Josh Linkner's Blog, page 5

Three Little Big Ideas

(1) THE BAD IDEA

With so much pressure to discover the perfect idea, we can easily get stuck. Instead, try thinking up the worst ideas you can imagine. Stupid, impractical, illegal, or downright lousy. That’s right, conduct a Bad Idea Brainstorm. After you exhaust your bad thinking, review the list and see if you can flip the awful ones into something fresh and new.

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(2) INVENT YOUR ENEMY

Imagine an ideal, make-believe competitor. Unlimited capital, no bureaucracy, top talent. ...

Three Little Big Ideas

(1) FOXCONN OR FENDI?

Foxconn, a Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer, rang up $179 billion in sales last year by a relentless focus on cutting costs and creating huge volumes of non-sexy stuff to sell to other companies. Fendi, on the other hand, is an ultra-luxury brand that hand-makes bespoke apparel, shoes, timepieces and fragrances, selling deliberately to the billionaire class. Part of the $63 billion LVMH Group, which owns other luxe brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari, Fendi...

Three Little Big Ideas

(1) IDEA CHIPPING

When staring down a big problem or opportunity, most of us try to solve the challenge by seeking out a single, gigantic, perfect, silver-bullet solution. But when that idyllic answer doesn’t appear from the heavens, we throw in the towel. Instead of trying to conquer all at once, try Idea Chipping instead. See if you can come up with 20 little ideas that will help the problem instead of solve the problem. You’ll be more likely to achieve meaningful results and avoid quitting o...

Three Little Big Ideas

(1) PLAN Z

The great majority of us live our lives playing it pretty safe. Then to be even safer, we craft and scrutinize and ruminate over our Plan B’s – that game plan for what we’ll do if everything goes wrong. Flipping that around, why not also craft a Plan Z? Your Plan Z is what you’ll do if everything goes right. It’s your vision if you knew you were destined to win; your ideal approach when you’re hitting your full potential and fulfilling your calling. Keep the Plan B if you choose, but...

Three Little Big Ideas

(1) THE ALL-AT-ONCE TRAP

When tackling a big problem or seizing a juicy opportunity, we instinctively try to solve the challenge with one, gigantic, perfect idea. Problem is, those silver bullets can be elusive and we end up freezing or quitting when perfection fails to magically appear. Instead of the all-at-once approach, try discovering a handful of small ideas that may help the problem rather than solve it completely. Twenty-eight small, helpful, low-risk, easy-to-implement ideas that each ...

The One Question Effective CEOs Ask Themselves Everyday

Jaws dropped last week when readers devoured The Wall Street Journal’s annual CEO compensation report. Despite the pandemic-savaged economy, Paycom Software founder and CEO Chad Richison hauled in a whopping $211 million in 2020. Robert Kotick, CEO of the video game maker Activision Blizzard, came in second place with $155 million, while Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer scored $135 million.

From global titans to fast-growing startups, those at the helm enjoy outsized rewards. Besides admiring the...

Awesome, Dude

Most of us have experienced that chills-down-your spine feeling of awe. The texture of handmade al dente pasta at La Darsena, an outdoor café in the lakefront town of Como, Italy. The dangerous acrobatics of a Cirque du Soleil performance during a hot Montreal summer. For me, seeing my newborn twins—Avi and Tallia—make it through 104 days in neonatal intensive care after being born fourteen weeks premature and each weighing only two pounds. (Today they are both happy, healthy, and hilarious fou...

A New DaVinci Code

I never had a dog growing up. In fact, for years I didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. Pets seemed messy, expensive and illogical. And then my wife Tia and I found the smallest yorkie you could imagine and I discovered a new partner-in-crime. My little sidekick with a big name… DaVinci.

Today, I’m amazed at how much wisdom can come from such a small creature. As this little pup brings joy, he’s also been an unexpected teacher of some important life lessons. We can all learn a ...

What Your Brain And Your Lawn Have In Common

When we hear stories about world class creators like Lady Gaga or Lin Manuel-Miranda, or ultra-successful entrepreneurs like Elon Musk or Sara Blakely, we immediately think these people must have some special gift that we normal folk are missing. As if the skies opened for a brief moment and the gods anointed a chosen few with heavenly powers. We’re led to believe that we’re either creative or we’re not, and there’s very little we can do about it.

This is what we’ve been told our whole lives. An...

An Open Letter—A Sperm’s Advice on Improving Your Odds

Hi, my name is Samuel J. Sperm Jr.

I know you’re hoping to have successful innovation up there, so I figured I’d drop some wisdom. If human conception is the ultimate act of invention, I’m clearly a qualified expert since my entire life’s focus is on that one thing. I don’t play golf, watch reruns, or eat potato chips. I spend every moment of every day with a single-minded objective.

You humans crack me up sometimes. When you want to innovate, you take the Mega Millions Lotto approach. You think...