Jason Hennessey

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Making a few small changes can have a big impact on employee happiness overall. With employee retention at the forefront of many leaders’ minds this year, finding ways to ensure their teams are happy, healthy and heard is likely on the top of their to-do lists for 2025. One of the most effective ways to improve employee retention is to create a better work environment for them to thrive in. Whether that means better lines of communication, increased flexibility or a more supportive atmosphere, there are a multitude of ways to create a space where employees want to work. As business leaders themselves, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council have cultivated work environments all their own, and below, they discuss what’s worked well for them as well as ways any business leader can create a better environment for their employees in the new year.

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Ultimately, it’s the human element that takes content from boring to engaging.

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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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So how do you earn trust? It starts by demonstrating care, not placing blame, and most importantly, following through on your word.

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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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So if pizza parties aren’t the key to a healthy workplace culture, what is? Here are four keys to creating a healthy, fulfilling, and supportive culture.

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The profound lessons gleaned from individuals we hold dear often mold our character in the most profound ways.

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You don’t get innovative teams without creative leadership, so here are a few ways you can cultivate creativity in your team.

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The very best way to improve your marketing offline is to be remarkable. You want people to talk about your business and what it’s doing, and to remember you. The way to do that is to become remarkable.

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Media appearances are excellent ways to raise positive awareness about your brand, but you'll need to make a great impression first. Getting press for your business helps your public relations tremendously, whether it means being featured on a podcast, an Instagram Live or even a news segment. Giving a face to the business helps humanize the brand and also allows you to share more explicit insight into your company's values. Making a good impression is key, but the pressure of a live video or audio segment can be nerve-wracking. To help, 14 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their tips for making sure you're prepared to represent your business well.

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The possibilities in life are endless if you are just curious and take action. 

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Many entrepreneurs are afraid of failing when they first start out, but it's possible to push past that fear and find success. Today, more people than ever are driven to create their own businesses. While the thought of being your own boss and creating something you love can be exhilarating, many entrepreneurs also experience that prickly feeling of fear when they actually launch. After all, the potential for failure is high in the early stages of a startup, and new businesses don't always make it past their first few years. Some people will fold under the pressure while others will rise to the challenge despite their fear. To help you ensure you're in the latter camp, 14 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council share how entrepreneurs can overcome the fear of failure and push forward.

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Not many entrepreneurs follow a conventional route. 

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As a business owner, it’s easy to fall into the trap of trying to do everything.

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Here are three great ways to increase your mindfulness and your effectiveness as a leader.

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How do these increased expectations impact business?

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How we choose to react to a triggering event determines the outcome.

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When we make happiness our focus, everything else falls into place.

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The popular social media platform offers a unique opportunity for marketers. With over a billion monthly active users worldwide, it’s no surprise why TikTok would be such an appealing platform for businesses looking to get in front of as many eyes as possible. However, expanding an audience isn’t as straightforward and simple as creating a TikTok account and posting a video. In order to leverage the platform to its best advantage, marketers need to post with purpose. To help get you started, the business leaders of Rolling Stone Culture Council share the ways they’ve seen brands leverage TikTok for marketing and explain why those methods are so clever and effective.

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There are a myriad of fresh ways to get the word out to potential customers. Coming up with a business idea, building a product or service line and designing a website are all vitally important steps to getting a business off the ground — but they’re only the first steps. In order to truly have success with any business, you’ll need to drum up some positive publicity to help get your business noticed and get new customers through the door. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can go about earning positive publicity, and if one way isn’t providing the results you desire, you can simply move on to the next. Below, the members of Rolling Stone Culture Council offer their top creative ways to drum up positive publicity to help get you started.