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 ]
When Travis Greenwood was nineteen, he learned a meaningful leadership lesson he still applies today as a small business owner. Travis was a sophomore in college, working as an intern at an association management firm. Each day, after work, he’d catch a bus to get back to his college campus. On one particular day, Skip, Vice President of the [ Read More ]
While watching many of his employees grow and evolve, Marty Grunder noticed that one of his long-time team members seemed to be losing his spark. Marty is President and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co., a business he started in 1984 with a lawnmower he bought at a garage sale. Today, some 34 years later, Grunder is one of the most [ Read More ]
"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years." (Bill Gates) In April of 2008, we opened our campus and began providing a place specifically designed for leaders to plan, think, and advance their business. We thought about our people and about our community. We dreamed of the leaders that would [ Read More ]
In our complex world, it's the unintended consequences that hurt us—not the intended ones. This was the clear and painful story when our organization still conducted annual performance reviews. Our reason for doing them seemed innocent enough: we wanted to help people get a clear review of how they're doing, what they can improve on, and what their future [ Read More ]
Strategic planning is an ongoing process, so where do you start? In an interview with an Aileron Client, Martha Shaker, President of Concept Rehab, we discuss how to evolve your strategy and begin your strategic plan. Show notes: [1:00] Martha Shaker answers the question: "What was going on in your business before working on strategy?" [ Read More ]
What has changed for Heather Brown—and the company she works for—since working with Aileron? Heather Brown, now a Production Manager for Ramco Electric Motors, answers that question and more in our latest podcast. During her 12 years with the company, Heather explains how she's worked her way up within the organization. Learn how she learned key tools from Aileron [ Read More ]
Team members at Solid Blend Technologies had a unified vision, but gaps in the company’s operations were starting to show. Solid Blend Technologies is a Dayton-based service water management company established in 1999. A company that’s growing often sees new, unforeseen challenges—and that was no different for Solid Blend Technologies, says Ken Elrich, President of Solid Blend Technologies and his wife, [ Read More ]
There are two models that can describe the way people are valued and managed in organizations. One is the centuries-old model associated with Isaac Newton where the physical world is thought of as a machine. This model also was adopted by biology and physiology as well as the social sciences of psychology, sociology, economics, and politics. The other is [ Read More ]
When the very first employee was hired at The Greentree Group, Travis Greenwood (now President & CEO of the strategic technology consulting firm), talked to his wife about how to bring the new team member onboard. His wife, Lisa, said, “Let’s send him something to welcome him, like a fruit basket.” So they did, and after 25 years, the [ Read More ]
Several years ago, a customer came to Promotional Spring asking for point of purchase signage. (Promotional Spring is a company that creates experiences and solutions that help organizations to promote their products and services.) Even though they had asked for a specific deliverable, after further conversation, leaders at Promotional Spring realized the customer had 4 different pain points. Those challenges they [ Read More ]
It’s been said that in the knowledge economy, it’s now every individual's responsibility to innovate with the customer in mind. When developing a new product or service, does your organization get feedback from customers along the way? And, do you seek, find, and use those customer-driven insights to shape your products or services? Here are two things to keep [ Read More ]
