Britton Bloch

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If you want to promote authenticity, living your brand's truth starts from within. Becoming a standout business in the industry doesn't just happen overnight. It may take years to build the trust and loyalty that you've sought from potential clients and customers. But before you try to convince people on the outside why they should buy into your brand of products or services, it's also smart to get your internal team on board with the company's core values and mission you want them to embrace. Once you create a solid connection with the stakeholders on your team, they'll be empowered to promote your company as brand ambassadors.  Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share their secrets to exhibiting brand authenticity and remaining true to your core values across the company—providing customers with a great first impression of what the organization truly stands for day to day.

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Inspire yourself to get stuff done in a new and improved remote work environment. Just because remote work affords you the freedom to maintain your business and family responsibilities alongside each other from the convenience of your home, doesn't mean it's okay to lose sight of maintaining an organized, professional, and productive workspace—when you are on the clock. Doing so allows you to concentrate wholeheartedly and remain stimulated by the daily projects and long-term projects on your plate.  If you are feeling siloed or unmotivated with low energy in your current WFH space, below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share their innovative ideas to help remote business professionals create comfortable, focus-driven workspaces that keep them inspired and motivated to produce great work each day. Applying these tips will also enhance work-life balance and protect physical and mental health.

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Here are 15 strategies to get you on the right path if you are still searching for personal and career fulfillment. When you're just starting out in a career of any sort, it's not unusual to—at times—feel worried or uncertain about your current path. How do you know if you are making the right decision about where you're committing your valuable time and energy in the workforce? Are you genuinely happy—at least for right now?  Being honest with yourself (and others) about your end goals is something to be proud of, and it's also a step in the right direction. Sometimes it's beneficial to experiment with different opportunities—even ones that turn out to be the wrong fit. To offer some further guidance, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members share additional ideas to find clarity as you begin to figure out where you want to see yourself five, ten, or even 20 years from now. In the meantime, proactively devote your best self to whatever it is you are currently doing now, while you're searching. You never know what your diligence in the task at hand may lead to down the road. It's all part of the journey.

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Business thought leaders weigh in on their top online marketing methods. Storytelling in the business world is essential if you want your organization to stand out in the crowd. How can business leaders become more strategic as they plan their content calendars to attract potential clients and partners through the digital marketing space? Using social media to improve a company's brand appeal is often directly linked to building genuine relationships. It's also about presentations and being more intentional about how you connect with others. By doing so, an organization is more likely to create trust and loyalty over time.  Below, 20 Fast Company Executive Board members discuss additional ways to increase brand recognition and financial growth through business engagement on social networks.

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If your small business is in the process of branching out worldwide, consider the following points as you prepare for your launch. As a business owner or CEO, expanding your company's reach in other countries is more than just building a worldwide network of team members and doing a deep dive into a business market you may be unfamiliar with. On the contrary, it's also about recognizing the standard guidelines that are in place and could enhance or prevent your organization from thriving if you fail to go about your launch in the right way. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members share advice as they weigh in on the impact (and importance) of globalization for small businesses in a growing competitive marketplace. 

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Implement these tips to attract new clients and customers to your business.  In a competitive, fast-paced, uncertain economy with evolving digital marketing strategies, sometimes it takes time to accurately gauge the pulse of your industry network and social subscribers. If your content isn't refreshing and well-researched, then you could potentially lose readers or viewers who are looking for content leaders who can solve their problems and answer their most challenging questions on a regular basis in a more efficient manner.  To help other business leaders and teams promote brand awareness through content successfully, Fast Company Executive Board members sound off on 19 highly recommended best practices.

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Business leaders offer guidance on elevating your career in a struggling economy. With so many things happening in today's world, it may sometimes seem like it's impossible to ever get ahead. In a competitive, uncertain marketplace, how can employees begin to elevate their career status so they can move ahead and support themselves and their families in an impactful way? Below, 20 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share their top tips to help industry colleagues make better decisions concerning their personal strengths and the goals that will lead to more progress.

