“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 ]
A common phrase at Aileron is, “A lot happens in an Aileron week.” You can only imagine what happens in six months. In this post, Aileron’s Assistant Brand Manager Megan Hershberger shares what she’s learned since joining Aileron in May of 2019. Nothing Is More Powerful Than Community. Growing up in a small town, I was automatically born into [ Read More ]
Looking Ahead to Lead, Change, and Get Better Together Dear Aileron Community, We have a phrase we use often around here: “A lot happens in an Aileron week.” It’s astonishing how just five days can change so much in your businesses, your lives, how we do things, and the way we all work together. That’s partially an outcome [ Read More ]
We’re all familiar with the idea that thoughts become words become actions. But have you consciously considered how your self-limiting beliefs manifest as behaviors in your daily life? Many people struggle with internal blocks: beliefs or attitudes that come from your internal dialogue. For example, you might believe a difficult conversation will end badly; that’s what you’ve told yourself, [ 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 [ 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 ]
