Dustin Eide

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Employees who take ownership often feel more valued, motivated and connected to company goals. Many companies often struggle with employee engagement. Employees may be “phoning it in,” not taking initiative or failing to do more than is required of them, and company leaders can’t figure out how to get them more invested not only in their own success, but in the success of the company as well.  One solution is to build a culture of ownership. When employees feel they have control over their work and their future, they’re more likely to be productive and step up with ideas to benefit their team, as well as feel generally happier about their work. So what’s the key to creating such a company culture, and what steps can leaders take to build one? Here, business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council draw on their own experience improving employee engagement and offer up 10 strategies they’ve found to be most effective in empowering employees to take ownership of their roles and future success. 

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You don’t necessarily have to sacrifice one to achieve the other. All companies must eventually make sales if they want to last as a business. And to make sales, you need to work on marketing — or getting your brand and products in front of potential customers and detailing the reasons why they should pass their hard-earned cash off to you. But while earning sales is one of the main goals of good marketing, some efforts can sometimes come off too “salesy,” turning off customers with far too insistent and persistent language and messaging. Today’s consumers crave more transparency from brands, so marketers must work to balance their sales pitch with their brand’s authentic voice. Drawing on their own experiences as business leaders, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in below on how brands can balance authenticity and marketing when developing their unique brand story and why it’s so important to do so.

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To market to a younger audience, you first have to get to know them on a deeper level. Culture is rapidly changing, with influencer-recommended shopping and rapid content consumption becoming the norm. And as younger generations not only embrace this new culture but lead it, companies are finding themselves targeting a new demographic of consumers. However, taking the same-old approach won’t be effective if you want to gain the interest of young consumers. From marketing on the right platforms to supporting their favorite social causes, companies will need to consider younger generations’ differing preferences. Here, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer up nine ways companies can better engage younger consumers and the methods that have worked well for them. 

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Turn your attention to a two-party system that doesn’t get enough scrutiny and one that definitely doesn’t benefit Americans: the two-party payment system.

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Navigate around these common branding pitfalls to strengthen your reputation and boost audience engagement. For today's businesses, managing a strong online presence is just as important as delivering quality products or services. However, boosting your company’s brand can be difficult in a saturated online space, and there's no shortage of potential pitfalls that can undermine your reputation. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members explore common mistakes businesses make when promoting themselves online. Their insights can help you avoid these missteps, increase audience engagement and strengthen your brand’s overall marketability.

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If your employees feel uncertain about how AI will impact their roles, here's how to frame communications to alleviate their concerns. In the last few years, AI has taken off in unexpected ways that have changed the way today's workforce operates. As a result, the fear of automation replacing tasks or entire jobs has become common among employees.  However, automation doesn't remove the need for the human touch — and, in fact, can be used to support employees in their day-to-day workflows. Below, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share reassuring messages that can help calm employees navigating these changes. With the right communications, employees can view AI not as a threat but as a tool to advance their careers and embrace new possibilities.

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Just because you've fallen out of contact doesn't mean you can't reach out and pick up where you left off. Reconnecting with someone in your professional network after time apart can feel a bit awkward, but it’s also a valuable opportunity. Rekindling these relationships can open doors to new opportunities, collaborations and insights while strengthening your professional connection for the future. According to members of Rolling Stone Culture Council, reaching out in a thoughtful, genuine way can help you meaningfully rebuild those connections. If you’re looking to reestablish relationships within your network, these expert strategies can guide you toward doing so with authenticity and impact.

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Become a recognized expert in your field with these effective thought leadership strategies. As an entrepreneur or business leader, building influence in your chosen niche can cement your status as a credible industry thought leader. Being influential requires strategic actions that establish your expertise and encourage relationships with key players in your field. To help you do this, Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their top recommended strategies for elevating your influence within your industry. These strategies can make all the difference when you are trying to establish your reputation as a sought-after and respected expert.

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The support and experience of others may just be the solution you need. Success is often not a straight line; it’s full of ups, downs and plenty of surprises. In entrepreneurship, the path to success comes with obstacles you’ll need to overcome if you want to continue on. Many entrepreneurs share similar obstacles, and some may be more unique to specific situations or people. However, when all is said and done, it’s the way an entrepreneur solves each problem that can serve as a guide for others to solve their own. Below, 11 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council each share one major struggle they've faced as an entrepreneur, the steps they took to overcome it and how other entrepreneurs might learn from their journey. 

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If you're not part of it, you might not realize cannabis is one of the most innovative spaces right now.

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Here are a few ways to track success you may not have thought of. When it comes to meeting your customers where they are, getting on social media is likely a good place to start. But while more and more customers are shifting their browsing and shopping habits to social media, tracking the effectiveness and ROI of a social media campaign can be tricky. Attempting to determine how much money was made from “likes” or “comments” isn’t as straightforward as other forms of marketing, and this can be a major struggle for social media teams trying to prove their success.  However, money made isn’t the only way to define “success,” and there are other goals or milestones that may indicate customers are getting value from what you’re offering. If you’re struggling to find a return on one of your social media campaigns, consider tracking one of the following metrics, as suggested by the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council. These key performance indicators may help you see your campaign in a whole new light.

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The key is to focus on your cause and not your business. Whether it’s donating to a cause, giving their time and resources to those in need or partnering with a nonprofit organization, there are many ways for businesses to get involved in philanthropy. But while the main motivation behind doing good in their community may not have anything to do with scaling their business, telling stories of impact and philanthropy can be a great strategy for boosting business growth.  The trick lies in how to tell these stories thoughtfully and sensitively in a way that will resonate with consumers across the board. As business leaders and master storytellers themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have a few tips for getting it right. Below, they offer up their best advice for telling compelling stories of impact that will lead to enhanced growth.

