Alan Wozniak

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Ensure you're getting the most out of your technology fund and getting the return on investment you're looking for. Businesses often face the ongoing challenge of balancing their budgets with investing in resources for growth. This is especially true when it comes to technology, which can require frequent and/or high-cost purchases to keep up with ever-evolving advances.  Spending only what is necessary and coming up with creative alternative solutions can help, but knowing where to start, and how to navigate different market options, can be overwhelming. To help make this task a bit less daunting, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum share their top tips for optimizing your company's technology investments.

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Some simple changes to your office space can unlock greater potential and productivity for your team. The design and layout of a company's office space is an often-overlooked factor in the creativity and collaborative spirit of a work environment. By incorporating flexible work areas that encourage spontaneous meetings and designing spaces that blend comfort with technology, the physical office environment can significantly impact employee engagement and productivity. Below, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members discuss practical ways leaders can enhance their office spaces for productivity. Here's why they believe these changes can lead to a more dynamic, collaborative and successful business.

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Navigating and supporting employee departmental transitions effectively requires a careful and strategic approach. It's not uncommon for employees to express a desire to transition to another department at their current employer. If someone on your team approaches you with such a requet, you have to ensure the move is a beneficial fit for both the employee and the organization. This requires a strategic approach, considering the employee's skills, the needs of the new department and the overall impact on team dynamics. Here, Newsweek Expert Forum members outline 13 key steps managers can take to plan for a smooth interdepartmental transition. Here's how they recommend supporting employees through this change so they can settle seamlessly into their new roles.

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When you're feeling overwhelmed, try one of these go-to strategies to ground yourself. Work schedules can quickly become overwhelming, leaving professionals feeling lost in a sea of tasks and commitments. A set of strategies to find a calming center and regain control can be helpful when navigating the feeling of "busyness" that plagues so many professionals. To help, 19 Newsweek Expert Forum members share methods they use to help conquer stress and overwhelm and get themselves back on track. Read on for their practical steps to declutter your mind and schedule so you can move forward with clarity and purpose.

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Before agreeing to sell your business, make sure you understand how it will impact you and your company—both in the immediate future and the long term. Being approached with an offer to buy your business can be equally exciting and nerve-wracking. Whether you've received an unsolicited offer or have been considering selling in the not-so-distant future, it's important to approach this critical decision with due diligence and careful consideration. Below, 16 members of Newsweek Expert Forum share key factors to consider when another company is interested in buying your business. From the acquiring company's track record to your ultimate exit plan, assessing and understanding these elements can ensure you make the decision that's best for you and your organization.

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Business owners must recognize that their personal metabolic health is as essential as their business health.

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While outsourcing business tasks can be a great way to stay connected to core business competencies, implementing these processes must be done with careful consideration. A growing organization requires leaders to rethink current internal processes and make changes that benefit the business in the long run. While keeping every task in-house made sense as a small business with limited resources, attempting to maintain the same setup as a midsize or large business can often end up decreasing productivity, lowering the quality of your offerings and moving the entire team away from core competencies. Outsourcing business tasks can be an easy way to free up more time and refocus the team’s attention on efforts that move the business forward. However, leaders must proceed carefully and have a plan to ensure solid, usable work is produced. To help leaders get a better idea of how to go about implementing outsourcing with their organizations, nine Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one strategic method to leverage when deciding what work should be outsourced.

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Before scaling distribution, it’s important that leaders have a plan in place to continually meet customer needs. In business, operating on the more conservative side is generally regarded as a smart strategy for entrepreneurs just starting out. However, for a business to grow and reach the next level of success, leaders eventually have to increase the scale of their goods distribution in order to reach and meet the needs of a bigger audience. As experts, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum have experience ramping up shipping operations and volume in a sustainable way. Below, they offer advice on how companies can seamlessly shift from a relatively small volume of shipping to a much larger scale of distributing goods.

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Here are four power tips to help you work less and get more done.

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Creating a more imaginative internal culture requires making changes to how your business manages employee ideas and feedback. In business, the most effective initiatives often rise from the bottom up. While leaders are essential in shaping the larger direction of an organization, it takes the combined efforts of team members in every position to carry out set objectives successfully. Creating an internal culture of active encouragement and support for employees to express themselves and devise new ways of thinking results in a truly effective business. Below, 16 Newsweek Expert Forum members each offer strategic approaches business leaders can leverage to build a culture of curiosity and innovative thinking among team members at all levels.

