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 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 ]
“Vision is a lot more than putting a plaque on the wall. A real vision is lived, not framed,” says Jesse Lyn Stoner, when asked about how leaders can inspire a shared vision. Jesse is founder of Seapoint Center, a company that works closely with leaders, helping them create collaborative and engaged organizations. She is also a bestselling author, coach, [ Read More ]
“Whatever I do [within our culture], I need to be able to do it for 100 people,” says Srujal Sheth, President and CEO of Vana Solutions in this video featured on Forbes. It’s one of the lessons she’s learned in supporting her organization’s culture as it grows. “The question is, ‘How do you stay small while you get big?’” [ Read More ]
Leaders need to prepare for the future of their company. “If that company is part of your identity, why not do succession planning?”, asks Beth Savage, President of PQ Systems, in this video featured on Forbes. Beth was part of a team that built a plan for succession that was implemented when the founder of PQ Systems unexpectedly passed. The [ Read More ]
What if your employees could see behind the curtain of how the company is run? Tony Schroeder, as shown in this video, took this approach with surprising results. “They know every line item on all those financial statements have a story," and Tony expected them to know it. For 22 years, Tony has led Choice One Engineering, a civil [ Read More ]
One hot and humid Saturday morning at Tasty Catering, a supervisor, Steven, noticed one of his team members was loading Indiana-bound equipment onto a truck headed for Wisconsin. Seeing what would be a costly mistake, he yelled, “What is the matter with you? How dumb can you be?” to his colleague. A culinary worker named Hugo Rios-Tellez was one [ Read More ]
“I played in the company warehouse as a kid and worked in the office during the summers and throughout my high school years,” says Kim Stout, recalling how she grew up around the family business that she now works for, Coastal Pet Products Inc. The business was founded by her father and uncle, Jim and Tom Stout, in 1968. [ Read More ]
Wes Gipe, Founder of Agil IT, knows that rather than get upset or frustrated when failure occurs, it’s a chance to step back and get curious. In the video shown here, he tells the story of one of the first times he applied this way of thinking while at the company he founded. It was right after the company [ Read More ]
Anthony Robbins once said, "Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers.” These kind of questions make sure that thoughts and ideas are visible in your organization, explains Joni Fedders, Aileron’s President and a certified Leadership Coach. “Empowering questions generate deeper conversations and clarity because you discover what [ Read More ]
Language we use with others, and with ourselves, impacts how we approach and how we perceive every situation. We sat down with Aileron President, Joni Fedders, to talk about how we can consciously use word choices that help us reframe our thoughts and associated feelings, behaviors, and outcomes, to lead us to greater success. Being Mindful About Our Words Generally speaking, [ Read More ]
Does your partner view the business as “our baby” or do they see it as “your mistress”? The answer helps to show how a spouse feels about your business, including the level of commitment they have. “In this context, I think that a ’mistress’ separates you—it becomes more important to you than your relationship with each other. And when [ Read More ]
