Your team’s ability to generate new ideas is an indicator of success. It shows that you’re thinking creatively, focusing on what’s next, and innovating. But if you’re coming up with so many ideas that you’re constantly pivoting to focus on the new goal that’s bright and shiny, you’re never making real progress. Idea overwhelm isn’t just a problem for [ Read More ]
Every year, you and your team spend days—even weeks—envisioning what could be and charting a course to get there. But as you well know, that’s where the work really begins. Strategic planning is a critical part of the business-building process, but the magic of transformation lives in strategy implementation. In addition to being thoughtfully planned, your strategy should be: Communicated: [ Read More ]
Most of us never think about the strategy a company has, we just know whether it appeals to us or not. But it’s not hard to identify what a given business’s strategy is. Consider the McDonald’s strategy. Their goal is to sell fast food to make money, but their strategy is clear. It says, “We are going to be [ Read More ]
Aileron Community, Your friends and peers at Aileron are here to support you during many challenging times, including last week’s destructive storms that ripped across Dayton and caused widespread damage. Get Help Campus Usage: For any business affected - whether you’re currently aware of or engaged with Aileron or not - we invite you and your team to use [ Read More ]
If you never say no, then your strategy is missing a crucial piece. Many businesses work hard to identify and serve a target customer. But knowing which kinds of customers you don’t serve should also be part of your overall strategy. Challenge yourself to answer these questions: When was the last time you gave up a short-term win [ Read More ]
Where are you headed? How will you get there? Why does that matter? It’s normal to wrestle with these questions. But where do you take them? For our team, there’s nothing quite like sitting down with our Founder, Clay Mathile. Here’s what Jennifer Rohren (Marketing Coordinator), Dave Dunaway (Business Coach), and Ashley Mercs (Intern) learned from a recent lunch [ Read More ]
We’ve all been there. You’re picking up pizza five minutes before your in-laws arrive for dinner because, with the week you had, you had time to either clean the house or cook—not both. Your son just mentioned he needs cupcakes for school tomorrow—looks like you’ll be baking all night. Seeing others’ New Year’s resolutions just makes you grumpy because [ Read More ]
It can feel lonely at the top. You’re giving your all, but it doesn’t feel like enough. You’ve poured your heart into your work, and you love what you do. But you’re tired, too. When things get tough, who can you turn to? It feels like no one understands what you’re going through. Recently, we sat down with Aileron [ Read More ]
When considering the future of your business, what is the planning time horizon you typically use? Is it 3-5 years, a decade? What if you had to consider the future of your business 50 or even 100 years into the future? Would the goals and strategies considered and employed be different if the planning horizon were a century rather [ Read More ]
Without positive, self-aware, life-giving leaders, organizations and employees fail to flourish. Effective leaders create healthier, more productive employees, reducing burnout, anxiety, sick leave, and stress. And with 52.3% of employees reporting job dissatisfaction, we have some work to do. But how do you become the kind of leader that your employees need? Develop the following characteristics to become the [ Read More ]
If you're a manager working overtime to make up for your team's shortcomings, you probably don't have time to help your employees improve their own skills. You know that half a manager's job is people development, but you just don't have the time. I wrote earlier about the dangers of being caught in the Gap Trap. You seem to [ Read More ]
No matter how much we love our jobs, we all get overwhelmed at work. A recent survey by the American Psychological Association indicated 65 percent of Americans state work is a main source of daily stress—while only 37% of us know how to manage it. According to the Mayo Clinic, chronic stress increases headaches, fatigue, and depression while decreasing [ Read More ]
