Education

Hear me on the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast

Audio / Education / Leadership

Hear me on the Better Leaders Better Schools podcast

Want to lead people so they want you to lead them again? To take initiative effectively? Many people ask counterproductive questions, like "How should I do X?", "How do I convince someone to do Y?", or "What do I need to know to become a leader?" The most effective question is "How do I learn to lead?", or in entrepreneurship and taking initiative, "How do I learn to take initiative?" Leadership doesn't come from knowing more information or facts, nor from a one-time action, nor from convincing people. It comes from practice. By focusing on how to learn to lead, I help people become leaders. You have to practice. It takes time, not quick tricks, but it works. I focus on becoming the best teacher…

August 3, 2019

The Story Behind Initiative’s Cover

Creativity / Education / Visualization

The Story Behind Initiative’s Cover

I wanted to share the story behind Initiative's cover. Layout The designer first sent a few cover designs. They were contemporary and appropriate for 2019, but they didn't feel right. I couldn't point to anything wrong with them, but they didn't resonate. When we spoke to review his first designs, I told him that they felt "now," but I considered my book timeless. It's not about making apps, blockchain, or the latest fad. I felt ancient Greeks could have used its exercises to find their passions and discover their priorities as well as anyone today. We started searching for images of classic book covers, especially Plato and Aristotle. I wanted to find the cover of Plato's Republic from college. Some I liked. Some I didn't.…

July 12, 2019

Education / Events

See me speak on Initiative at the New York Public Library, THIS THURSDAY

In two days I'm speaking at the Science, Industry, and Business Library branch of the New York Public Library on my book, Initiative. The logistics: 6pm to 7:30pm188 Madison Avenue (34th St and Madison Ave)Conference room 018 Here's the event description from the official announcement: Want a proven method to bring your passions to life and work? Look no more. People everywhere in all walks of life feel stuck in their work, hobbies, and social lives, but they see the alternatives as too big and challenging, so they endure just bearable limits. We celebrate entrepreneurship in top-rated television shows, magazines, movies, and biographies, but fewer and fewer people are actually starting companies. What has gone wrong, and how can we break free and take…

July 9, 2019

Education / Events

See me speak on Initiative at the New York Public Library, July 11

I'm speaking at the Science, Industry, and Business Library branch of the New York Public Library on my book, Initiative. The logistics: 6pm to 7:30pm188 Madison Avenue (34th St and Madison Ave)Conference room 018 Here's the event description from the official announcement: Want a proven method to bring your passions to life and work? Look no more. People everywhere in all walks of life feel stuck in their work, hobbies, and social lives, but they see the alternatives as too big and challenging, so they endure just bearable limits. We celebrate entrepreneurship in top-rated television shows, magazines, movies, and biographies, but fewer and fewer people are actually starting companies. What has gone wrong, and how can we break free and take the lead in…

June 29, 2019

Can you learn to take initiative?

Education / Entrepreneurship

Can you learn to take initiative?

Chatting about my upcoming book, Initiative, a friend and fellow blogger, Joe Byerly of From The Green Notebook, asked if people could learn to take initiative. I saw his question as rhetorical, since he'd read an advance copy, so he knew I'd taught just that, but he wanted to see how I'd answer. A lot of people believe you can't. First, there's a big reason why, independent of the answer, most of us would believe we can't learn initiative: mainstream schooling. For whatever facts, analytical, and testing skills schools teach, if you look at the behavior they teach, it's compliance -- nearly the opposite of initiative: when you have to attend, where, what subjects you study, what about each subject to study, how to study,…

May 13, 2019

Initiative: online for pre-order

Initiative at Barnes and NobleInitiative at Amazon

Creativity / Education / Entrepreneurship / Exercises

Initiative: online for pre-order

Various stages of satisfaction come with finishing a book -- signing with a publisher, finishing a first draft, reaching copy editing (meaning no more substantive edits), seeing it type set, getting your first reviews from prominent writers, seeing the cover, and so on. Seeing it for sale at a retailer is one of the biggest. Since my last blog post, Initiative has appeared on Barnes and Noble and Amazon for pre-order -- the best kind of ordering. It delivers in ten days, but makes a great Mothers' Day gift already. It appears $1.40 cheaper at Barnes and Noble. I'd snap up the discount soon. Who knows how long it will last? Initiative at Barnes and NobleInitiative at Amazon The next big milestones are feeling the…

May 11, 2019

The cover for my new book, Initiative: A Proven Method to Bring Your Passions to Life (and Work)

