Run Your Business, Don't Let It Run You

No More 16-Hour Days!

Running your own business—the American dream—can be daunting: long days, none of the freedom you envisioned, no time for family and friends, and the unrelenting pressure to keep up the pace. Worse, all this hard work can only take you so far. To get to the next level, you need to stop being “Super-Employee” and become a leader who sets direction, operationalizes goals, monitors and controls results, and involves others. You need to run your business using an integrated professional management system.

Clay Mathile, who grew the Iams Company from $500K to $1 billion in sales, discusses proven management fundamentals applied in a practical way, one that has been used by thousands of business owners. You’ll get real-world details that academic courses don’t teach—true stories from those who, like Mathile, implemented these fundamentals and thrived. Read this book and discover how to make your business more successful and sustainable and your life more fulfilling!Preface
Introduction: No More 16-Hour Days

Part One: A Better Way to Run a Business
Chapter 1: Is Your Business Running You?
Chapter 2: Shifting to Professional Management

Part Two: Learning Professional Management
Chapter 3: How You Lead
Leadership
Chapter 4: Your Dream with a Plan
Strategy
Chapter 5: Grow Your People, Grow Your Business
People Development
Chapter 6: Aligning Your Business with Your Vision
Business Structure
Chapter 7: The Keys to Accountability
Performance Management
Chapter 8: Culture—the Engine Moving Your Business
Living Your Values
Chapter 9: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
An Effective Outside Board

Part Three: Living Professional Management
Chapter 10: The Business of the Family
Chapter 11: Sustainability and Succession
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Index
About the Author
About Aileron“Clay Mathile dives into educating entrepreneurs with the same energy he used to build a billion-dollar brand from the ground up. This is a book of lessons learned through living.”
—Steven Bertoni, Associate Editor, Forbes

“Run Your Business, Don’t Let It Run You gives you the road map for ‘working on your business, not in it’ and for turning your big dreams into reality. And you don't have to do it alone.”
—Anita Campbell, Publisher, Small Business Trends

“Using Aileron’s System of Professional Management, we went from 65 employees to 205 employees. As the heavy construction industry grew by less than 5 percent over the past five years, Kelchner Inc. has grown by 95 percent. This book can help you grow your business and become more profitable!”
—Todd Kelchner, CEO, Kelchner, Inc.Clay Mathile, former owner of the Iams Company, founded Aileron in 1996, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to helping private businesses employ proven approaches to raise the overall effectiveness of their organizations. He is currently chairman of the board.