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While a busy business is the ultimate goal for many entrepreneurs, too many initiatives can eventually begin to negatively impact the team without intervention. The ability of a business to take on more and more initiatives is a definitive indication that the organization is doing something right. However, between marketing, customer support and product development, to name a few essential business functions, starting too many initiatives without proper protocols, adequate resources and a large enough team can prevent the team from making effective progress on any of them. For business leaders to successfully manage the initiatives they start, it’s essential that they keep a close eye on internal happenings and hone their skills in recognizing when too many projects have been undertaken. Below, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one sign that a leader has too many projects going on and how they can take steps to dial back and reduce project quantities for the sake of the overall business.

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Successful people know that failure is an opportunity to learn and improve. It gives you more data that you otherwise wouldn’t have gotten.

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Putting yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer can be an effective way to ensure you remain focused on their needs and desires. A landing page is often the first interaction a potential customer has with your website and company. The wrong colors, not enough or too much information and a cluttered design can all be factors that turn potential customers away from a business. An appealing landing page, however, not only entices visitors to explore the website further but also can be essential in converting visitors to paying customers. Below, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one way to ensure a landing page is appealing and optimized for conversions. From simplifying the design to reaching out to your target audience for feedback, making even small changes can lead to higher conversion rates.

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Even just taking a few routine tasks off of a leader's plate can have a huge impact on their efficiency. As a business grows larger, the amount of work a leader handles increases as well. Between attracting potential customers, nurturing customer relationships and managing all aspects of the customer journey, this leaves leaders with little time to work on the business rather than in the business.  Hiring a virtual assistant can be a great way for leaders to offload administrative and routine tasks while also positively impacting efficiency across the organization. Here, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members share how retaining a virtual assistant has helped them streamline their tasks and become more productive.

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In an increasingly digital world, knowing how to apply tools and technologies in your business is critical to keeping up with the market. While AI as a tool is not new, more and more businesses are looking to take advantage of it these days. From on-demand customer service and content generation to customer base management, there are many ways a business can leverage the power of AI to boost its ability to attract and retain customers.  As experts, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum have experience navigating the ongoing process of implementing and maintaining AI. Below, 10 of them discuss how businesses can effectively use artificial intelligence for customer acquisition and the positive impact it can have on the bottom line.

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With inflation rising, businesses are being challenged to balance profit and customer satisfaction. Maintaining the delicate balance between profit and customer satisfaction is a constant challenge. These days, business owners find themselves in the tough position of needing to raise prices to maintain balance in a world plagued by inflation. In a competitive market, price changes can be a double-edged sword, potentially boosting revenues or driving customers away. To navigate this terrain successfully, it's crucial for businesses to identify the one sign that indicates it might be time to raise prices. To help, 18 Newsweek Expert Forum members delve into the intricacies of pricing strategy and explore the key factors that signal when your business should consider this significant step.

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So, how can you get started with RevOps? Here are some key aspects to consider based on my experience.

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Putting time and effort into making improvements to your business’s SEO strategy is a worthwhile investment. With so many brands vying for attention in the digital space, attracting potential customers and retaining their attention can sometimes come at a high cost. To keep expenses down, many companies have turned to search engine optimization or SEO to boost their position in search results and drive more traffic to their website and content. Determining which small but necessary changes will be most beneficial requires thorough consideration of your target audience. To help, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one tip that business leaders can leverage to improve their business’s SEO at little or no cost.

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These effective strategies can help you build the customer trust you need to support your company's success.

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Doing a thorough examination of their own habits can help leaders see which behaviors are holding them back. Leaders play an essential role in organizations, helping to establish workplace culture and acting as examples for employees to model their behavior after. When leaders have good habits, it results in increased satisfaction, productivity and morale in employees. However, when leaders have bad habits, even when the intention isn’t to set a bad example, it limits and decreases the amount of success a leader and business can achieve. To help leaders identify which habits they should consider eliminating completely, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one seemingly harmless habit that can actually hinder leadership success.

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Committing to building a culture of unwavering customer centricity can effectively transform your business for the better. From Fortune 500 companies to startups, companies that prioritize customer centricity stand out in the market. They understand that customers are more than just revenue sources—they are the foundation of business survival and expansion. A customer-centric culture places the customer at the heart of every decision, fostering trust, loyalty and long-term relationships. But how can businesses truly embed this philosophy into their culture? Below, 20 Newsweek Expert Forum members explore the most effective strategies to cultivate a customer-centric culture within an organization and delve into the reasons why these approaches are vital for sustainable growth.

