Education

Audio / Education / Exercises / Fitness / Leadership / Relationships

The Inspirational Chronicles with Emilio Ron, parts 1 and 2: Building Discipline and Become an Exceptional Communicator

I met Emilio Ron at an event for public speakers. We started talking and he invited me to be a guest on his new podcast, Inspirational Chronicles. The following fits into the conversation we recorded: He invited me to record in the studio he set up. Somehow, despite living in Manhattan, I agreed to take the train---not even the subway, but the Long Island Railroad---all the way out to Long Island, where he had to drive me from the station to the studio. Manhattanites expect the world to come to us! Once I saw the studio I could tell he cared about his project and knew I'd enjoy the conversation. I enjoyed it from before we started recording. In the end, I'm honored to have…

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May 20, 2017
Leadership and the Environment: It starts here
Audio / Awareness / Education / Leadership / Nature

Leadership and the Environment: It starts here

I'm talking more about the lack of leadership I see regarding the environment and global warming. I've never met anyone who didn't want to make the world a better place or who opposed clean air and water, but we were born into a world that makes it difficult to avoid polluting it. As everyone knows, if billions of us don't change our behavior, we could face big natural problems. Since no one else is stepping up, or don't have the skills, awareness, and credentials to, I am. My friend Lee Kuczewski and I have talked about the topic. He's wanted to organize talks on topics he loves, so he organized my first public talk on leadership and global warming. We held it last Thursday at…

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May 19, 2017
My 12-minute conversation with record-holding podcaster Engel Jones
Audio / Education / Stories

My 12-minute conversation with record-holding podcaster Engel Jones

Engel Jones holds the record for most podcasts, I believe. Our podcast was the most mellow I've been on. We spoke about Education Memories Earliest memories Music, and More. Plus, all his podcasts are about 12 minutes, so convenient for listening. Mine was 16 minutes. He posted mine today---his 1,128th. I recommend listening to mine and more. Listen to the conversation! Listen to the conversation! About Engel: Engel Jones was born and raised in the twin island of Trinidad and Tobago and he loves great conversation. He is an Entrepreneur, Life Coach and the podcast host of the Twelve Minute Convo. His passion is to help you find Y.O.U.R.S - Your Own Unique Real Self. After having 1001 conversations in 3 months he uncovered Y.O.U.R.S,…

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May 16, 2017
Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Google, and a Harvard Expert: Colleges and Universities Are Broken
Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Google, and a Harvard Expert: Colleges and Universities Are Broken, by Joshua Spodek
Education / Entrepreneurship / Inc.com / Leadership

Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Google, and a Harvard Expert: Colleges and Universities Are Broken

My Inc. article today, "Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Google, and a Harvard Expert: Colleges and Universities Are Broken," begins Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin, Google, and a Harvard Expert: Colleges and Universities Are Broken They aren't just complaining. They're offering alternatives. Malcolm Gladwell couldn't be more clear in his podcast about a school ranked by some as the number one liberal arts college: There's only one solution. If you're looking at liberal arts colleges, don't go to Bowdoin. Don't let your kids go to Bowdoin. Don't let your friends go to Bowdoin. Gladwell's podcast gave the context, about the school's values. You can rest assured he chose his words deliberately, and other episodes criticized other problems with education today. Witness Seth Godin's altMBA's criticism: Unlike traditional…

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May 11, 2017
Op/ed Friday: How climate change scientists are undermining efforts to slow global warming
Education / Leadership / Nature

Op/ed Friday: How climate change scientists are undermining efforts to slow global warming

I wrote how much my visit to Columbia's Department of Earth and Environmental Studies left me. The scientists, who know more about global warming than anyone, 1) didn't seem to change their polluting behavior and 2) to the extent they tried to influence others, did so ineffectively, or even counterproductively. They shared information, expecting that people would change their behavior for learning the information. Not only did the information not influence their own behavior, facts rarely change behavior, especially away from comfort and convenience, as evidenced by the global obesity rates in the face of our knowing more about nutrition and diseases of excess than ever. Or, as Marshall Goldsmith puts it In life our problem isn't understanding, it's doing. I think most people understand…

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May 5, 2017
The value of technique: My student connects with a billionaire and gets invited to Harvard using skills from the course!
Jingming in New England Patriots helmet
Education / Entrepreneurship / Relationships / Stories

The value of technique: My student connects with a billionaire and gets invited to Harvard using skills from the course!

I was delighted to read the email below from a former student. You can tell that English is not her native language, nor is America her native culture. Yet you'll see she turned a standard business meeting assigned to her into a meaningful connection. That's the value of technique: it works even when you wouldn't know what to do. You can fall back on it. The more you practice and rehearse it, as my class does, the more automatic it becomes. Then you create opportunities where you never saw them before. I posted the exercise, called Meaningful Connection, from the course that she used, along with an excerpt from my book, Leadership Step by Step, and videos of me practicing the exercise with my mentor, Marshall…

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April 27, 2017
John Mattone’s Expert Interview Series: Joshua Spodek of Spodek Academy About Embracing a “Just Do It” Attitude Toward Leadership Coaching
Click for John Mattone's interview of me!
Education / Leadership

John Mattone’s Expert Interview Series: Joshua Spodek of Spodek Academy About Embracing a “Just Do It” Attitude Toward Leadership Coaching

