With a thirst for learning and a willingness to share lessons learned and insider experiences, EO members published 47 informative posts on EO’s Inc.com channel in 2023. These insights from top entrepreneurs benefit EO members plus the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.

From thoughts on maximizing meeting efficacy and expanding your goal-setting mindset to improving employee engagement and reaping the benefits of systems and processes, EO members share personal experiences and action steps that can benefit your business. Did you catch them all?

Here are the top blog posts EO published on Inc.com in 2023:

1. How to Run a Company With Two 10-Minute Weekly Meetings and Post-It Notes

Barry Raber (EO Portland), a serial entrepreneur and CEO of real estate investment firm Business Property Trust, shared his insights on how to keep team meetings short and sweet with an effective system that fosters collaboration and engagement.

“The concept is simple: Write and review four bullet points on a Post-it twice a week, in 10 minutes or less for the entire meeting,” he says. “Suddenly, our meetings were focused, productive, and energizing!”

Read the post to learn how to implement this time-saving process in your company. Also, check out Real Simple Business, where Barry shares his successful business secrets.

2. Set Goals Like Google: Why OKRs Surpass Other Goal-Setting Methods for Entrepreneurs

Eric Crews (EO Boston), founder and CEO of management consulting firm Crews & co., shared his preferred goal-setting methodology.

“I’ve set many goals in 30+ years as an entrepreneur. And while I achieved many of them, I’ve endured plenty of failures, too,” Eric says. “Goal-setting tends to improve with time and practice. But the No.1 thing that has consistently helped me get better at setting—and achieving—goals is using the right framework.”

“OKRs-Objectives and Key Results-have transformed how I do business. My consulting firm has used them with over 100 companies. And I can tell you without a doubt that the system works.” 

Read the post for Eric’s in-depth insights on OKRs.

3. How to Master the Art of Difficult Conversations in Your Business

Shawn Johal  (EO Montreal), a leadership speaker, best-selling author, and founder of business growth practice Elevation Leaders, shared how he handles challenging conversations in his company.

Shawn suggests leading with empathy to help employees feel safe in difficult conversations, establishing the common ground that connects you, and monitoring both body language and word choices so that emotions don’t get the best of you.

“My advice to all entrepreneurs: Don’t shy away from hard conversations. Look at them as catalysts for growth, enhancing both your business and your personal development,” Shawn explains. “If you figure out how to 10X the success of difficult conversations, you can 10X the productivity, culture, and profitability of your company. I guarantee it!”

Read the post for details on how to manage tough conversations in your company.

4. Three Ways to Use ChatGPT to Enhance Entrepreneurial Decision-Making

Eden Gillott (EO Los Angeles), is president of strategic communications and crisis PR firm Gillott Communications. She’s the author of A Business Owner’s Guide to Crisis PR: Protecting You & Your Business’ Reputation and serves as her chapter’s Accelerator co-chair. Eden shares how entrepreneurs can use AI apps such as ChatGPT to support decision-making while still exercising innate expertise and judgment.

“Entrepreneurs have much to gain from using ChatGPT in decision-making, including data-driven insights, improved efficiency, and better strategic planning. But it’s critical to strike the right balance between leveraging technology and relying on human ingenuity to make sound decisions,” she says.

“These benefits and potential pitfalls are just the tip of the iceberg. Think of them as the starting point of a much larger conversation. Use these to inspire your thinking and develop better ways to serve your customers or clients. Don’t be afraid to get creative and explore new possibilities!”

Read the post for details on leveraging AI wisely. And don’t miss Eden’s follow-up post for EO Blog, How to Stay Ahead of Crisis PR with ChatGPT.

5. Insights Learned From Raising $1.5 Million in Startup Funding

Tal Moore (EO Los Angeles) is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Popsmith. Tal shared what he learned from his first-ever round of raising startup capital.

Tal adopted strategies that include sticking to a super-simple pitch, aiming to surpass his initial funding target, not taking rejection personally, and setting an unusually low investment threshold so friends and family could be a part of his success.

“As an entrepreneur, you have to go all in on yourself. I’m from an uneducated, working-class, immigrant family. As a shy, overweight kid, I had low self-esteem and few friends. I learned self-reliance to cope, tried every possible job to make a buck, and soon discovered my entrepreneurial spirit,” he says.

“While I didn’t need to raise seed money, it was a smart way to mitigate risk, and mostly I just wanted to share the joy of entrepreneurship with the people who have supported me all these years. Having people from your network bet on you with an angel investment is like motivational rocket fuel.”

Read the post for more details on Tal’s experience. Don’t miss his follow-up post on EO Blog, Why It’s Crucial to Go All In On Yourself As an Entrepreneur.

6. What Most Companies Get Wrong About Employee Engagement

Kent Gregoire (US East Bridge) created Stakeholder Business (together with Meghan French Dunbar and Nathan Havey) to accelerate the evolution of business into a force that builds a world that works for everyone. Kent and Meghan shared that there’s a reason why employee engagement has increased by only 2 percent since 2012.

“By re-examining the ways you listen to your employees, demonstrate care, and tap into intrinsic motivation, you can inspire your entire team and boost your organization’s performance as a result,” Kent says.

“Employees who feel their employer genuinely cares about them are three times more likely to be engaged at work, yet only one in four employees feel this way. We often see employers who genuinely care about their employees’ well-being but don’t quite know how to show it.”

Read the post for smart examples of how other companies have successfully engaged employees that you can adapt and adopt in your company.

7. Seven Costly Consequences of Operating Without Effective Systems and Processes

Chris Kirksey (EO Austin) is the founder and CEO of SEO software and services company Direction. Chris dives deep into the benefits of implementing structured processes. 

“Before my pursuit of effective systems and processes, I’d walk into my office every Monday morning, overwhelmed by the chaos before me. It wasn’t only bad for my bottom line—it put my team through needless stress, distraction, miscommunication and frustration,” Chris explains.

His company was struggling with internal and external miscommunication, a lack of clarity, no roadmap for success, an inability to scale, and wasted time and resources.

“Streamlining processes and defining role responsibilities will pay dividends for those willing to invest time and energy. By streamlining processes and defining roles and responsibilities for greater accountability, increased profitability opportunities become visible and provide the potential for exponential growth.”

Read the post to learn more about Chris’ journey. And don’t miss Adi Klevit (EO Portland)’s Tips for Making Your Business Independent of You.

8. Why My Company Implemented a Paid Sabbatical Program for Employees

Aaron Stahl (EO Tulsa), is the CEO of contingency-based consulting franchise P3 Cost Analysts. Aaron shared details and benefits resulting from his recent decision to implement a paid sabbatical program for employees. It has made his business stronger, enhanced team loyalty and camaraderie — and, he explains, “in reality it’s not that much extra vacation.”

“Paid sabbaticals might be the most impactful thing we could offer employees (and ourselves as owners). There is always time for growth or improving the business, and never a good time to leave,” Aaron says.

“But taking time off from work to pursue the things that are important to us is worth both the effort and any potential risks or slowdowns in growth. Ultimately, when we build the business correctly, we can have our cake and eat it, too—and foster a company that doesn’t rely on any one person to achieve growth and continue serving its clients.”

Read the post for more details to learn if this exciting perk might benefit your business.

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Are you an EO member who has lessons learned, best practices, thought leadership or expert insights to share that will benefit the entrepreneurial community on EO blog or EO on Inc.? Email your drafts and ideas for future posts to [email protected].