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Leaning on the perspectives and expertise of the entire team can help ensure decisions are made with care. Leaders are often faced with critical decisions that can significantly impact a company's success. However, the process of decision making can often be clouded by preconceived notions and assumptions. To make the best possible choices, leaders must step back and evaluate their own biases—but they may not always be sure how to do so. Below, 18 members of Newsweek Expert Forum share top strategies to help leaders set aside their assumptions and approach critical business decisions with an objective eye.

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Before you’re ready to hit the turbo jets on your business, you want to assess your business's current “fitness” level or condition.

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An “everyone sells” culture is needed for every business, whether they are in sales or not.

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Investing in the right tools early on can help a business achieve long-term success. In today’s highly competitive business environment, achieving business success comes down to the steps an entrepreneur takes in the early stages. For the B2B space in particular, the right technological investments early on can help not only build a reputable business reputation with potential customers, but also ensure that proper processes and procedures are put in place and maintained over time.  From systems to manage communications with customers to artificial intelligence technology that’s constantly evolving, there is a wide range of tech tools entrepreneurs can leverage for a new business venture. To help narrow down the selection, eight Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one tech tool they consider an essential early investment for successfully launching a brand-new B2B business.

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Over the course of their entrepreneurial journey, leaders will encounter numerous obstacles that help them grow personally and professionally. Running a business long term is never as easy as it looks. For every goal achieved and milestone met, business leaders must also expect to encounter obstacles. These can range from hiring challenges, market instability and an increasingly competitive business landscape to name a few common setbacks entrepreneurs can expect.  Still, despite the problems business leaders will inevitably encounter, it is still possible to stay the course and succeed with the right preparation, support and coping strategies. Below, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one specific action or practice they rely on to maintain their resiliency.

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A performance playbook is imperative if you want to build a healthy business that continues to grow. Let’s explore what it is and how to create one.

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Engage seasoned professionals can empower aspiring individuals and foster lasting impact through mentorship, internships, education and networking. To maintain success, it is not only essential for leaders to focus on the present but also to invest in the future by empowering the next generation. By sharing knowledge, providing guidance and offering opportunities, experienced professionals can play a vital role in helping young talent thrive. Below, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members explore various ways in which successful business owners and leaders can reach out and give the next generation a leg up. By actively engaging with and supporting the next generation, business leaders can foster a culture of innovation, inclusivity and continuous growth while leaving a lasting positive impact on future generations of professionals.

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Increasing the reach of job postings can be as simple as making a few changes to the required qualifications. Over the last few years, many businesses have begun recognizing the benefits of cultivating a workplace that welcomes diversity, equity and inclusion. This kind of environment not only helps the business to better cater to the changing needs of customers, but it also helps to attract and retain high-caliber talent that greatly contribute to the business’s overall success. Unfortunately, while employers are actively seeking diverse candidates, finding these applicants is proving difficult in a tight labor market. To help, 11 Newsweek Expert Forum members each share one strategy recruiters can leverage to ensure their job postings are reaching a diverse group of candidates.

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One of the best ways to improve a business is to conduct a health assessment.

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An exceptional customer experience is the key to keeping current customers coming back as well as enticing potential customers to purchase. Many entrepreneurs tend to consider their products or services the most important part of their business. As a result, a significant amount of time, effort and money goes into developing what people may need or want.  However, the utility or desirability of an offering is only a small part of what actually entices customers to buy. Rather, a top-notch customer experience can be the differentiating factor that convinces current customers to keep purchasing and potential customers to give a business a chance. Luckily, making changes to a business’s customer experience can be a simple process. To help entrepreneurs ensure they are properly taking care of their customer base, 17 Newsweek Expert Forum members share “low-hanging fruit” ways for businesses to effectively improve their customer experience.

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Seeking out and actively encouraging employees to share their opinions is critical to making the right business calls. Businesses of all sizes are constantly making decisions that have a considerable impact on the entire organization. The gravity of these decisions as well as the chances of conversations sparking disagreement and sowing team division may cause some leaders to limit discussions to a select few. Fortunately, safeguards can be put in place to add employees at all levels into the conversation, effectively limiting conflict, keeping discussions respectful and allowing individuals to offer insight without fear of negative consequences. To help businesses create space for various perspectives and set boundaries, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members share approaches leaders can leverage to encourage vigorous, yet respectful debate in their organizations.

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Business leaders can make data-driven decisions that drive growth and success for their organizations by leveraging data and analytics. In the age of big data, businesses are faced with an overwhelming amount of information to process and analyze. To stay ahead of the competition, leaders must leverage data and analytics to make informed decisions and identify areas for improvement within their companies. By utilizing data visualization tools, predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms, leaders can gain valuable insights into customer behavior, market trends and business operations. Below, 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members shared several ways that leaders can use data and analytics to improve business performance, increase productivity and drive innovation.

