The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork

Picture this: someone on your team comes to you and says they are leaving, for whatever reason.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Would you feel prepared?

Would your business halt or just hiccup?

This week on the Run Like Clockwork Podcast, Adrienne and Laurie from Team RLC talk about how to navigate losing a key team member. It's inevitable that you will have team members outgrow and leave… we want to help you think through some things so you feel prepared.

Topics Adrienne + Laurie discuss on this episode:

• Cultivating a culture of open communication
• How to leave the door open for the future
• Setting up systems now to make offboarding transitions smoother
• Splitting roles up by strengths + identifying gaps

Laurie has been an integral part of our Run Like Clockwork team. We will miss her and wish her the best in this new chapter! Perhaps you have a *Laurie* on your team who is a key team member and you're worried about if/when they leave. Or perhaps you have someone leaving your team, for whatever reasons, we hope this episode sheds light on things you can do now to make the off-boarding transition and replacement as smooth as possible.

What has been the most difficult part of losing a team member for you? Would love to hear! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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2020 has certainly served its fair share of unprecedented seasons. Perhaps you've pivoted in your industry to compensate for a drop in business... or perhaps you have been bombarded by an influx of business and struggled to operationally keep up with the demands. Or perhaps you are in a season where you must energetically protect yourself in a new way for your family and mental health.

This week on the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Clockwork superstar and DEI expert, Erica Courdae, shares how to clockwork during your busiest seasons and why being booked + busy is a sign you need to clockwork.

In this episode Erica + Adrienne discuss:

• Why "I'm too busy" is exactly why now is the right time to clockwork

• The valuable relationships built inside the Accelerator program

• How knowing your priorities helps you decide what to trash, trim, transfer, and treasure to save time and energy in your current season.

• Why you shouldn't serve everyone

• How flexible structures serve your business better long term

If you've wanted to get your business operations in order and improve efficiency in your business… and stopped yourself with "I'm just too busy right now" or "I'll do it once this chaotic season blows over"... then it is absolutely the right time to clockwork your business. You can't afford not to. Make sure to connect with Erica at www.ericacourae.com and her Pause on the Play podcast.

This was such a fantastic conversation! Let us know what resonated most with you!! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork + @ericacourdae

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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If you've ever wished your team members would take ownership of their role, you're not alone. It is a very common challenge business owners have when it comes to their team members.

This week on the Run Like Clockwork Podcast, Adrienne and Gabrielle from Team RLC talk about the key ingredients needed to create a culture where taking ownership of your role is nurtured to become the norm.

Topics Adrienne + Gabrielle discuss on this episode

• Why your team members might not be being proactive and taking initiative
• How to know if you have inadvertently closed the road for the extra mile
• The key ingredients that contribute to team members staying engaged and owning their role
• Permission as a two-way street to autonomy
• The value of time tracking to inform and support taking ownership + growth

If you truly want your business + team to run itself and remove yourself from the daily operations so you can take a fully unplugged 4-week vacation, creating a company culture where everyone takes ownership of their role is necessary and so rewarding. I hope this episode gives you some tangible next steps as well as casts a vision for what's possible.

Let us know what resonated most with you!! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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If you've ever finished work at the end of the day or week and wondered "what in the world did I really do? Was it important? I know I'm the business owner… but what is my actual, most valuable role?" And on top of that, you realize that in any given week, you and most everyone on your team all are doing marketing, or checking the support inbox, or answering calls. Who should actually be doing each task?

There's nothing as inefficient as confusion. Clarity is the fuel for an ultra-efficient business + team that runs like Clockwork.

This week on the Run Like Clockwork podcast, we have the power partnership of Katie DePaola + Liv Chapman as guests on the show! Katie + Liv are the CEO + COO of the Inner Glow Circle and share about how embracing your role + rebalancing the team are crucial parts of their Clockwork journey.