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Business leaders discuss their best practices. In today's marketplace, there's no way around it, no matter what the industry—content rules. But when it comes to attracting new clients and retaining longtime customers, how do you grab their attention without losing their interest every time? Doing so can be hit or miss. It's one thing to simply create general content and it's another to genuinely engage your audience and give them something to look forward to watching and reading on a regular basis. Whether it's a brand newsletter, a company social channel, or a new business podcast, members from Fast Company Executive Board have plenty of experience. They are here to explain 20 methods to encourage your target base to read, watch, hit the subscribe button, and share.

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In today's hyper-connected world, it's easy for criticisms and negative comments to spread like wildfire, potentially damaging your reputation and credibility. Being a company leader who is also a public speaker or author of books and articles comes with its own set of challenges. One of the biggest challenges is dealing with public scrutiny, especially when someone doesn't agree with your professional viewpoint or is upset about what you said. To help leaders face this situation head-on, a group of Fast Company Executive Board members explores some strategies for handling public scrutiny and saving face when dealing with criticism or backlash. Whether you're a seasoned public speaker or a new author, these tips can help you navigate the rough waters of public scrutiny and emerge stronger and more successful.

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Is your company sending the right message to your diverse target audience? You may need to do a gut check on your communication and storytelling strategies. How can advertising and marketing teams create realistic promotional ad campaigns or product or service information that gives a proper voice and shares the accurate story of the BIPOC communities their company serves?  Updating the company's digital presence, brand materials, or newsletter distributions with a range of diverse images that reflect their clients' and customers' life experience is one step in the right direction. However, it's going to take more than a minor gesture like that, so you'll have to dig deeper and go further to make a meaningful difference. Below, seven experts from Fast Company Executive Board offer their best practices to help advertising and marketing leaders to depict a better representation of their target audience members that is genuine and demonstrates true commitment to their base. 

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It's easy to help your company do its part to create a more sustainable planet. It doesn't have to break the bank. Global environmental change, and the sustainability of our Earth, continue to be a rising topic of conversation in our personal and professional lives. If business owners, in particular, are looking for affordable ways to save the planet, they can start by assessing their company's carbon footprint beyond their walls and implementing small steps to improve their efficiency to make a better impact in their own community, first, and eventually worldwide. Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share one easy, economical suggestion for business leaders who want to invest more of their time and resources into a "green-first" philosophy so they can cut waste as a company at-large.

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Sales and marketing teams are following this rising trend to elevate consumer interest in the products and services they have to offer.  With the holiday season quickly approaching, digital resources continue to make it convenient for companies to reach current and potential customers about their latest offerings, even when people are busy on the go. But whether they're in the market to catch a deal on an affordable streaming service package to view their favorite TV series, trying to replace an essential household appliance that suddenly stopped working, or sprucing up their apparel options for an upcoming event, it's not always easy to captivate and keep their attention. To effectively meet shoppers in real-time, eight Fast Company Executive Board members are experiencing the benefits of direct marketing through interactive shoppable videos on social media. Here, they explain the impact of this type of engagement and how it is helping them to educate consumers about their brand and build on the company's reputation. 

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Business experts share their methods to grow your clientele through a more creative, strategic smartphone engagement. As the human attention span continues to decline, business owners need to rethink their creative advertising tactics to attract and retain potential customers who are always on the go.  Leaders should also keep in mind that today's consumers are using their mobile devices differently than they do desktops. Therefore, it's important to A/B test how your ad will look on a smartphone to confirm that the user journey is seamless and easy to follow. Below are eight Fast Company Executive Board members to help advertising department teams create promotional pieces that will pique the interest of their target audience.

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Build a better business blueprint for higher-performance ratings and greater reach. If you're finding it difficult to keep your company growing at a steady rate, then it's time to rethink your current strategy to optimize business influence in the marketplace. Humanizing your brand, through content that relates to where your target clients and consumers are, is a great way to build and secure better relations for the long term.  However, you'll also want to take a closer look at the data to analyze which tools need to be put into place to help the company produce the best outcomes. Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members share their advice to help leaders achieve their goals faster.