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Here's how to strategically create and follow through on your most important business goals. No matter what industry you're in, business success starts with identifying short- and long-term goals. However, it can be tricky to figure out exactly how to set and achieve those objectives. To help, Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders share their goal-setting strategies and why these methods are effective. Follow their recommendations to help you refine your approach to achieving your business goals.

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The best way to negotiate is to ensure both parties win. Whether you’re attempting to settle on a price with an important client or trying to reach an agreement with a potential business partner, negotiation plays an important role in business. However, it isn't a skill that comes naturally to everyone, and some may struggle to find a balance between achieving what they want and ensuring the other party does too. Mastering the art of negotiation takes practice, but keeping the following tips in mind can help you improve your skills faster and achieve the best outcomes. Below, the business leaders of  Rolling Stone Culture Council draw on their years of experience closing deals to share their best advice on becoming a master negotiator, no matter your industry.

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Expressing gratitude is just one way a leader can show they care. One of the many jobs of an effective leader is to inspire and motivate their teams to put forth their best effort and do good work. However, inspiring and motivating are made much more difficult when you aren’t sure exactly what to say. What words will lead your team to solve problems? Find their creativity? Nurture relationships with clients?  According to the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council, it’s not necessarily about the exact words you say so much as their meaning and your genuine feelings behind them. From acknowledging employee contributions to offering more autonomy, your words and their intent can have a powerful impact on your employees and the way they work. Try out the following nine suggestions and see what you can inspire your team to do.

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Don’t let these blunders ruin your customer relationships. Poor customer service can have a big effect on a business’s ability to succeed. And while a smile and a helpful attitude can go a long way toward creating a positive experience for a customer, they aren’t the only aspects of customer service that need to be focused on. Whether it’s slow response times or even relying too heavily on customer self-help tools, there may be some practices you don’t even realize are hurting your relationships with your customers.  Pinpointing your company’s bad practices is essential if you want to improve your customer service efforts and, as a result, the overall happiness of your customers. To get started, consider this list of bad practices that could be derailing your company's customer service efforts, courtesy of Rolling Stone Culture Council business leaders.

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Experimenting with a new product or service shouldn’t come at the expense of your core business. It can be said that all businesses are in the business of making money. Regardless of what product they sell or what service they provide, all businesses need to make money in order to survive and, hopefully, thrive. But there’s another component businesses need in order to thrive, at least in the long term: innovation. If businesses don’t innovate or improve upon their current offerings, they may not ever grow or reach their true potential. However, innovation can be risky, as not all ideas will be profitable or accepted by customers. To find that balance between making money in order to survive and making room for innovation, business leaders should consider the following eight tips from the experts of Rolling Stone Culture Council. Here, they discuss the key to balancing innovation with the financial need to stick with what works, ensuring business leaders can still pay the bills.

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Your willingness to learn and grow has a major impact on your ability to win in business. The business world is full of ups and downs. One day you’re succeeding, and the next day you’re not. This can be especially true of the culture space, where trends can change daily and consumers’ opinions evolve equally as fast. Entrepreneurs who develop a growth mindset — or the belief that persistence and effort lead to success — are more likely to thrive in this type of environment, making it an essential trait to cultivate for culture space leaders. As leaders in the culture space themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council know what it takes to succeed in today’s marketplace. Here, they discuss the top reasons why business leaders need a growth mindset and the impact that mindset has on their ability to lead well.

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Cut through the noise by amplifying your unique story. Today, it seems that nearly everyone is on social media — and that includes businesses. With the majority of small businesses using social media to reach their audience, there’s a lot of competition when it comes to earning the attention of potential customers. This is why it’s so vital to find a way to stand out and cut through the digital noise. However, beyond creating viral videos or following the latest social media trend, there are a number of other, more meaningful ways to set your business apart. Here, nine business leaders from Rolling Stone Culture Council weigh in on some of the steps a business can take to ensure their social media presence stands out from the competition and engages their followers in a meaningful way.

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To find success, cannabis leaders have to be creative and agile. The cannabis industry has experienced rapid growth over the past decade alone, and it’s only predicted to increase over time, with global sales predicted to hit $149 billion by 2031. This means there is abundant opportunity for those interested in dipping their toes in the cannabis space and the vast number of potential business ideas that can spawn from it.  However, perhaps the biggest challenge cannabis businesses face is the ongoing legal and regulatory obstacles that prevent these businesses from operating like any other business in the market. This means cannabis leaders must be cautious when planning and executing any strategy, whether that be advertising, sales or distribution and logistics.  As leaders in the culture space, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council are well-versed in the struggles of the cannabis industry, and here, they discuss some of the steps business leaders can take to overcome these hurdles and find success in a challenging business landscape.

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Be yourself and be curious, and the right people will find you. In business, who you know is everything. That means building real connections — ones you can count on, that go beyond surface-level acquaintances — should be a high priority for professionals looking to advance in their careers or business. However, just networking likely won’t get you the kind of relationships you’ll need to succeed. To build real connections, follow the 16 tips outlined by the culture and business experts of Rolling Stone Culture Council and see why being intentional about your relationships can propel you forward far faster than just networking alone.

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Leadership can be stressful, but these simple practices can help business leaders better manage their mental health.  Leading a company can be an exhilarating and fulfilling experience, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges and pressures. When you’re a business leader, maintaining good mental health is crucial for both personal well-being and effective decision-making.  To that end, 17 Rolling Stone Culture Council members explore some proven strategies business leaders can employ to manage their mental health amid the challenging demands of their roles. From regular exercise to setting boundaries to seeking support and fostering a positive work culture, these strategies can encourage a healthier and more resilient approach to leadership.