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Zack Oates of Ovation on Building Business Connections through Digital Storytelling
Soliciting feedback from customers often seems like a daunting task. However, Zack Oates and his team at Ovation have cracked the code with a proven strategy that not only encourages guest feedback, but also establishes a personal connection for exceptional results.Zack Oates and the guest feedback platform Ovation have taken a radically different approach to hearing from customers, which stems…
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How a Good Mentor Can Change the Trajectory of Your Business — and Make You Happier at Work
Whether you're starting a new phase in your professional journey or reflecting on decades of experiences, mentorship is critical to thriving in your career. Mentors inspire new talent to hone their unique skill set and capitalize on opportunity. As a professional grows, the former mentee becomes a mentor themselves, shaped…
Top 17 Events and Conferences to Help Grow Your Business
When you're an entrepreneur leading a multimillion-dollar business, the right events aren't just about inspiration but strategic alliances, high-level connections, and forward-looking growth. When you attend the right high-growth conferences, you can unlock your next phase of success, including scaling, raising capital, expanding globally or connecting with top business leaders.Here…
How to Turn Community Impact Into a Competitive Advantage
When Tiyale Hayes reflects on his journey from the DMV area — one of six children raised by a single mother — to becoming Executive Vice President for Insights at Black Entertainment Television (BET), he doesn't just see personal success. He sees the power of authentic representation and community investment…
What Every B2B Brand Should Be Doing to Earn Trust in 2025
Your average decision-maker's inbox is overflowing with so-called "thought leadership." In fact, a recent analysis of over 8,000 long-form LinkedIn posts revealed that more than half were likely written by AI. Buyers are becoming adept at spotting this; separate research shows that 50% of them will stop reading the moment…
How a Setback Led to Success for Busy Philipps
Busy Philipps wasn't trying to disrupt the celebrity marketing model when she first cried on Instagram stories. She wasn't pitching brand deals or testing a strategy. She was just being real. But it turns out that unfiltered vulnerability — streamed to millions — wasn't just cathartic. It was transformative.Long before…
This One Leadership Move Will Transform Your Team’s Loyalty and Performance
For years, leadership development has focused on hard skills like operations, finance and technical know-how. But today, there's growing recognition that soft skills — especially emotional intelligence (EQ) — are just as vital, if not more so. EQ isn't just about being "nice" or managing conflict — it's about cultivating…
Take These 3 Steps to Shorten Your Sales Cycle
If you are shopping for a pair of new running shoes, how long does it typically take you to make a decision? If you're picky, the process could take months. No matter which industry you operate in, sales cycles have the potential to take longer than they should.While factors do…
How to Turn Bad Reviews Into Great News For Your Business
No matter how robust your brand's customer service is, you can't avoid negative feedback — noise that can block out all the great things your business offers and does. Social media is rife with videos highlighting incidents where customers feel wronged and the torrent of negative comments that follow. Reviews…
The Hidden Risk That Crashes Startups — Even the Profitable Ones
In startup life, we're trained to obsess over growth — more customers, more capital, more momentum. But when markets turn and uncertainty creeps in, all of that becomes secondary to one thing: liquidity.Not in the crypto sense. Not in the Wall Street sense. I'm talking about your business's ability to…
How to Harness Your Inner Athlete and Reach Peak Performance
Just like how an athlete trains for peak performance, your career growth demands passion, resilience and daily action. Tapping into your inner competitor will guide you to build the momentum needed to thrive professionally. Here are some strategies to help you stay focused and energized in your journey.1. Strengthen your…
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Creative Ways Startups Can Earn Funding in Tough Economic Times
In a declining economy, startups face an uphill battle when it comes to securing funding.…
I Asked AI to Create a Plan for a Fake Company — The Results Blew Me Away, But Not in the Way You Might Think
With all of the recent news about artificial intelligence (AI), it got me thinking about…
Ideas To Transform You From Good To Better To Best
A while back, I took a couple of my grandchildren on a tour of the…
5 Crucial Challenges Startups Must Overcome
Startups face numerous challenges on their journey to success, and failing to overcome any one…