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Here's some extra motivational wisdom to keep you moving forward as well. Running a business is not for the faint of heart. It requires the confidence to make better decisions and self-awareness to remain humble enough to attract employee loyalty and trust.  In addition to having critical thinking skills, you also have to be willing to consider other people's ideas and be ready to pivot, carefully, as the market—as you once knew it—begins to evolve. We asked 16 members from Fast Company Executive Board what inspires them to keep striving and stay in business. Here's what they had to say.

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If you're thinking about making the transition to a more flexible work environment, the positives outweigh the negatives, according to these panel experts from Fast Company Executive Board.  At the start of COVID, remote work opportunities were a necessity to keep business operations and employee communications flowing. Now that things are moving in a familiar direction, some employees are required to return to work, while others are considering companies that are more flexible in providing a permanent hybrid or fully remote workplace environment. It's a mixed bag in terms of how business leaders and their people adjusted to this new way of connecting with their colleagues and clients during and beyond the pandemic.   Below are 14 Fast Company Executive Board members to share their thoughts on whether the hybrid-remote model has disrupted or improved their business focus and ability to navigate one of the biggest workplace transformations.

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Apply these practical solutions to finding loyal patrons who are willing to support your company—financially—for the long term. How can business marketers easily convert emoji-likes into "real" buyers of their products and services? In the business world, the bottom line is that having a million followers on your social media pages doesn't necessarily add up to an immediate bump in quarterly sales.  You have to work for it, hard, if you want your establishment to become a true financial success, beyond comments or social gratification. To win consumer confidence and build their trust and loyalty, try putting yourself out there by sharing your brand's authentic voice. Then create educational content about your company's "why" for potential and existing customers. Avoiding the mistake of being too salesy is another fine way to strengthen B-2-C relationships over time. Below, 11 Fast Company Executive Board members provide other leaders with their tried and true methods for engaging with "friends" across digital platforms, encouraging them to go one step further through the sales funnel—putting their money where they spend most of their (social) time.

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Creating higher workflow standards, and accountability across the board, empowers everyone to strive for success. When you are overseeing a company that depends 100% on remote workers and contractors, it's important to develop a transparent operating system that requires each stakeholder to remain accountable for their workflow.  In addition, building stronger team relations that are not solely focused on work-related issues is essential to enhancing a business environment that fosters support with higher-performance levels, comradery, and genuine trust.  Here are 15 ways that Fast Company Executive Board members have improved their management methods to keep their organization and processes running smoothly between leaders and their direct reports.

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Leaders (and their teams) can see significant benefits from participating in industry social settings. In its earliest stages, the Covid-19 global pandemic forced business leaders everywhere to put domestic and international travel plans on hold and cancel their annual in-person conferences until further notice. As creative virtual teams came to the rescue with alternative solutions that went off without a hitch, on-site events eventually returned, slowly, in the process. Although some executives may be hesitant about re-engaging—even after a few years, others are excited about their upcoming speaking engagements or networking prospects alongside longtime industry friends and peers they have missed. Whether it's sharing industry knowledge with the next generation of leaders, landing a feature interview for publication, or identifying a future potential business partner, the following Fast Company Executive Board members below are here to support their reasons for returning to the main stage as a guest panelist and how being back in the building is impacting their continued career growth.

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Brands that want to capitalize on the popularity of podcasts need a solid strategy for reaching and growing an audience. Whether they're business-focused, educational or just for entertainment, podcasts have become one of the most popular content mediums in recent years. Businesses can leverage the podcast format to connect with their customers in new and exciting ways -- but it has to be done well. There are already many popular podcasts out there, so your brand must be able to differentiate itself from the rest. Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board leaders shared their best tips for launching a successful podcast to increase your brand exposure.

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Here's how to build a pipeline of services to address your department's needs.  In a gig-driven economy, it's essential to find highly-skilled freelancers who are willing to handle extra assignments during a busy season for your team. Be selective about your decision when reviewing the feedback of the consultant's previous and current clients. And, based on the expectations about the job requirements,  keep an open line of communication so that everyone is on the same page.  Below are 15 best practices, courtesy of Fast Company Executive Board members to help leaders to attract a diverse group of candidates and retain them for future projects. 

