st, 2020. So it's different. Has a lot of similarities to GDPR, but it's different. And so also companies around the world who serve Californians have to comply. So I help companies comply with these two laws as a foundation for building a privacy program. But it's not just I comply, check the box, moves along. That's really the start. And from there, it's how do I use the information? What should I be using? Helping with data strategy? Think about your marketing campaigns, and those cool new products you wanna introduce.
So I'm helping companies think through. Can they, should they, and what do they actually have to do to make all of that work for them from a privacy context? And I serve as a fractional privacy officer as well for some companies.
Gresham Harkless 05:52
Nice. It definitely makes so much sense and I'm sure everybody has seen it. It was like a big rush where everybody was like they had to get their GDPR the popup to make sure in the bottom that you were able to check them. But I'm glad you broke it down that it's so much more than clicking a check mark. Because I feel like that's probably what a lot of people see it as.
Jodi Daniels 06:08
They do. A lot of people have no idea what I do, and I say, those cookie banners and all the privacy emails you got?
Gresham Harkless 06:14
Correct.
Jodi Daniels 06:14
Okay that's the outside part, and that's just literally, I call it like window dressing. That's what the external consumer sees. There's so much more that has to happen to even determine what those things should say and literally make them work. Like what does the company actually have to do? How it designs its landing page is even a part of that. If I opt-in for email, that whole experience. What the privacy notice says, but there's so much that happens on the inside and I'm helping companies from the inside all the way to the outside.
Gresham Harkless 06:47
Nice. And it varies, probably depending on the type of business, what exactly you're doing, how that interaction and that experience you're having with your clients of what and how that back office experience is.
Jodi Daniels 06:57
It's true. A couple of interesting examples, I tried to sign up for something recently and they asked for my date of birth. So a great customer experience, had a little box next to it. Why are we asking for this? So naturally the privacy person clicks on that, and then it just takes me to their long privacy notice that basically doesn't tell me why they need my date of birth, and it's a company that I don't understand why they need my date of birth. This makes no sense. So that to me is not really a great experience. A big part of these laws is the ability to ask a company, tell me what you have on me. I wanna know.
If I call customer support and their answer is, huh? Who, what? I don't know what you're talking about, that's not a great experience. If privacy notice is in four-point font and you can't really find it, or it's just this long barreling thing that's also not super meaningful. So I think from the start to all the way when I actually contact a company, if I have a question, all of that's really important or even think when you go to a conference or trade show, you meet someone with a business card, do you slam them right away with all the marketing messages or do you try and strike a relationship?
That's a customer experience that actually is rooted with privacy underneath it.
Gresham Harkless 08:07
Yeah. So I wanted to ask you now for what I call your secret sauce. It could be for your business or for yourself personally, but what do you feel sets you apart and makes you unique?
Jodi Daniels 08:14
We are privacy consultants. We're operational, we're business minded. We speak in clear plain English language and we really pride ourselves in trying to simplify a very complex law into bite-size nuggets that a business person will be able to use and implement and that is really what we believe sets us makes us u unique and very valuable to our clients. They appreciate. Anyone can help interpret the law, but what do I do with it?
How do I teach at the very beginning it's not just a check-mark exercise. So once we take anyone through a checkmark exercise, What do I do now? How do I make this sustainable? How do I get this to understand everyone? And it's really about how to make privacy part of the fabric of the company. That to me, begins with trying to explain it simply and educate along the way and not make it just be this project.
Gresham Harkless 09:09
Yeah, it makes so much sense and I appreciate you for breaking it down and tying in that customer experience. Because I think every business owner can probably shake their head and saying they wanna have the best possible customer experience so that those customers go and tell their friends, families, and everybody, what it is that they're doing.
But it's important not to gloss over that privacy aspect because I think that is not separate from the customer's experiences. A part of that and your ability to be able to explain that, and this is exactly what it is, but also this is how it can help you out as a business, definitely helps people realize it is a higher priority than sometimes it can sometimes seem.
Jodi Daniels 09:43
Yeah, I think it's really a competitive advantage right now. There are many companies who are saying, eh, I don't wanna comply. No one's gonna find me. I'm too small. But what's happening is in a B2B space, a lot of companies are requiring, so if you work with customers, they might require you to comply. So if you're already compliant, then you're a step ahead for B2C individuals who are getting savvy and smart and wanna understand what's happening with their data and they're choosing that.
Think about Apple. They spend millions of dollars promoting privacy as a feature in primetime very expensive ads. They could be promoting a gazillion other features. It's an important feature and it's not only about security, a very significant part and very important. But the privacy piece is really also about, I'm using the data you've given me how, and it's about building trust. I want to do business with you because I believe you're going to provide me with an amazing product and amazing service. I also wanna be able to trust you with what you're going to do with what I give you, right? It's a relationship and an exchange.
