Alan Wozniak

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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.