At the start of 2021, the Aileron team held a “Celebrating Shifts” kick-off meeting to celebrate the ways we adapted to unprecedented uncertainty and change in 2020. Here are four of the lessons we learned. #1 Shifting to Virtual Doesn’t have to Jepoardize Connectedness – It Can Empower It In a year where most of our team moved to [ Read More ]
Another year has come and gone, and what a year it has been! 2020 has presented many challenges, but it has also presented the opportunity to count our blessings and express gratitude. Before you say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021, take a moment to manifest what you want the next year to look like in both your [ Read More ]
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 ]
Which scenario fits you? You have a steady stream of work coming into your organization but you’re still not sure if you're ready to hire. Cash flow is low, expenses are up, and you’re not sure why. You gave out bonuses but felt a bit uncertain while doing it. As a business owner, situations like these can keep you [ 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 judgement, 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 ]
Uncertainty is one of the most panic-inducing emotions for any business owner. In a climate of fear, anxiety, and unpredictability, you may not be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel – and you’re not alone. Business leaders everywhere are feeling this same feeling, and facing the same question: Where do we go from here? [ Read More ]
“Good stories surprise us. They make us think and feel. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that a PowerPoint crammed with bar graphs never can.” – Joe Lazauskas and Shane Snow, “The Storytelling Edge” How many times have you been victim to a boring presentation that’s accompanied with dull data [ 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 ]
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 leadership. In [ 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 ]
