Working long hours, not getting enough sleep, eating food based on what’s convenient, and missing out on time with your family… These and other stressors can be draining for a small business owner: physically, emotionally, and mentally. At times, it may even seem you have to keep sacrificing your health for the sake of your business. But health and [ Read More ]
During times when it feels like difference is standing in the way of dialogue, lean into listening to better understand and communicate with each other. At Aileron, we practice conscious leadership. It’s an approach to leadership that blends heightened awareness, suspended judgment, and intentionality to empower us to bring our best selves to every role, situation, and conversation. Conscious [ Read More ]
June 1, 2020 The Next Normal: Reopening Aileron’s Campus Thoughts by Sara Wiggershaus, Client Services Manager Today Aileron is opening our doors (granted, in a much different, limited, and nuanced way) for the first time in more than two months. It’s a day we’ve been looking forward to for weeks, and one we’ve been planning for since we initially [ Read More ]
Aileron is a very unique place. Whether it’s the people, the campus or just the mission we live by, there’s something here that gives people a certain feeling when they leave campus – myself included. Having spent over a year here as an intern, I’m not only leaving my Aileron experience with that can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it, magical feeling, but with a [ Read More ]
You and your team likely don’t have a shortage of ideas; in fact, if you’re like most entrepreneurs, you struggle with idea overwhelm, which can lead to a shortage of one of your most valuable resources: time. Selecting the right opportunities to spend time on is critical for businesses of all sizes. Every opportunity – a public speaking engagement, a [ 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 ]
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 ]
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 ]
Aileron’s Director of Research & Development, Nicole Luisi, shares the beginnings of Summit, why she’s passionate about the conference, and how it helps her find harmony in her everyday work. Nicole, you were one of the driving forces behind the inaugural conference last year. What inspired you and Aileron to launch Summit in the first place? We’ve built our [ Read More ]
Open up Forbes, head over to HBR, or scroll through Thrive Global, and you’ll see plenty of pieces discussing burnout. People are working long hours and neglecting their health. Workers are answering emails at 12 AM and skipping vacation. Employees aren’t taking advantage of health programs and sitting for too long. The solution? Work-life balance. The answer, according to [ Read More ]
Value Added Packaging (VAP) has an Elite Customer Service Standard. It’s a standard that all customer service team members agree to and sign off on as soon as they join the VAP team. (Headquartered in Ohio, VAP offers custom corrugated packaging manufacturing solutions.) That service experience includes a 30-minute response time when dealing with customers. “It’s just respectful. For one, [ Read More ]
