Josh Linkner's Blog, page 12

The Dude-Bro Conundrum

I have the good fortune of delivering keynote speeches at over 100 corporate events per year. They range from a few hundred to many thousands of people in attendance, often with elaborate staging, lights, and production value. Hours before taking the stage, an AV tech check occurs where all audio and visual elements are plugged in and tested.

Within 11 seconds of arrival, I can tell if it will be smooth sailing or a disaster (there’s no middle ground here, by the way. It’s either terrific or...

10 Customer-Centric Questions to Create Irresistible Value

With our Thanksgiving feasts behind us, ’tis the season of 2020 business planning. Ironically, the theme of gratitude may actually be our best strategy in the new year.

In working with many businesses in different industries, I often hear the same refrains: “we need to sell more;” “we need better marketing;” “we need to cut costs.”

The one theme I hear far less frequently is around being grateful for, and truly delighting customers. In other words, leaders often put their focus on internal...

Creative Confidence is Not What You Think

We imagine a brilliant artist approaching their work with the masterpiece perfectly etched in their mind before a single brush stroke graces the canvas. Or a prolific musician with an idyllic melody already seared into their mind before playing a single note. Then, when we approach our own creative efforts, we often freeze up before leaping in, lacking the creative confidence to continue.

The truth is, artists rarely have perfectly formed ideas before beginning. Nor do they believe their work...

The Best Business Books I’ve Read in 2019

To win in business – and life – we all know that being a lifelong learner is mission critical.  As the cheesy saying goes, “learners are earners.” Clichés aside, I have a deep love for learning and the written word. Great books inspire, inform, and give us the tools we need to win in these increasingly challenging times.

With so many books to choose from, it’s easy to select a dud. I hate getting 75 pages into a book, only to realize it isn’t worth finishing. To help you avoid information overload...

How to Avoid Extinction

According to a report from Yale University Press, 99.9% of all species that have ever lived on Earth are now extinct. That’s over five billion species completely wiped out. Why such a gigantic failure rate? The species that die off are “those that are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition.”

The same logic applies to our careers, companies, and even communities. A once successful entity can vanish quickly if its leaders fail to adapt and evolve. The employ...

How To Inject Artistry Into Your Work

When we think of an artist, we envision a tormented soul wearing a beret and a turtleneck, painting with oil on a canvas. Yet despite this stereotype, there are many other types of artists. In fact, you have the opportunity to be one yourself, regardless of your field or job title.

Beyoncé is an incredible musical artist, while Lin Manuel Miranda creates art on Broadway. We generally accept labeling artists in fields such as music, dance, fashion, interior design, poetry, and sculpture, but why ca...

The 12 Secret Brainstorming Techniques of Billionaires

We’ve all struggled to generate good ideas. From trying to invent the next industry transformation to imagining a better way to run your team meeting, the creative act is critically important, yet often frustrating. Have you ever wondered how the most successful people on the planet discover their breakthroughs? Having interviewed and studied the world’s notable billionaires, I can assure you that they skip traditional brainstorming altogether.

In fact, traditional brainstorming is a perfectly designed...

How to Blast Off

When the space shuttle blasts off, two-thirds of its fuel is consumed in the first 20 minutes of flight. The remaining amount powers the shuttle for up to two weeks, including re-entry and landing.

The phenomenon at play: escape velocity. Scientists describe the concept as the amount of force required to break free from the gravitational pull of the current state. As you can imagine, escape velocity is certainly a concept that goes far beyond bespectacled physicists in lab coats.

Any time we want to effectuate change, we face...

play: escape

Does Your Business Have a ‘Test Kitchen’?

Underneath one of the many Shake Shack restaurants in New York City lives the breakaway restaurant chain’s Innovation Kitchen. The full-time team isn’t filling the orders of hungry guests; rather they’re inventing what diners may enjoy for years into the future. The underground lab focuses all its resources on inventing what’s next rather than delivering on today’s business needs.

Test kitchens are common among food giants and restaurant chains around the world. They consist of a dedicated t...

The Beauty of Uneaten Cantaloupe

On a recent business trip to Denver, I was able to grab breakfast at one of my favorite morning spots. Snooze Eatery is a funky, retro-themed breakfast joint with incredible food and service. They have an inventive menu and cool vibe, but so do many other AM cafes. As I sat down, I wondered what made them so special and what compelled me to eat there whenever possible?

I placed an order with Chris, my enthusiastic server. Considering the fruit as a healthier option to home fries, I asked him...