Creativity / Education / Entrepreneurship / Exercises

The cover for my new book, Initiative: A Proven Method to Bring Your Passions to Life (and Work)

Yesterday I shared the blurbs from early reviewers of my book, Initiative, set to launch May 21. Today, I'm sharing the front and back covers. I'd love your thoughts. Naturally, I want them to intrigue and attract non-readers. The front cover's image refers to the book's content but, I believe, stands on its own nonetheless. Reading the book will imbue the cover image with newfound meaning. Here's the front. Initiative's front cover Initiative's back cover Again, I'd love your thoughts. Also, if you write book reviews, for profit or fun, and are interested in writing a review for mine, please contact me.

May 9, 2019

The blurbs for Initiative, my new book

Creativity / Education / Entrepreneurship

The blurbs for Initiative, my new book

My new book, Initiative: A Proven Method to Bring Your Passions to Life (and Work), is going to press, on time for a May 21 release. In the meantime, I'll share excerpts and inside views. Today I bring you the blurbs. I don't know about you, but they make me want to read it. Email me if interested in reviewing it before its release to post reviews so others know what to expect. The Blurbs Whether leading or following, you need to read Initiative. I have long yearned for such a book—the most clear and persuasive on personal development and leadership I've found in 60 years of adulthood. Spodek's focus on initiative and reflection matches what I found important serving in and leading organizations from…

May 8, 2019

Recent praise

Education / Podcast

Recent praise

Below are a couple recent things people have told me about my work, which I'll keep anonymous. Do I sound like I'm bragging? Well, they're sharing ways I served others. About my new book, Initiative, launching next month: "Whether leading or following, you need to read Initiative. I have long yearned for such a book—the most clear and persuasive on personal development and leadership I've found in 60 years of adulthood. Spodek's focus on initiative and reflection matches what I found effective serving in and leading organizations from a few people to over 15,000 Marines and Sailors. He illustrates key ideas with meaningful examples and helpful practical exercises. it's lucid, succinct, easy to read, and deeply profound. It has earned a prominent place in my…

April 24, 2019

“Nailed it!”

Education / Nature / Stories

“Nailed it!”

Several TEDxNYU attendees agreed: "Nailed it!" My friend recorded it with her phone. It ran out of memory, but here are the first six minutes, followed by some stills. https://youtu.be/ZI8X4ba8sLc Word is that I have to wait 6 to 12 weeks for them to edit the video. I'll link to the full, official one when I get it.

April 6, 2019

A curious, annoying observation on asking advice for a TEDx talk

Education / Events

A curious, annoying observation on asking advice for a TEDx talk

Preparing for tomorrow's TEDxNYU talk led me to a curious observation. Everyone I asked for advice gave useful advice, but no two people's advice was completely consistent with anyone else's. That is, every person's advice conflicted with everyone else's in some way. I finished each advice session with each person thinking, "I got some useful advice. I'm going to use it." Then each next session began with me thinking, "darn, this advice contradicts what the last person said." All of the above wouldn't annoy me. I'm giving the talk so I take responsibility for what I include. "Good artists borrow. Great artists steal," so I feel free to use what I want. The annoyance came when I told anyone, "I appreciate the advice. I'll use…

April 5, 2019

See my TEDx talk live, this Saturday, April 6!

Education / Events / Leadership / Stories

See my TEDx talk live, this Saturday, April 6!

You know you've wanted to see a TED talk live. Now's your chance. Cancel your old plans for next weekend. [NOTE: I will post the video of my talk here when the organizers finish editing and post it. They estimated 6 to 12 weeks from April 6 -- that is, likely late May or June.] See me and six other brilliant, engaging speakers this Saturday, April 6 at TEDxNYU---the intersection of two world-renowned institutions. This year's theme is Disruption. In NYU's Kimmel building, 60 Washington Square South, 10th floor, starting 10am. Get tickets and logistics here or contact me and I'll put you on my list. The speakers are listed here. See you there!

