Greta McAnany

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10 ways to maintain relevance in an ever-changing digital work environment. In an evolving virtual world, it's important for companies to stay informed about the newly developed system solutions and devices that are there to make the daily operations of a small, medium, or large enterprise run a little smoother. Whether you are a COO executive whose days are filled with back to back meetings, or a middle manager with a team of direct reports and other follow-up responsibilites that take up a good portion of your day, it's not an easy task to squeeze in additional hours to take a deeper dive into why your individual department or entire company should strongly consider investing in the latest platform, software or gadgets on the market.  That's why Fast Company Executive Board members wanted to share their 10 ideas for educating leaders and staff about the current digital technology updates. 

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Don't let your company's departments get cut off from each other and stop communicating about and progressing toward shared goals. In the early days of a startup, most team members likely wear multiple hats and have to pitch in together on a variety of projects. But as companies grow and develop, different departments may adopt their own project management and communications systems. While it may seem like it's a good idea for every team to find and leverage the tools and processes that work best for them, a drive for "departmental efficiency" can have the unintended effect of creating team silos. If every team or department in an organization is working with a different set of processes, systems, and tools, they may end up engaged in redundant work, overlook important tasks, and struggle to effectively communicate updates and needs with other stakeholders. All of these misfires can eventually lead to frustration for both the staff and the customers and clients the business serves. Fortunately, with the right strategies from leadership, it's possible to prevent the prevalence and minimize the impact of working in silos. Below, 16 Fast Company Executive Board members share their best tips and tricks for establishing a culture that values both maximum efficiency and productive collaboration.

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Your business isn’t wholly powerless to stop the impact of “The Big Quit.” “The Great Resignation,” also known as “The Big Quit,” is making headlines as millions of Americans quit their current jobs to find “something better.” While it’s true that workers are rethinking their priorities and desires in the workplace, it doesn’t necessarily mean your company is doomed to lose its top talent: There’s still hope for leaders who value their employees and are willing to do what it takes to retain their workforce. If you want to keep your team intact through this period of mass workforce turnover, it’s important to be proactive and take steps toward employee retention. Below, 16 members of Fast Company Executive Board each share one thing a business owner can do to make staying on the most attractive option for their workers.

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Pair a changing paradigm with a never-changing need and you can begin to develop the guiding principles of your category.

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Customer retention may be cheaper than new lead generation, but you need the right strategies to successfully earn repeat business. One of the first lessons business owners learn is that it’s cheaper to retain an existing customer than to engage a new one. However, that doesn’t mean it’s easy—and failing to retain current clientele can lead to detrimental consequences for an organization. Fortunately, there are several simple strategies that businesses can use to help retain and engage their existing customers. Not sure where to begin? Start with these 13 tried-and-true tricks shared by the members of Fast Company Executive Board.

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Anticipating challenges rather than just reacting to them puts you a step ahead in overcoming them. With every problem—whether it’s personal or professional—you’re given a choice to respond either proactively or reactively. A proactive approach allows you to get in front of the issue before it escalates, while a reactive approach is usually focused on cleaning up the aftermath. It's easier for business leaders and their teams to overcome challenges when there's a plan in place even before they appear. To help you develop a proactive mindset and business culture, 16 members of Fast Company Executive Board share their experience and the strategies that work for them.

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Growth is a primary goal for almost every business, but if you don't have the right strategy for scaling up, it may hurt your business in the long run. Scaling up is an exciting period for business leaders. It's easy to get swept up in the possibilities presented by rapid growth opportunities, but it's essential to manage that growth with the right strategies. Otherwise, you may scale too quickly and struggle to keep up. The members of Fast Company Executive Board know firsthand what it takes to sustainably and properly grow a business. Below, 10 of them share some common mistakes entrepreneurs may make when trying to scale up and how to course-correct.