The CEO Help Desk from Run Like Clockwork

Clockworking is a lifelong practice, so like any major lifestyle changes or habits you are working on developing, it's only natural that there will be ebbs and flows as you implement it. In this episode Emily talks about the three most common reasons our clients feel like they stall out on their progress:

1. "I don't have enough time in the day"
2. "I can't do it perfectly so I'm not doing it at all"
3. "I keep getting distracted by a million little fires"

She also covers 3 simple ways to jumpstart after an extended break. Most importantly, if you're experiencing a lull, remember to give yourself grace.

This is to be expected, it happens almost like clockwork ;)

The key is to seek out the support you need to push through these seasons. And if that's us, you can learn more at www.clockworkaccelerator.com

Sometimes (a lot of the time) it's the small tweaks to a system that make the biggest impact.

But sometimes knowing that there are endless things you could be doing to improve your business is more overwhelming than your actual workload. This is why we are so focused on continuous improvement here at Run Like Clockwork. The mindset shift from "everything must be perfect" to "done is better than perfect" has been instrumental in the success of our clients.

In this episode of the Run Like Clockwork Podcast, Emily is joined by Clockworker Ruth Newman, who shares her experience clockworking her architecture firm of over 14 years, and the ups and downs that managing her international team has experienced.It's a really honest conversation about the realities of entrepreneurship.

If you are looking to learn more about how to work with us like Ruth, visit www.clockworkaccelerator.com

She's back, folks!After a 13 week maternity leave Adrienne is plugged back into Team Run Like Clockwork and she's ready to share all the details about what it's really like to be unplugged from the business for that long. She's joined by Emily in this episode, and they cover everything, like:

• What her new role will look like now that she's back
• Advice she would give to the 2017 version of herself
• The unexpectedly hard part about being gone that long

• And the singl

The lessons and takeaways we share in this episode are just further proof why the 4-Week Vacation is always going to be a cornerstone of the Clockwork system. It is vital to the health of your business, yourself, and your team. Visit clockworkaccelerator.com to get started preparing for yours.

And if you have more questions about what this process was like, let us know on instagram @rlclockwork

Mistakes happen all the time.But unfortunately, the culture around admitting your mistakes can be highly problematic.

People are afraid of being vulnerable. They are worried that admitting they made a mistake will weaken their position at a company, or undermine their authority.

We need to reframe mistakes as a necessary part of the process because they are unavoidable.

In this episode Gabbi and Julie talk about the top reasons why making mistakes is more than just "ok", it's absolutely necessary, like:

1. We need to make them so we can learn and grow
2. They are an opportunity to improve or create systems
3. They foster teamwork and community

Shifting your culture can be hard work, which is why it's a huge focus of the work we do here at Run Like Clockwork. Want to learn more about how? clockworkaccelerator.com

Today we wanted to record an episode specifically for all the team members, so if you have a team be sure to share this one with them. As you know, we are obsessed with continuous improvement here at Run Like Clockwork, and that doesn't just refer to our systems… we are also focused on improving ourselves!We are responsible for our own growth… which for a lot of team members can oscillate between feeling both super exciting and super daunting.

In this episode, Julie, Gabbi, and Emily share more about our favorite growth tips and strategies and provide some insight into the good, bad, and super uncomfortable parts of our own personal journeys.

We also cover the S Curve, which we learned about in Whitney Johnson's book Build an A-Team, which is one of our favorite concepts to teach to our clients. If you're struggling with your own growth, or have team members who you know aren't tapping into their own strength, this episode can help provide a clearer path to finding it!

Just over a year ago, on this episode, we interviewed Julia O'Grady about her experience Clockworking her business ITM Events during the pandemic.We get a ton of positive feedback and general curiosity about how Julia's business is doing now that her industry is opening back up… so we knew we had to have her on again.

Julia is an incredibly valued member of our RLC community and is notoriously generous when it comes to sharing her experiences, so there is no topic off the table in this interview.In this week's episode, she opens up about:

• What worked and didn't work about Clockworking while business was really slow
• The unconventional (for her industry) boundaries she and her team live by
• How she has shifted their culture around valuing time as a commodity
• And soooo much more.

These are the important topics and conversations that we here at RLC want every CEO to be having.

The myth around "work/life balance" is crumbling. Perpetuating hustle culture isn't something to be proud of.

Team members aren't putting up with toxic leadership styles anymore

And to that, we say… finally.

You can learn more about Julia and the work she does here, and you can connect with us to learn more about Clockworking your business at www.clockworkaccelerator.com

Every quarter we host a quarterly planning call for our clients, and while we don't have time to do a whole session on this podcast, we do want to share a few high-level tips for you to get started!

These planning sessions are essential to the growth and success of our business, so grab a pen and paper because we are covering exactly what to cover and how to structure your meetings.In this episode we talk about:

• Why, when, and how to do your quarterly planning
• The importance of reflecting on wins of all shapes and sizes
• Five main categories we focus on when having a planning session

Unfortunately these meetings often get bumped to the bottom of the to-do list to make room for some of the more urgent fires that are always popping up.The reality is… NOT prioritizing this activity is often what leads to the fires in the first place!If you know you need support around building a business that isn't constantly on fire, click here: www.clockworkaccelerator.com

Well, we did it!Team RLC passed the final Clockworking test for our company – we planned, preppedt and hosted a brand new 2-day live event totally without Adrienne. While we have considered ourselves "Clockworked" for a while, meaning Adrienne can be completely removed from the day-to-day of the business, she is still the face of the company.So when she announced her second pregnancy to the team and her intention to take a longer maternity leave this time, we knew this was the perfect opportunity to put ourselves to the test and see how well our team could perform under the ultimate stress test.

In this episode Emily, Julie, and Gabbi talk through exactly what this process has been like over the past few months… all the highlights, obstacles, and learnings from the team. They also offer a few words of advice to other teams who are about to undergo their own 4-week vacations so they can be as smooth sailing as this was. This was a massive milestone for team RLC, and we don't hold anything back in this debrief.

You can learn more about how to make this a reality inside your own business at www.clockworkaccelerator.com

We are laser-focused on improving team culture standards and we've identified one of the fastest ways to undo it.

We work hard at Clockwork to create autonomy on teams, and along with autonomy comes the understanding that we have to take personal responsibility when things don't exactly go to plan.

But too often people turn to blame.

In this episode, Emily talks about how personal responsibility is the antidote to this, and how important it is for business leaders to model this behavior. She also shares some really interesting research from a Harvard Business Review article that explains just how damaging of an impact the blame game can have on your business.

This is a huge passion and focus of Team RLC, so if you are looking to learn more about how we address this with our clients check out www.clockworkaccelerator.com

Overcoming resistance is one of the bigger challenges our Clockwork leaders face during their journey with us. It can be frustrating, time-consuming, and overwhelming, but not addressing it head-on often leads to even more issues. In this episode, Emily talks about the two distinctly different types of resistance that leaders face as they are clockworking their business, and some tips to get to the root of the problem.She also discusses her favorite book to help on the topic!You can learn more about how we help our students overcome resistance and improve their business at clockworkaccelerator.com