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Here's how to attract and retain long-term clients. If you are thinking about launching a YouTube page to increase consumer knowledge about your products or services, it's important to focus on the key interests of your target base and deliver that content consistently. Finding a creative way to keep viewers engaged with your company through a topic you are mutually passionate about is the perfect way to demonstrate your knowledge and establish further credibility in the marketplace. In the end, the goal is to convert your social media followers into new loyal customers, but it's not so easy. To assist leaders with these efforts to grow their company's business, here are 15 reliable tips, courtesy of Fast Company Executive Board members.

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If you're worried about consumer loyalty in the current climate, apply these business tips to help your company regain its confidence and continue to grow. To remain competitive and fresh in the eyes of loyal customers, lean in a little further to focus on the clients' potential needs. You'll be one step ahead of their own anticipation. As you continue to also address their immediate issues, remember to demonstrate your company's willingness (through your actions and gestures of appreciation) to be completely present and accessible throughout every stage of their journey.  By practicing these simple methods, you'll secure their interest, enthusiasm, and excitement about your company's capabilities to sustain them over time in today's marketplace.  Below, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members are sharing their creative ideas to build multiple revenue streams and upgrade your offerings.

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Build a better service unit to improve your customer journey and satisfaction rates. To improve the quality of a company's call center, it's important to consider the B2B or B2C audience that the staff is serving. Investing in the latest software tools and offering ongoing training will reiterate core values and elevate the employees' abilities to handle unique challenges and experience ecosystems. Below, a panel of seven experts from Fast Company Executive Board share their top tips to boost success rates and customer satisfaction through the business call center.

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Seven executives discuss the benefits of converting your advertising strategy to this one. Monitoring the web-browsing and buying behaviors of prospective clients may seem like an unconventional sales tactic but it's a strategy that many leaders are leaning on. Doing so may better inform the latest advertising campaign aimed to resonate most effectively with customers, addressing their needs to enhance their journey and retain their business.  Below, seven members of Fast Company Executive Board explain how behavioral targeting can improve the performance of your company's marketing and promotional methods in the long run.

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The ability to appreciate diverse intelligences and practice humble confidence can create effective teams. A leader who has confidence in their ability, but acknowledges they may not have all the answers, can foster a more inclusive environment.

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14 ways business leaders are improving their efforts to walk the talk. When was the last time your company's leadership took time to review its driven purpose as it relates to social responsibilities? If it's been a while, then chances are it may be time to expand on the organization's code of ethics—as your workforce continues to grow into a more diversified and inclusive space.  Below, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members offer tips that will help managers maintain an open mind and evolve their mission to reflect the current climate and culture.

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Consumer psychology 101: Apply these engagement strategies to your sales funnel process. Keeping your fingers on the pulse of what's going on inside the mind of today's consumers, in real-time, doesn't have to be a hit-or-miss situation. If you utilize the proper tools and techniques available, you'll be able to quickly identify ways to elevate the customer's journey and exceed their satisfaction.  Once you've discovered what is working, or how to make the necessary tweaks in their experience with your products or services, you'll also be on track to gaining their long-term loyalty, trust, and support when it comes to advocating for your brand. Below are 15 methods that Fast Company Executive Board members are implementing in their business practices to engage with prospects and gather key information, which leads to sales.

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Here's how a CGI-AI-powered assistant can free up staff time and enable a smoother client journey. Chatbot systems have come a long way, thanks to artificial intelligence and machine learning improvements. With a user-friendly automated service installed on its website, any business can address its customers' immediate concerns or frequently asked questions with little to no wait. This helps teams increase customer satisfaction at a higher rate.  Below are 10 Fast Company Executive Board members to share how installing a chatbot software application to their company's website has improved their business-client relationships in real-time.

