Research has confirmed that judgment is a natural human instinct; our brains are hardwired to make quick and sweeping assumptions about circumstances and people long before we have all the data we need to actually understand the truth of the matter. This natural tendency is well-meaning; judgment is a time-saving mechanism our brains use so we don’t have [ Read More ]
Professional management is a team sport — it’s easier, more effective, and more transformative when your entire team is onboard. Here’s how you’ll benefit from bringing your leadership team with you on the journey, and how Activating Professional Management can set them up to succeed. 1. You’ll have powerful change leaders Installing professional management across the organization is [ Read More ]
America’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy; small businesses are responsible for 63% of new jobs in the last 25+ years, represent 99.9% of all businesses in America, and employ 46% of America’s private sector employees. It’s clear business owners and small business leaders have one of the most important roles in our society — and [ Read More ]
In the competitive world of craft breweries, crafting exceptional beer is table stakes. In order for microbreweries to compete with larger brands and survive for the long-term, they must also build a thriving business, grow a high-performing team, and nurture an intentional culture. Wolf's Ridge Brewing, a Columbus, Ohio-based craft brewery, had the beer part down; they came [ Read More ]
Listening is more nuanced than simply hearing what’s being said. Here are the three levels of listening you use in your daily life and situations where it makes sense to use each one. Subjective listening Subjective listening is based on the needs of the listener. This usually looks like self-centered listening where the listener is more focused on [ Read More ]
When it comes to a Board of Advisors, these five qualities separate the exasperating from the exceptional. Does your board have them? A cohesive, high-functioning Board of Advisors can be an invaluable source of wisdom, accountability, and support for a business owner. But if the board is ineffective, misaligned, or poorly managed, it can consume a business owner’s [ Read More ]
A tenet of Aileron’s DOC System of Professional Management is conscious leadership — the belief that leading others begins with leading yourself first. A core part of self-leadership is energetic awareness: knowing how we’re showing up and shifting your own energy to more intentionally support others. Many of our services that contain conscious leadership concepts begin with an [ Read More ]
At Aileron, we practice customer intimacy and frequently conduct customer research so we can design services and content that support our community of business owners. Part of our process involves completing the Strategyzer Value Proposition Canvas. This tool helps us more deeply understand business owners, the challenges they face, and the outcomes they’re after. Since we started collecting [ Read More ]
Aileron was thrilled to host a Personal Vision Workshop in January to celebrate Founder’s Day and give our community guided time and space to explore their dreams. Nearly 200 community members participated in this workshop, and we heard an outpouring of positive feedback about it — so much so that we’re making the workshop materials available to the [ Read More ]
As January came to a close last week, the Aileron team has been reflecting on the ways our community came together to perpetuate Clay’s dream during Founder’s Day in January — and we are in awe. Late last year, our team had a vision for a way our community could come together to perpetuate what Clay started when [ Read More ]
As Aileron’s community spends time and energy in January doing the meaningful work of vision-setting, it’s the perfect time to revisit your organizational vision and ensure it is providing the direction your organization and team need. When done well, a vision can have a monumental impact on the organization, its people, and the bottom line. Here’s how. A [ Read More ]
Clay Mathile was a champion of the power of a well-constructed vision. He saw a clearly articulated, documented vision as a key resource that would guide an organization toward an intentional future — so it may come as no surprise that he equipped Aileron with an incredibly thorough, detailed vision that defined his hope for Aileron’s future. His [ Read More ]