March 30, 2019

My humbling leadership start

Education / Leadership

My humbling leadership start

Business school humbled me from before I started my first classes there. I came in thinking, "I have a PhD in physics, so all the math will be easy, and I ran a company, so I know all the business. I'll have fun for a couple years and earn a degree that will be my passport to success." On the contrary, I found finance and accounting not about math, but organization that I didn't understand. Moreover, all my classmates understood it better. And business was about people, emotions, relationships, and other blind spots I didn't know I was blind to. Again, all my classmates seemed to know these areas better. For that matter, at all. Below I offer two specimens I recently stumbled across from…

March 5, 2019

Parents and children today

Art / Education

Parents and children today

I'm an uncle, not a parent, and a college educator, not a grade school teacher, but I look at how people live their values in raising kids and wonder. I tried to pair questions suggesting differences between people's values and behavior: Would you blow smoke in a baby's face? Would you pay to put 10 tons of CO2 into the environment by flying? The pollution from flying is millions of times greater than what would horrify most people to see. Would you steal candy from a baby? Would you feed a baby McDonalds food? Stealing candy from a baby makes the baby healthier. Would you be a role model by using drugs in front of a child? Would you be a role model by eating…

December 12, 2018

Why Every Parent Should Watch This Movie

Creativity / Education / Inc.com / Leadership

Why Every Parent Should Watch This Movie

Have you noticed how many of today's most successful people chose to leave our educational system--Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, Erin Brockovich, Elon Musk, Sean Combs, Lauren Hill, Michael Dell, Whoopi Goldberg, Larry Page, and Sergei Brin, to name a few. Ever wonder why people who chose to leave mainstream education became so successful? Why did breaking the once-standard advice "stay in school" not work for them? As a professor of entrepreneurship and leadership at NYU, their consistent success drove me to learn and practice what works that school misses. My recent piece Why Every Parent or Student Should Read This Book describes self-directed learning, which answers a lot. Today I learned that the movie that inspired my learning about…

November 21, 2018

NYU pollutes “undeniably . . . head and shoulders above the rest”

Education / Nature

NYU pollutes “undeniably . . . head and shoulders above the rest”

One thing about nature. It doesn't react only to the consequences of your actions that you like. It reacts to all of them, including the ones you don't like. Take greenhouse gas emissions. You might like doing something that pollutes and emits greenhouse gases. You might wish that your activity didn't pollute, make the world unclean and impure, undue your intent to steward the environment, or hurt others, but if it does, your wish doesn't change that you aren't stewarding the environment, you are polluting, you are making the world unclean and impure, and you are hurting others. This passage just arrived in an email from NYU: One of NYU's great strengths—where we undeniably stand head and shoulders above the rest—is that we're able to…

November 20, 2018

Sexism in academia

Sexism in academia

Why are women's studies and gender studies departments so gender segregated---in particular, female dominated? I clicked the top few results in a search on "gender studies department." Nearly every name and image I saw on those pages seemed female. I then searched on "problems with male dominated fields" and got this post stating, "Male-dominated industries and occupations are particularly vulnerable to reinforcing masculine stereotypes that make it even more difficult for women to excel," then listing challenges women face in male-dominated fields, harassment, pay gaps, underrepresentation, and so on. Why would we not expect similar problems in female dominated fields? Are there no problems with women dominating fields? Incidentally, when I searched for "problems with female dominated fields," most results still covered problems with male…

November 17, 2018

Academia and privilege

According to Heterodox Academy, universities have become more liberal since the 80s.

Academia and privilege

When I was growing up in the 70s, when someone said something sexist others would say that person was living in the past. "It's not the 50s anymore. Get with the times, chauvinist pig." It took people time to catch up with how times had changed. I'll come back to chauvinism and living in the past in a moment. Privilege in academia in the past Today people talk about how privilege helps some groups advance in academia versus others. This Atlantic article, What I Learned About Life at My 30th College Reunion, prompted me thinking about it. It said: I don't love the fact—now made public through the trial but previously understood by all of us to be true—that the kids whose parents donate buildings…

November 13, 2018

Why Every Parent or Student Should Read This Book

Education / Inc.com

Why Every Parent or Student Should Read This Book

Why Every Parent or Student Should Read This Book October 31, 2018 If not, the experience will surprise you. The building feels eerily smaller. The teachers seem more human. I visited my grade school when I returned to Philadelphia for graduate school after college in New York City. I saw my fifth grade teacher. We were surprised and happy to recognize each other. After hello, almost immediately she said, "I'm so glad to see you. I have my first student like you since you." Wow, did I feel great! Over a decade later, she remembered how great a student I was. After all, I was about to start an Ivy League graduate program in physics, eventually to help build a satellite now in space. I…

