Planning and setting direction for the future of your business is integral to professional management. As a result, succession planning and sustainability are a natural part of implementing the DOC model.Even though many business owners/founders produce a forward-looking vision for their company, fears or uncertainties can hold back the process of planning for a successful exit. If you don't figure [ Read More ]
“How can you not invest in people?” asks Mark Thompson, a former Business Coach at Aileron. “It’s your only difference,” he says in this video also featured on Forbes. Ed Eppley, Course for Presidents Facilitator at Aileron, agrees that high-performing companies are those that invest in their people. Ed says that it’s in a business owner’s best interest [ Read More ]
Although commonly used, sports are a weak analogy for thinking and talking about business. Mark Thompson, an Aileron Business Coach, explains why a symphony is a better analogy for how we develop and support people in an organization. It’s More Than High Performers Sports analogies often glamorize motivation coming from a coach or a team leader. But high-performing organizations [ Read More ]
How do you respond when you learn an employee has made a mistake? As a leader, are you more likely to advise her on what she should have done—or, do you take a moment and ask the employee, “What did you learn from that?” Practicing empowering questions—rather than just giving someone a flood of advice, as discussed in this [ Read More ]
In this video, Jim Sever, fifth generation business owner, shares how connecting the company’s core values to every day decision-making improved the bottom line for his $30M machinery moving, rigging, and crane rental company. We sat down with Jay Meyer, President of JMeyer Strategies, to continue exploring the topic of core values. As a former business owner, Jay now [ Read More ]
“When there is trust, conflict becomes nothing but the pursuit of truth, an attempt to find the best possible answer.” –Patrick Lencioni Wes Gipe, founder of Agil IT, knows this quote all too well. At one point in time, Wes explains, “[we] had plenty of conflict, but we didn’t have very much trust, and so there's wasn't a lot [ Read More ]
It took patience, but Bernard Dalichau, in this video also featured on Forbes, shares how he was able to cultivate an environment in which open communication became one of the driving forces of Lavender Home Care Solutions’ success. Joe Calloway, an author of seven books on business performance, a keynote speaker, a consultant, and an advisor who helps great companies [ Read More ]
When Beth Savage became the owner of PQ Systems, the first thing she did was put together an outside board, she says in this video. “Why not have a board that is there for the sole reason of helping you and your team succeed?” says Beth. Many business owners are reluctant to create an outside board. Some believe that [ Read More ]
“There will always be 20 things that you're not doing,” says Srujal Sheth in this video featured on Forbes. Srujal is President and CEO of Vana Solutions, an information technology services company headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. “Either they go away, or you ask somebody else, or you get your team to do it,” she says. Learn to Delegate Successfully [ Read More ]
Tony Schroeder's last day at Choice One Engineering was going to be January 1, 2021. As the succession planning process began, that date started to move, as he describes in this video. Thanks in part to the company’s transparent culture, Tony was able to transition five years before he originally planned on leaving the business. Here we share 4 [ Read More ]
“When it comes to going into business with your spouse, don’t let other people discourage you,” says Margie Blanchard, Ph.D, a business owner, management consultant and trainer, best-selling author, entrepreneur, and speaker. Margie is co-owner of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, a management consulting and training company she founded with her husband in 1979. “There are a lot of great stories [ Read More ]
“When you are forming an outside board, you are seeking help from those who are in the giving stage. These leaders experience joy in giving back, and they feel honored to help.” –Clay Mathile, in Run Your Business, Don't Let It Run You In this post, Aileron Founder Clay Mathile describes what to know when getting started with your [ Read More ]