Gresham Harkless 10:44
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, as with the world, it seems to be become more and more accessible to each other. I think that privacy is sometimes becoming more of a forefront because some people want to have things that are private or their own for security reasons, as you mentioned. For the peace of mind in the privacy of their insanity of themselves. So to be able to choose or not choose and to understand that businesses that we patronize are actually supporting that and showing that as like a feature or unique selling proposition or whatever is very, very important.
Jodi Daniels 11:13
Absolutely, completely agree.
Gresham Harkless 11:16
Awesome, awesome, awesome. So I wanted to switch gears a little bit, and I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an app, a book, or a habit that you have, but what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?
Jodi Daniels 11:27
The best decision I ever made was a scheduling app, so I'm based in Atlanta. Calendly is an Atlanta local company and it is the best. You save so much time, none of the back and forth. What about you? I don't know. What about 11? I can't I'm walking my dog. Then I have my kid's thing. Then it just syncs to your calendar and it's the most brilliant thing. You can pick times, you can pick information, you can ask questions, and you can have links. Best invention ever.
Gresham Harkless 11:54
Absolutely. So, now I wanted to ask you for what I call a CEO nugget, and that could be like a word of wisdom or a piece of advice. Could be around privacy and everything you work with clients, or it might even just be something you might tell your younger business self.
Jodi Daniels 12:06
I think it's just to surround yourself with like-minded people who are going to help you get where it is you want to be. So for me it's, my business is two and a half years old. By surrounding myself with other entrepreneurs who are at the same stage as me and who you know are where I want to be, I've learned a tremendous amount from support because they understand what you're going through and what's important.
It's different from what my corporate environment was like, the issues and challenges and goals and excitement and accomplishments. They're all very, very different.
Gresham Harkless 12:39
Definitely appreciate that as well. So I wanted to ask you now my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO . We're hoping to have different quote and quote CEOs on this show. So Jodi, what does being a CEO mean to you?
Jodi Daniels 12:51
So to me, it's someone who has a vision that wants to take that vision into reality. I think that can be honest in any level of an organization. But the title CEO in our culture, ultimately, I think is akin to someone who's taking that vision and leading and making a difference in the world, whether that be through people, through the concept, through a culture, through a company or community.
For me personally, in my business, I'm trying to take something that's new to be able to help educate other companies, and it's my role to be able to have significant knowledge to be versed for those that I work with, to be kind to, and create a positive environment and a positive culture, because ultimately the work that we're doing is meant to help companies that in turn help everyone, right?
I'm trying to help companies navigate something complex, but we're navigating a complex law. Because it's all about people. So it's trying to get everyone to understand at the end of the day, it's about people. And it almost goes back to that full trust factor. But I'm the leader who has that vision and is tasked with bringing it into the world.
Gresham Harkless 14:04
Awesome, awesome, awesome. Jodi, I truly appreciate that and appreciate your time even more. What I wanted to do was pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional you can let our readers and listeners know, and then of course, how best they can get ahold of you and find out about all the awesome things you're working on.
Jodi Daniels 14:18
Thank you again for having me here today. And I think in a business, whether you're corporate or you have your own, people always think about marketing, finance and IT and the people. And privacy is one of those kind of last buckets. And your question before, right? What does it mean to be a CEO? Part of that is to help people understand it needs to be on an equal footing. It needs to get up there because, for starters, a cybersecurity breach can take a company down if you have any. If you misuse data or you confuse a customer, you can lose that customer. And in today's day and age with social media and how easy it is to spread information, you wanna be at the front of any publication for all the amazing work that the company is doing, not for something around data misuse.
Instead, be really a company that someone can respect and be trustworthy with. So I encourage anyone listening to realize privacy's importance. It's probably one of the single biggest issues of the next decade. And I'd be delighted to talk with any of you about what that means for you, for your company, and how to find me.
So my company name is Red Clover Advisors. Active on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can go to redcloveradvisors.com and you can also find me, Jody Daniels on LinkedIn.
Gresham Harkless 15:36
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I definitely appreciate that Jodi, and we will have your link and information in the show notes so that everybody can follow up with you. And I appreciate you for creating that domino effect that you talked about earlier of helping businesses and organizations that help people and help the world overall be a better place.
And I think that understanding that privacy is not something that's separate from everything that we're doing, it's actually integrated into a strong part of everything that we're doing and who we are. So I appreciate you for leading that charge, and I hope you have a phenomenal rest of the day.
Outro 16:04
Thank you for listening to the Im c e o podcast, powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co. I am CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and everywhere you listen to podcasts, subscribe and leave us a five-star rating. Grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co.
This has been the I AM CEO podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.
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