October 31, 2018

Student reviews of my leadership course, summer 2018

A student review for my leadership course

Education / Exercises / Leadership

Student reviews of my leadership course, summer 2018

Last summer, I taught a short version of my course to working professionals. I taught it through NYU, though it's one of the courses I teach independently online and in corporations. It overlaps with my coaching for leadership clients. Here are the student reviews---as usual, all of them, no cherry-picking. Summer 2018 leadership student reviews Yes, I would definitely recommend this course to others. The combination of interactive classes, consistent feedback loop, historical examples, and in-person troubleshooting made it a very productive use of a mere 12 hours. I will definitely use these techniques in the future both at work and in my personal life. I would describe it as a course that teaches you relationship management skills in a unique way that provides you…

October 3, 2018

Mind-blowing learning that works: Self-Directed Education

Education / Freedom / Models / My Favorite Posts

Mind-blowing learning that works: Self-Directed Education

Sometimes you discover a way of doing things so obviously more effective than how you were taught that you can't believe how twisted our society has become. The new way shows how much the systems we've created twist us to fit their goals, however much those goals smother and corrupt our basic humanity that served us for hundreds of thousands of years, living in harmony with our world, and still do in vanishing communities our twisted society is infecting, corrupting, and smothering. My educational discoveries A decade ago I heard of project-based learning. A few years later I started teaching that way and haven't looked back. I haven't prepared a lecture or given a test since (I hope my students don't feel I lectured). My…

September 14, 2018

Handling Trigger Warnings, Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Other Outrages

Awareness / Education / Freedom / Inc.com / Leadership / Nonjudgment

Handling Trigger Warnings, Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Other Outrages

Handling Trigger Warnings, Microaggressions, Safe Spaces, and Other Outrages Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff's new book, The Coddling of the American Mind, takes on offense and outrage with calm resolve and effective insight Jonathan Haidt's latest book, released today, The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, coauthored by Greg Lukianoff, takes on one of the issues of our time—public discourse, especially in higher education—expanding on their widely discussed Atlantic article of the same name. Whether leading a small team, a company, a nation, a family, or oneself, research shows that input from diverse views improves decisions and outcomes—if you have the skills to solicit and use it. On a personal level, Haidt's advice…

September 5, 2018

The privilege of scientific ignorance

Awareness / Education / Nature / Nonjudgment

The privilege of scientific ignorance

NYU, where I teach, is a stronghold of social justice activity, as is Columbia, where I went to school. Since before college I've worked on causes to promote equality along genders, skin colors, geography, sexual preferences, and more. I protested Apartheid, my government's actions in Central America, and more. I work on the environment. The list goes on. The term privilege gets thrown around. Being white, male, and fit, the function I see the term used most is to silence people with these properties. Whether someone is privileged or not, calling someone privileged seems to imply that the person leveling the charge and people who agree with that person believe that the charged person's viewpoint is so unconsidered as to be worthless. Since not all…

August 11, 2018

Meaningful Connection in other languages

Education / Exercises / Leadership

Meaningful Connection in other languages

My Meaningful Connection exercise is one of my most popular and effective (they're all effective) from corporate speaking, one-to-one coaching, teaching, my personal practice, and my book. Since I have non-native English speakers in nearly every audience, I've decided to ask some to translate the script into various languages. My leadership class this summer afforded my first two translations. If you can help with others, please let me know. I'd love to feature your work. German Frage was sie neben Beruf und Familie gerne machen. Ich empfehle, "Was ist Deine/Ihre Leidenschaft?" oder "Was sind Deine/IhreÂ Interessen?" Sie werden erst noch etwas GewÃ¶hnliches antworten: Reisen, BÃ¼cher, Essen, usw. Sage "Cool..., ich kenne jemanden den Du kennst der X aus diesem Grund macht und ich kenne jemand anderen,…

August 8, 2018

Uneducated at Any GPA: Is the Ivy League Today Big 3 Auto of the 1960s?

Education / Models

Uneducated at Any GPA: Is the Ivy League Today Big 3 Auto of the 1960s?

[On March 2, Quartz published my piece, Schumpeter Strikes Again: Why the Ivy League could end up like the big 3 carmakers: utterly disrupted. Here is an earlier, unedited version. Unedited means it has its flaws---too long for a magazine, too short for a book---but it develops some ideas beyond what Quartz had space for.] Uneducated at Any GPA Is the Ivy League Today Big 3 Auto of the 1960s? America's top universities today are like America's Big 3 car manufacturers of the 1960s: hugely profitable, projecting growth for decades, the envy of the world, dominating their markets, dictating terms to customers and employees, and accelerating to bankruptcy. Cars aren't diplomas, but besides the obvious differences between the fields, the systemic similarities suggest a need…

July 19, 2018

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