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15 company heads are sharing their best resources so you don't have to go it alone. Earning your first role in leadership may seem exciting in the beginning but it can be challenging once you dig a little deeper on the job. But if you learn how to build the right team to assist you with meeting the company's mission and goals, you'll be set up for success in no time with people who are willing to back each other up during the decision-making process. And that's a big win for all. In addition to having reliable staff to stand by your side, often what is most needed is the time to reflect inwardly by yourself—so you can think things through, or to seek knowledge from a close colleague, a mentor on paper, or through an established personal network that will keep you motivated when times get tough.  Below are some go-to leadership resources that a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members has found useful, whether you're a seasoned C-Suite executive, newly appointed team leader, or in the launching phase of building your own start-up.

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Transitioning from a micromanager to a true leader can be difficult, but it's essential if you want to build trust with your team. When you're used to being in control of your business, it can be hard to delegate tasks that you've done well on your own. But with growth comes the necessity to hire new employees to take on projects you're no longer as available to handle. Micromanaging slows down workflow and creates a strained dynamic between employees and leaders. More importantly, it hinders the ability of a manager to build trust with their employees. To help you break this bad habit, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members shares some best practices for becoming less of a micromanager and trusting your team's instincts. 

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The cold call pitch isn't dead, but it does have to be done the right way to get the best results. Cold calling can be awkward at times. You only have so many minutes to get the strongest points about your product across, and you're always at risk of your prospective client hanging up. But in the modern digital era, calls shouldn't ever be "cold." Connections are easier to make when you start with common ground, and that can be easy to establish with a quick Google search of your target client. Below, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members shares the best ways to warm up your cold call and make your pitch successful. 

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Being able to stay consistent with your strategic approach to meeting goals is key when it comes to navigating data variables. Technology is a useful tool to help businesses remain relevant in the marketplace and understand the data behind their consumers' behavior patterns. However, it's crucial to merge human intelligence with the machine learning elements, so you can ask the right questions and keep up with market trends alike. Below are 12 suggestions Fast Company Executive Board members offer to get you up to speed with data-driven market segmentation and how it can help you meet your business and customer needs.

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Implement these workflow strategies when deadlines are quickly approaching. When you are stretched thin with plenty on your to-do list, believe it or not, the best thing you can do is to relax (mentally and physically) periodically throughout the work day. By doing so, you'll refuel your energy level, be more focused and productive as you push past the finish line to reach your short- and long-term goals. Below, experts from Fast Company Executive Board describe their most effective productivity hacks during crunch time and how useful they are when you are trying to get the most done.

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15 leaders weigh in on meeting consumers where they live. Despite the thriving and evolving digital economy, leaders still need to strike a healthy balance between their company's online and offline presence if they want their business to remain relevant to current and prospective customers. To enhance your daily presence in their personal or professional lives, it's also essential to listen so you'll understand their needs because that will help you come up with some of the best solutions that are well timed and informative. Below are 15 additional tips, from members of Fast Company Executive Board to equip you with the essential tools to stay authentic and active in your targeted communities.

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14 points to consider when you're reviewing a job candidate's resume. As the nature of how and why people work continues to evolve, hiring managers will benefit from learning to understand the whole person, before jumping to conclusions about a significant employment gap on the applicant's resume. Instead of flagging previous time lost on the job as a deficit, focus on the potential new hire's passion, aptitude and eagerness to tackle new career challenges ahead and how the personal time off may be a sign of maturity to thrive at the current job opportunity and contribute to the mission of your organization in the long term. Below, Fast Company Executive Board members provide 14 additional ways to approach this conversation during the interview process and help you make the best decision to find the right fit for your department's needs.

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How to keep your company's original mission relative to the future growth market.  To avoid remaining stagnant in today's evolving marketplace, an entrepreneur must keep one eye on the pulse of the latest trends and the other on the reasons for going into business in the first place. To stay balanced, the leader should make pursuing innovation a natural part of the company's course in order to survive. Below, 15 members from Fast Company Executive Board weigh in on the path to blending legacy with future possibilities to help their companies thrive.