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Starting your own business can be an exciting and rewarding venture, but it's essential to be aware of the potential pitfalls that can arise along the way.

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By implementing a BOS and continually tweaking it over time, you’ll create an efficient and sustainable organization that’s poised to achieve its goals.

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Success in any industry, including technology, often depends on how well a company can keep up with the latest news and trends in its field. In today's rapidly evolving tech landscape, it's essential for organizations to stay up-to-date with the latest industry changes to remain competitive and relevant. Failure to keep pace with the latest trends and innovations can result in missed opportunities, loss of market share and ultimately, business failure. To stay ahead of the curve, organizations need to continuously educate themselves on the latest technological developments, anticipate emerging trends and be ready to adapt their business models accordingly. To help you do this, 15 Newsweek Expert Forum members shared some of the best ways for organizations to stay informed about industry changes in tech and explained why doing so is crucial for their long-term success.

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All aspects of a business impact its health.

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Having a deep understanding of yourself and your own goals can help prevent feelings of inadequacy. From Instagram and Twitter to now even LinkedIn, having a presence online today means constantly reading about what everyone has going on. This includes the life updates that people typically post but social media has also increased people’s tendency to primarily share the highlights rather than the entire picture. While this is not a bad thing on its own, constantly viewing the success of your peers can amplify your own feelings of inadequacy around personal and professional failures. Simply deciding to take a step back is one approach to consider, but it can negatively impact your relationships with peers over time. Below, 14 Newsweek Expert Forum members share recommendations for how professionals can connect and maintain healthy relationships with peers without comparing themselves to others’ success and accomplishments.

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As markets evolve and more people embrace the digital world, entrepreneurs have to be willing to try something new in order to attract more business. In the past, generating new customer leads came down to a variety of approaches. These included paper-based marketing advertisements, cold calls, referral incentives for current customers and word-of-mouth. And as many industries digitized, these efforts also began to include online spaces like social media platforms.  While the medium has changed, at their core, marketing and sales have not. To stand out today to current and potential customers, organizations have to remain committed to continually providing products and services that address the needs and desires people have.  To help entrepreneurs attract more business, 11 Newsweek Expert Forum members each offer one suggestion entrepreneurs can leverage to find customer leads in a modern, novel way.

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There are some universal qualities all leaders must possess to be successful. These essential traits give entrepreneurs, managers and other leaders the tools needed to lead their teams to success.

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No matter where you’re at in the life of your company, there’s still time to do a business health evaluation.

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Demonstrating the unique value your business offers can help set your business apart from the competition. A crowded market can present entrepreneurs with a number of challenges. In addition to building up the business and establishing connections with prospective customers, entrepreneurs also have to know how to navigate competition. Others in the market may offer similar or even the same products or services, so learning how to best appeal to potential customers helps set your business apart. When customers have a variety of choices, demonstrating the value your business can offer is essential to attracting and retaining those customers. To help, 12 Newsweek Expert Forum members share how entrepreneurs can approach differentiating their products or services in an oversaturated market.

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The benefits to be gained through coaching are hard to quantify.

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To become more effective leaders, we must develop our listening skills.

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Happy shareholders are a good thing, of course, but shareholder value shouldn't be the only goal of a business.

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Every entrepreneur faces obstacles, but it’s not the size of the problem, it’s about your approach to dealing with it.

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New legislation in Virginia provides a model for other states and opportunities for building owners.

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The National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan includes a challenge to building owners to improve indoor air quality. The results are cleaner air, healthier building occupants and improved energy efficiency.

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Looking forward to a future of safe workplaces free from the threat of virus transmission and pollutants requires a proactive approach.

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While no silver bullet solution exists, leaders and stakeholders must work together to create a strategy for improving the indoor environment.

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HVAC units under constant stress fail, plain and simple.

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To prove safer classroom environments to an auditor when federal funds are used to make improvements, schools will likely need to do more than show a receipt.

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Start with a comprehensive review of your HVAC systems.

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Five considerations before you take off on your next business trip.

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Whether it's an employee, a partner or a potential client, business success depends on nurturing genuine, organic relationships. When speaking or working with a new employee, partner or prospect, you don't want to jump right into a sale or ask someone for a favor upfront. Instead, it's best to approach the relationship in a genuine, authentic manner and allow things to develop naturally. Otherwise, you may drive the other party away if your outreach or conversation feels forced. To help organically build business relationships, a panel of Newsweek Expert Forum members share 14 important elements of successful connections with your stakeholders. Follow their advice to help improve the quality and flow of your business conversations.