In this episode Adrienne, Katie + Liv discuss:

• Finding clarity + direction in your roles + those within your team
• How Clockwork helps you become more proactive instead of reactive
• Slowing down to track + analyze metrics for scaling
• The power of partnership + how to make it work effectively

Learning to navigate resistance, embrace roles, and rebalance your team is an important, necessary part of Clockworking your business. Katie + Liv give an honest look into their journey with Clockwork as business partners + team leaders and how it's affected their personal lives. You can also grab a copy of Katie's new book, At Least You Look Good: Learning to Glow Through What You Go Through

This was such a great conversation! Let us know what resonated most with you!! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork + @innerglowcircle

And, hey! If you realize that you might be the bottleneck in your business — and you're ready to get out of the way and let your business grow! — We're hosting a private training on December 8th at 12pm ET for people interested in Clockworking their business who want to know:⁠

⁠

>Why you hate the work you're doing⁠

>How to get to the point where you can think beyond the fire right in front of you⁠

>How to build systems that are fully optimized & efficient⁠

>The exact steps we use to hire a team of dynamic A-players⁠

⁠

This is a FREE, private training available by application only, because we want to be sure that this information will actually help you move forward to your next level.

Apply now at clockworkaccelerator.com/apply for an invitation to our advanced private training on how to take a 4-week vacation in the next 12 months!

Focusing our attention + efforts on recruiting, employing and retaining the next generation is where our businesses are going. So what do we need to know to hire amazing Millennial and Gen Z team members and create an environment and company culture where they thrive and bring immense value to your team?

On this episode of the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Adrienne talks with Danielia Barron about best practices when hiring the next generation of talent. Daniela is the newest coach addition to Team RLC and brings a wealth of experience from the non-profit and family camp world on staff + program development and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

What does it take to get amazing talent into your company and keep them? And how do you compete with larger corporations when it comes to employing talent? Adrienne + Danielia really dig in!

Topics Danielia + Adrienne discuss on this episode:

• Values + traits of next generation team members (Millennials + Gen Z)
• What the next generation is looking for in a company culture
• The importance of autonomy for Clockworking + the recruitment + retention of next generations
• The benefit of practices that are centered on diversity, equity + inclusion

As a small business, it can be challenging or even impossible to compete with larger corporations when it comes to recruiting talent if only based on money. However, there are many things that rank higher than money for Millennials + Gen Z that can give you a competitive advantage: meaning, social justice, doing something that does good in the world, authenticity, autonomy, and flexibility.

There was such a great conversation and one that's needed within all businesses as well for continued growth! Let us know what resonated most with you!! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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You are exactly where you need to be - in business and life. It's not a race. You don't need to hustle 24/7. You don't need to compare your current chapter with someone else's. Your journey is yours.

We are very straightforward about Clockwork not being a quick fix. It's a process. A process that we're here to support all our clients with through it all, which is so rewarding!

This week on the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Lilly Ferrick, self-proclaimed Clockwork evangelist, shares how realizing Clockwork is not a race helped her create systems + hire team members at a steady pace. No burnout. No more working weekends.

Topics Lilly + Emily discuss in this episode:

• Recognizing the business season you're in and how to leverage it
• Introducing a new hire to Clockwork
• The power of knowing you are exactly where you need to be
• Why Lilly calls Clockwork a game-changer

Take a deep breath. Listen to the episode. Gain some perspective on your vision ahead. Then focus on the step in front of you.

Let us know what resonated most with you!! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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What's holding you back from delegating your content?

There are many reasons we hear from our Clockwork clients as to why they "can't" delegate their content:

• Only I can write what's in my head
• No one else will sound like me
• My audience is used to hearing from me
• I'm the face/voice of my company
• I don't have the budget

Our guest today on the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Lacy Boggs, totally gets it. As the Director of the Content Direction Agency, she has worked with hundreds of personality-driven businesses to help them get their content writing and marketing off of their plates with confidence.