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15 ideas to build your confidence before the next presentation. Public speaking isn't an easy thing for every leader, but you have to conquer the fear factor if you're planning to represent a business. But if you focus on your passion for going into business, share authentically, and continue to practice being in front of a room full of people every chance you get, you'll be a pro at it in time. Every C-Level executive and department head has been there before, including the expert panelists from Fast Company Executive Board. Below they offer some practical advice on how to move past the hurdle.

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Embolden your introverted employees to make their voices heard. When you are leading a diverse group of employees who vary in personality, learning styles, and how they participate in the business settings, it's important to tune in to their needs and make sure your entire team is feeling valued in the workplace and given ample opportunities to be heard. Developing multiple lines of communication to enable feedback from every employee on your team is ideal. Doing this will help guide your decision-making process and build on those team suggestions to move the company one step forward in the marketplace.  Below, 12 Fast Company Executive Board members share ideas to encourage introverted team members to speak up during group collaborations, or their preferred method of communication. This is key if you want to avoid always hearing from the same extroverted contributors.

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Here's how to build your public speaking skills and command a crowd's attention. If you're an introverted employee who is uncomfortable about speaking in large group settings—internally or externally—you probably prefer to keep your head down and let your work speak for itself. This method has helped you to succeed in your industry and now you're at the top of your game.  However, when you step into a leadership role, sometimes duty calls. You may need to present a complex business concept or product launch during a company town hall. You may need to answer to executive leadership members regarding your team’s performance levels during a great (or not so great) quarter. You may even be called upon—at some point during your time with the company—to communicate on its behalf about a hot topic of issue, among your fellow peers in a public space.  If you're lacking in confidence on how best to prepare, there are plenty of outlets to practice and improve your presentation skills in time for the next big meeting. Below are 13 ideas from Fast Company Executive Board members that may also decrease some anxiety before presenting.

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Do some spring cleaning by finding new ways to stay relevant and up-to-speed in your industry.  With spring around the corner, it's a great time to get your (business) home in order. Maybe the focus is on a complete overhaul of products or services that are still underperforming, or maybe your team wishes to develop a brand new way of reaching current and potential clients more effectively through the digital marketing funnel and sales process. While some organizations are setting up new automated systems or boundaries to help hit their quarterly marks throughout the entire year, others are also playing catchup on a backlog of projects impacted by false starts and stops in the workplace based on the global pandemic. No matter the case, 11 experts from Fast Company Executive Board share the one business cleaning goal they have in mind to produce a smoother workflow operation for their teams in 2022, and why.

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13 tips to improve your social engagement skills and build better alliances. How do you define the art of networking? Is it a stepping stone to close your next business deal, or are you intentional about nurturing new relations that will build a pathway and benefit all? A panel of experts from Fast Company Executive Board agree that being an active listener—focused less on brand promotion and more focused on following through on promises made—is key to leaving a great impression on potential clients and colleagues in the long term.  Below, the 13 council members share how by changing bad habits formed in social settings, they've also created more meaningful connections.

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Leaders explain why now's the best time to lean in on the latest movements. In the business world, if you want to be considered one of the most relevant leaders in your industry, then having a thorough grasp of today's innovations, or demonstrating your willingness to gain the appropriate knowledge to keep your company ahead of the curve in an ever-changing market is a crucial step in order for your brand to survive.  Prospective clients and loyal customers are likely to stand by organizations that continue to inspire revolutionary growth with new ways of engaging with consumers, handling the day-to-day business requirements and finding better solutions that are much more sustainable. Therefore,  a panel of experts from Fast Company Executive Board shares their top trends for developing new ways of thinking about how to run a business in 2022.

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Steer your team of leaders and employees in the right direction.  Business and technological solutions may be changing every day, but your concept for launching a successful startup in the first place doesn't always have to. In today's tight and uncertain economy, full of new ideas, services, products, and platforms, how do you ensure that the team will continue to align and carry out your company's initial values and expectations? To equip other leaders worried about these same issues, experts from Fast Company Executive Board provide 15 ways to keep your original company concept and mission top of mind and in place. The team can continue a focused journey on where the company stands, which also includes flexibility and openness to innovative ideas about the future of daily workflow.