Chad Engelgau

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Marketing has always embraced new platforms because it’s where people are. If a brand is in the real world, it’s time to be in the virtual world, too.

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Apply these tips to foster improvement in your business products and services. It's important to keep your eye on the prize when you're running a business you want to see survive. But, it's not always easy to outdo your company's biggest achievements, or implement needed improvements, year after year—especially in a tight economy.  Despite reality, however, whether your company was able to move the needle forward by an inch or a mile to reach its bottom line this past year, it's essential to highlight each moment. By doing so, you'll be able to boost employee morale and heighten productivity among your loyal team members. Here, 15 members of Fast Company Executive Board share one new thing they've already implemented or are excited about doing in the coming year to enhance their business image, company core values, and work culture!

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Business leaders share their thoughts on how to build your business the right way. Oftentimes, when business begins to pick up the pace and executives are able to maintain positive outcomes on their bottom line objectives, quarter over quarter, there's a sudden temptation to push the brand of products further to improve or expand upon its current offerings.   But depending on the economic climate in the overall industry, sometimes it's worth treading lightly and putting on the brakes to take your time and conduct further research before getting too far in over your head. Here, eight Fast Company Executive Board members offer one tip for brand leaders to carefully evaluate their existing products or services and identify opportunities for improvement or expansion.

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How can executives, who are already trying to navigate through disruption at all levels, realize the value and avoid the pitfalls of AI?

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Do your team members possess these key characteristics?   The key to maintaining longevity in business is to hire the right people who can best represent your company and its core values. Whether it's someone who is excellent at forecasting what leadership should be focusing on for the future or an employee who does a great job keeping the team morale elevated with their high energy and daily motivation, staff members can make or break the company's long-term success.  Here, 13 Fast Company Executive Board members explore the type of talent and characteristics that are essential for leaders to bring on board to manage their company's operations and achieve growth objectives effectively.

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Business leaders share insights on compensation equity. Paying every employee a fair wage based on their experience and talent—not their gender or cultural background—should be a given. For many companies, treating workers equally for the time they put in at the company each day is simply a best practice. But for some organizations, wage inequality is still prevalent and is an issue that needs to be addressed.  To keep the conversation at the forefront of what's happening in the workplace, we asked 12 Fast Company Executive Board members to each provide one step that companies can take to bridge the gender and ethnic wage gap happening around the globe.

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I'm passionate about all things growth hacking, leadership development, and inclusion—so much so that I created a conference, developed a game, and wrote a book about the root of it all: growing deeply human connections.  So, what does it take to build a company culture that fosters those types of connections? We all know there's merit to in-person interaction, but paying for office space and asking your team to commute every day may not be the answer. Instead, the same money that some leaders may put toward rent can be used for team kickoffs, company retreats, and interpersonal events. These activities are far more thoughtful and effective in building personal relationships, connections, and a sense of belonging. The key is to make any team gathering intentional, which ultimately ends up being more productive—and less expensive.  To help other leaders cultivate a sense of belonging, I asked members Fast Company Executive Board Company Culture, an online community that I lead, for their top culture-building tips.   

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Consider these cost-reduction tips to future-proof your business. As a business leader in charge of ensuring your company's ability to thrive—no matter what type of economy financial experts are predicting—it would serve your team best to plan ahead and put systems in place to maintain a successful business during the good times and bad.  To help you improve profitability in today's tight economy or get your organization ready for the next wave of marketplace uncertainty, here are 13 members from Fast Company Executive Board to share cost-reduction strategies that are working for them and their teams.

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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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If you don't want your team's eyes to glaze over every time they see an email from you in their inbox, then apply these internal communication strategies from leading experts. Internal communications are essential for keeping employees informed and engaged, but getting employees to read and keep up with the messages can be a challenge. That's why, as a leader, it's important to craft communications that are clear, concise, and relevant to the audience. By doing so, you can ensure that employees feel valued and informed, which can boost morale and productivity. To help you achieve this, try these expert tips for writing internal communications that employees will actually read and keep up with, as recommended by the members of Fast Company Executive Board.

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A successful webinar will engage, educate and possibly persuade its target audience and keep the host top of their mind for their future needs. Webinars have become an increasingly popular tool for businesses to engage with potential clients and customers. However, simply hosting a webinar is not enough to ensure success. To make a lasting impression and achieve desired outcomes, businesses must use best practices to create engaging and informative content that resonates with their audience. Whether it be educational or persuasive, effective webinars require careful planning, preparation, and execution. To that end, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members weigh in on some of their best practices for hosting webinars that are useful, relevant, and valuable for potential clients and customers.

