Josh Linkner's Blog, page 18
January 17, 2016
How “Micro-Innovations” Can Drive Breakaway Results
The concept of innovation can be completely overwhelming. Images of Edison inventing the light bulb or Henry Ford revolutionizing manufacturing push the idea of innovation outside the reach of us mere mortals. If we define innovation as a gigantic, change-the-world, cure-cancer type breakthrough, the concept is relegated to a select few: billionaires, mad scientist inventors, CEO’s, and super-geniuses.
Yet the vast majority of human progress is crafted differently. In fact, it’s the little cr...
January 10, 2016
Chew On This!
Caron Proschan loves healthy living. She also loves gum. After finishing an energizing workout at the gym one day, she reached for her pack of gum and realized a huge disconnect. With plenty of healthy, all-natural food and beverage options, why was her gum a troubling shade of alien blue and packed with un-pronounceable chemicals that would pollute her body? This a-ha moment led to the launch of a dream and a company – Simply Gum.
Turns out, the gum industry is big – $4 billion in the U.S....
January 3, 2016
Life Give You Lemons? Make Tacos.
Imagine how lousy you’d feel if the restaurant you owned suffered a late night break-in.Glass shattered, your place in shambles, and valuables missing.You’d probably feel violated, frustrated, angry, and completely bummed out.
Those feelings are common when we’re dealt a setback. It’s easy to play the victim and let life’s challenges stop us dead in our tracks. We bemoan our circumstances and focus on the injustice of it all. We wallow in self-pity, fear, and doubt.Often, these obstacles are...
December 20, 2015
Go The Extra Inch
“Raise your hand as high as you can,” challenged bestselling author Seth Godin from the stage.
Over a thousand hands shot into the air, fingers stretched to the ceiling.Then Godin prodded, “Now raise your hands one more inch.”With giggles, outstretched arms extended higher in perfect unison. The extra inch was achieved with no injuries reported.
We’ve been challenged since an early age to “go the extra mile.”This cliché’s overuse has rendered the advice useless, blending into the background l...
December 13, 2015
Your Single Best Investment for 2016
As the New Year approaches, many organizations and individuals are deep in planning mode. Where will you make your bets to drive the best possible outcomes? What investments will hit pay dirt in the coming months and years?
Of course, there is great debate on which investments are ideal. TV pundits scream stock tips into the camera, while your sister-in-law tells you about a real estate deal that “can’t miss.” Commodities, precious metals, art, start-ups, mutual funds and foreign stocks are b...
December 6, 2015
Hittin’ the Woodshed
Charlie “Yardbird” Parker transformed himself from decent professional saxophone player into one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last 100 years. The change happened during a 10-month period, whenParker essentially dropped out of the scene and worked deeply on his craft.
By fully immersing himself in an environment that pushed his mastery, he reemerged on a path to becoming alegend.
During this period of transformation, Parker practiced relentlessly in an old woodshed in an open...
November 29, 2015
How To Be Attractive
We all want to be attractive. To get to the next level in our lives, we are trying to “attract” people: investors, employees, voters, customers, suppliers, friends, a mate, Facebook friends, Twitter followers, etc. Of course, we need to turn up the attraction far beyond physical beauty and style to reach our goals in today’s hypercompetitive world.
The most successful business leaders use six key strategies to boost attractiveness. You can harness the same approach to drive meaningful results...
November 22, 2015
Trend Hunting
Drones, also known as unmanned aircraft, are getting a lot of attention in the media these days for the role they playin fighting terrorism. They’re certainly top of mind for those who enjoylearning(and dreaming) about the future.
The emerging trend has expanded far beyond the military.Ambulatory drones are being used to deliver emergency medical supplies for trauma patients in hard to reach locations.
Low flying drones carrying high-powered magnets are now used to detect and eradicate land m...
November 15, 2015
Seeding Your Future
How do you know if you’ve accomplished something today? What should you measure if you didn’t deliver something measurable? In an era of dashboards, metrics, and key performance indicators, should every ounce of your energy be directed at hitting near term deliverables?
In studying the behavior of the most successful people, I’ve noticed that they spend a good deal of timeplanting seeds. Yes, top performers deliver short-range tangible results, but they also constantly invest in the future.
W...
November 8, 2015
If You Want To Become a Leader, Start Acting Like One
People are constantly asking me for advice on how to get promoted. They want to move up the ranks at their company, take on more responsibility, and expand their spheres of influence.
While the notion of being a leader seems nice (but possibly far off), you’ve got it backward. It’s not suddenly that you’re anointed as a leader and with thatyou’re bestowed responsibility — quite the opposite, actually.
If you want to become a leader, start acting like one.
Leadership isn’t about your title, no...