Topics Lacy + Adrienne discuss in this episode:

• What is a personality-driven brand?
• How does a personality-driven brand business clockwork their content off their plate?
• What is a brand voice + why does it matter when delegating content?
• Questions to ask when hiring a copywriter
• Repurposing content as a strategy when clockworking
• First steps for hiring a copywriter + content strategist

Lacy has written content for Run Like Clockwork for years and is a Clockwork client as well - so who better to drop?! I know you are going to get so many valuable tips on Clockworking your content from this episode! You can also connect with Lacy directly here.

What is your biggest challenge when it comes to delegating content? Let us know! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork + @lacylu42

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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Each season of your life requires something different from your business. Each season of your business requires something different from your life.

Assessing your capacity in each season and setting up your systems and strategic hires to support your life + business in that season is what Clockwork helps you do.

This week on the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Clockwork rockstar, Katie Proctor, shares a tale of 4 maternity leaves. Before Clockwork, Katie Proctor and Elle Queen, Co-Founders of Wellevation HQ, each took a maternity leave. Now they are each taking their second maternity leave back to back after having Clockworked their business through the Accelerator program. Their experiences during their first and second maternity leaves are drastically different...for the better now!

Topics Katie + Adrienne discuss in this episode:

• How the experience of their first maternity leaves differs from their second
• How the right hire can change everything
• Taking capacity into consideration when defining the vision for your company and future growth
• Making the decision to focus on one bottleneck at a time
• The importance of metrics and the data-driven approach of Clockwork

We are so honored that Clockwork is "sanity-saving" (Katie's words) for Ellie + Katie and played such a vital role in helping them feel confident during their maternity leaves, knowing their business + team is running without them while they enjoy their baby snuggles.

What is this season of your life requiring of your business right now? How can you take into consideration your capacity to inform what systems + hires you need right now? Let us know! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions and see your digital declutter projects!

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How long does it take for you or your team member to find something? Are they in places that are easy to find? Or does it take 45 minutes to find the exact thing you're looking for. This is quite common, especially in this digital era we live in, when it's easier to just create a new document or video… but then the old, outdated one is still living somewhere, taking up digital space and causing confusion.

This can actually be a huge inefficiency to your business. Think about it, if it takes someone on your team 5 minutes to find something, it's all good. But if it takes 45 minutes to dig around, that's costing you money and creating frustration.

On this episode of the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Adrienne talks about digital clutter as a major source of inefficiency in business. Since being a Lean Six Sigma expert in her corporate/large manufacturing career, she has adapted the principals + tools for efficiency in small businesses.

Topics Adrienne covers in this episode:

• The cost of clutter
• How to apply the Lean Six Sigma system called 5S to your digital + physical world
• Elaborates on the 5S's: Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain
• How to use the Clockwork ACDC framework for organizing

What's at stake if you don't set up and sustain a digital system? Well, you waste time and money, and cause a lot of stress + frustration by not having efficient systems to keep you and your team organized and standardized.

Bonus tip: it does not have to be you setting up and maintaining the systems. You could assign it to a team member. #winning

Let us know how it goes! We'd love some screenshots of your digital or physical space. We love peeking at the backends of businesses. Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions and see your digital declutter projects!

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Excited to Clockwork your business… then discover you have a team member resistant to it? Yeah, super common. So how do you get your team on-board and convince them of the benefits of Clockworking?

On this Team Takeover episode of the Run Like Clockwork podcast, Emily, Erica, and Gabbi talk about how to convince your team to Clockwork.

Topics covered on this episode:

• Laying the foundation when hiring new team members
• The mindset shift you need to make as a CEO to overcome resistance
• Communicating the benefits to the team member
• How to find what motivates your team members
• The connection between everyone working in your zone of genius and buy-in
• Valuing continuous improvement as a team
• Changing resistance to curiosity

There are so many benefits for your team members to Clockwork: they get to operate in autonomy + with authority, and operate with clear expectations and outcomes. Everyone is set up to win. Communicating the benefits is key.

We would love to hear what resonated most with you! Tag us on Instagram @rlclockwork

And as always, we're continuing the conversation over in our free Run Like Clockwork Community! We'd love to hear your Clockwork questions!

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