Josh Linkner's Blog, page 15

How Google Kills Ideas to Drive Killer Innovation

According to its tombstone, Trendalyzer was a data trend viewing platform that lived a happy life from 2007-2017. Latitude, a location-aware feature of Google Maps, was just over 4 years old before it was euthanized in 2013. Fabric, a platform that helped mobile teams build better apps, was sentenced to death after only one month of life. All in, there are 161 current residents of the Google graveyard, on full display to the world at KilledByGoogle.com.

Of course, the tech giant has enjoyed t...

Nine Simple Pre-Game Questions to Maximize Business Results

There’s an old saying in the boxing world: “Champions don’t become champions in the ring, they are merely recognized there.” The implication, of course, is that hard work, day after day, in the cold gym is what enables a fighter to win.

This makes sense in many areas of life. “Sweat more in practice, bleed less in war,” is the basis of the Spartan Warrior Credo, circa 750 BCE. “Chance favors the prepared mind,” is an oft-echoed soundbite from legendary scientist Louis Pasteur.

But how does t...

Lifelong Kindergarten

Peeking into a typical kindergarten classroom, you’ll see a vibrant setting of creativity and collaboration. The colorful setting is messy, playful, and expressive as students smile with delight and their imaginations run free.

Unfortunately, the creative wonder we experience as small children often declines in each subsequent year as we confront the world’s difficulties. It’s been said that we begin school with a colorful set of crayons, but we graduate with a single, blue ballpoint pen.

Iro...

Is Your Work Environment a Greenhouse or a Prison?

A friend of mine’s passion is growing orchids. We’re talking perfect, exotic, contest-winning orchids. To get the best results, she does her work in a greenhouse. An environment that is perfectly situated to maximize growth. It fosters the ideal conditions for the natural act of creation.

It’s pretty obvious that orchids grow better in a lush greenhouse than they would in a dark, cold prison cell. Simply put, climate and environment impact growth and beauty. Why is it, then, that most compani...

11 Leadership Lessons from Jazz Musicians

For over 40 years, I’ve proudly worn the title of jazz guitarist. Deeply passionate about the art form, I performed my way through college and continue to savor the delicious melodies of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Dizzy Gillespie.

Ironically it was jazz – not B-school – that gave me the foundation to win in the business world. While on the surface it would seem that jazz musicianship is the polar opposite of running a business, the two practices are linked in numerous ways.

Just as you’d...

You’re Always Interviewing

You hardly slept the night before and arrived to the meeting 25 minutes early. You were wearing your favorite outfit and were fully prepared to put your best foot forward. No, I’m not talking about your first date, but rather that job interview that landed you your gig.

Think about how you were fully present, asked thoughtful questions, and did everything you could to shine. Realizing the importance of the meeting, you went above and beyond to demonstrate your value and position yourself as a...

Plant Seeds. Protect Saplings.

The mighty redwood grows to over 350 feet tall and can live 2,500 years. Like every tree, even the gigantic redwood begins as a sapling. In the redwood’s case, that sapling may take up to 400 years before it reaches its true potential.

Imagine the impatient landowner, scoffing at a puny redwood sapling after only a few years of life. It would be easy to neglect or even remove the fragile tree, long before it had the chance to soar. In contrast, the longer-term view is to plant plenty of seeds...

Reimagine

Ayal Lanternari was facing the same angst and frustration that millions of other parents endure. His infant son was crying for food in the middle of the night, creating an agonizing moment for both dad and child while the bottle was heating to the proper temperature. Since baby milk can’t be microwaved or heated directly without losing the nutritional value, Ayal counted the seconds for the painfully slow 10-minute warming process of the cold bottle being heated in hot water.

Realizing that...

Fender Guitar’s Rules of Groundbreaking Innovation

Since Leo Fender started making guitars back in 1946, the Fender name has become synonymous with musical innovation. The iconic brand has outfitted countless music legends with their precious axes, and has set the standard with instantly recognizable inventions including the Stratocaster, Telecaster, and Jazzmaster.

Today, Fender is the largest guitar manufacturer in the world. So why change? “If it ain’t broke, don’t fit it,” the saying goes. Luckily, the most innovative organizations disreg...

Do It Anyway

Born in 1914 in Austria, actress Hedy Lamarr was the personification of glamor. Discovered for her beauty in her teens, she dazzled audiences from the silver screen for decades. At 19, she raised eyebrows by doing what is believed to be one of the first nude sex scenes in a movie. The film was banned by Hitler, and became a widespread controversy.

People around the world were spellbound by the beautiful Hedy Lamar; to some degree, she was the original Kardashian. Provocative and captivating...