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Strike up a conversation that builds consumer trust about what your company stands for before you start pitching your product or service. Pop-up shops and kiosks can be an effective way for existing companies to engage with potential customers in new ways and generate additional buzz around their products and services. However, before they set up a new retail location, companies must consider several important factors. Setting your temporary retail shop up for success involves factors like choosing the right location, researching your target market, and setting clear objectives and metrics to track progress. Below, a panel of Fast Company Executive Board members explore these items more in-depth and provided guidance on how companies can launch a successful pop-up shop or kiosk.

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Forging successful connections at trade shows requires a solid strategy for attracting and retaining the attention of prospects. Trade shows are an excellent opportunity for businesses to showcase their products and services and connect with potential clients. However, with so many companies competing for attention, it can be challenging to stand out from the crowd. To be successful at a trade show, businesses must find ways to attract and retain the interest of potential clients on the spot in real-time. This requires a combination of creativity, preparation, and a willingness to take risks. To that end, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members recommend some top strategies businesses can use to stand out from competitors during an annual trade show and leave a lasting impression on potential clients.

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Apply these tips to keep employees motivated without comparing themselves. In a competitive workplace, it's important for leaders to foster an environment where employees feel safe to express their challenges as well as successes without feeling intimidated or insecure about how they measure up to other team members. Bonding over common and personal interests outside of work is another opportunity to strengthen relationships. And when employees celebrate each others' wins and learn how to support others in collaboration it enhances mutual respect and admiration for the next person. Below, 10 Fast Company Executive Board members share their best practices on how to connect with colleagues in a healthy way without comparing their own success or lack of it.

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While DCRs seem like the latest three-letter acronym to storm the marketing landscape, let's make sense of the hype and distill fact from fiction.

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Don't turn your back on the naysayers—there's always room for growth. No one ever looks forward to hearing negative feedback from their colleagues or clients, but when it's delivered in a constructive manner to teams who are willing to listen, it can make all the difference in the world.  Whether an organization needs to work on closing the communication gaps or elevating its product and service delivery process, implementing a new way of doing things in a timely fashion, will also boost a team's morale to develop their skills and help the business improve further. In this latest panel, 11 Fast Company Executive Board members describe how some criticism, taken, can actually be more beneficial for the company.

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How do you know which CDP solution to choose? Here’s what the C-suite needs to know.

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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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Greater engagement with the corporate sustainability movement can serve your brand, its employees and its customers. Many employees today want a company that supports environmental sustainability or works toward an eco-friendly future. It's important that companies consider different ways to incorporate their sustainability values into their company mission so that it's clear to all employees and customers what they support. As a leader, there are a few simple ways to ensure that your employees are engaged in the overall environmental sustainability goals that you've set. Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members shared their best advice for enhancing their company's engagement in sustainability.

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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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Here's how to finesse supply chain demands in a low market. If you're going to beat supply chain demand when the economy is tough, it's important to remain proactive in business so you can continue to gauge the clients' interest during the unforeseeable future. As you build your cash flow and supply chain network, to steadily upgrade your products and services during the good times, you'll be able to strengthen the confidence and commitment of your most loyal customers even when times are bad.  Below are 10 steps Fast Company Executive Board members have taken to deal with the current inflation and supply chain crisis.

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Finding a balance between work projects and personal pursuits can be challenging, but these practical strategies can help. When there’s are a lot of ongoing projects and deadlines to meet at work, it can feel as though you’re never caught up or have time to spare for yourself. However, finding a way to manage your time to have a healthy balance is important for your mental and physical well-being.  Below, 15 Fast Company Executive Board members offered some practical strategies to help you reclaim and manage your time. They share methods they’ve used to carve time out of their hectic days and how you can use them to achieve that balance for yourself.

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At its core, identity is the ability to recognize people—customers and prospects—across channels and devices. 

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The business world demands constant innovation, but when is the right time to unveil your "latest and greatest" ideas? Company innovation is an important part of a company’s growth. Without innovation, sales may become stagnant and customers may lose interest in seeing the same products or services offered after a long period of time. To ensure your business seems relevant and continues to excite your customers, adding new products or services becomes imperative. But when is the right time to introduce a new product? When should you launch that new marketing campaign? Here, 15 experts from Fast Company Executive Board shared their best advice for gauging whether now is the right time.

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In 2022, the question for your brand is: How do you serve, satisfy, and delight your customers?