I am honored that John Mattone interviewed me as part of his Expert Interview Series and posted the interview, "Joshua Spodek of Spodek Academy About Embracing a "Just Do It" Attitude Toward Leadership Coaching." I'll tease you with the first few interview questions. For the answers, read the whole interview! As someone who is well-educated in a variety of disciplines, could you tell us what drew you to the study of leadership? Since you're one of the relatively few Americans who has visited North Korea, could you tell us whether the portrayal of that country in the media is accurate? What surprised you most about what you saw there? Which aspects of leadership do your clients struggle with the most? In order to be an…

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April 24, 2017
Science: College Can Decrease Your Understanding of It. A Harvard Physicist Is Undoing the Damage
Education / Inc.com / Nature

Science: College Can Decrease Your Understanding of It. A Harvard Physicist Is Undoing the Damage

My Inc.com article, "Science: College Can Decrease Your Understanding of It. A Harvard Physicist Is Undoing the Damage," begins Science: College Can Decrease Your Understanding of It. A Harvard Physicist Is Undoing the Damage Studies show that traditional lectures tend to lower students' understanding of physics. Harvard professor Eric Mazur developed techniques that work, and innovators can learn from them. If we want to improve our world, we need to know science--not just to solve problems, but to understand the underlying patterns of nature. Many of humanity's greatest advances came from physics: radio, transistors, lasers, the world wide web, leaving Earth, and so on. Science and physics will be essential in solving our future challenges: global warming, fusion, alternative energy, and so on. Society, innovation,…

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April 21, 2017
The Hardware Entrepreneur Interview: Effective project-based learning from astrophysicist turned entrepreneur, professor, with Joshua Spodek
The Hardware Entrepreneur podcast with Balint Hovarth and Joshua Spodek
Audio / Creativity / Education / Entrepreneurship

The Hardware Entrepreneur Interview: Effective project-based learning from astrophysicist turned entrepreneur, professor, with Joshua Spodek

I've done a lot of podcasts lately. The latest is unique and more personal. Here's why... As a guy who got a PhD in physics became an entrepreneur got passionate about improving in business, and teaches experiential project-based learning, I was pleased to find a guy who got a PhD in physics became an entrepreneur got passionate about improving in business, and teaches experiential project-based learning. This other guy is named Balint Hovarth. He is from Hungary and lives in Switzerland. He hosts a podcast called the Hardware Entrepreneur. Our common backgrounds and interests make our meeting inevitable. Our common background and interests also enabled me to talk about my early days and some stories about starting my first company, Submedia. Even before the founding…

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April 20, 2017
The Business Building Rockstars Show with Nicole Holland: “Becoming Successful by Doing What You Love”
Audio / Education / Entrepreneurship

The Business Building Rockstars Show with Nicole Holland: “Becoming Successful by Doing What You Love”

Nicole Holland is a rock star. Creating the Business Building Rockstars Show would be enough. She also helped me set up and understand my online presence. So before writing about her and our interview, I have to recommend her for anyone working on podcasting or creating an online presence. She knows her stuff and delivers on time and under budget. Listen to the interview! Here's Nicole, from her page, Interviews That Convert: I'm Nicole Holland, host of the highly regarded podcast The Business Building Rockstars Show and proud to be named as one of "50 MUST-FOLLOW WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN 2017" in The Huffington Post alongside Marie Forleo, Amy Porterfield, Dorie Clark, & many other female powerhouses. After interviewing over 220 high-achievers I've learned a thing or two about what…

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April 19, 2017
Farnoosh Torabi interviews me for her So Money podcast
Farnoosh Torabi's interview of Joshua Spodek for her award winning #1 So Money podcast
Audio / Education / Leadership

Farnoosh Torabi interviews me for her So Money podcast

I'd heard about and listened to the award-winning #1 So Money podcast for a while, so I felt honored and flattered to be a guest. This morning Farnoosh posted the interview! She covers money more specifically than most. Since I grew up keeping talk about private finances quiet, she led me to speak about some things I rarely do, which led to some life-level realizations I am grateful to her for uncovering. I was surprised to find myself sharing some things publicly I didn't even realize about myself. Listen to the podcast! From Farnoosh's about page: My audience has been growing up. . . So have I. At the age of 22, I was over $30,000 in debt. I made $18 an hour. Before taxes.…

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April 12, 2017
“4 Skills Not Taught in the Ivy Leagues that Every Great Leader Must Master”: Inc. on me!
Inc.: 4 Skills Not Taught in the Ivy Leagues that Every Great Leader Must Master
Education / Inc.com / Leadership

“4 Skills Not Taught in the Ivy Leagues that Every Great Leader Must Master”: Inc. on me!

Inc.'s columnist and bestselling author Kevin Daum wrote about me and Leadership Step by Step today. Usually when I post Inc. article's they're by me. This one is about me. It begins: 4 Skills Not Taught in the Ivy Leagues that Every Great Leader Must Master People don't just wake up as leaders. Like any athlete or artists, they must acquire certain techniques to become masters of the art of leadership. Here are some of those skills. Joshua Spodek, author of the bestselling Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow, got his MBA at the Columbia Business School in hopes of becoming a top entrepreneur and leader. He soon realized that the degree was the start of his mission, not completion: "Business school…

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April 11, 2017
Ron Potter’s short, no-nonsense review of Leadership Step by Step
Education / Leadership

Ron Potter’s short, no-nonsense review of Leadership Step by Step

I'm honored for Ron Potter of TLC | TeamLeadershipCulture.com to have written one of his short, no-nonsense reviews of Leadership Step by Step. He and I also recorded a conversation on a science and engineering approach to developing social and emotional skills in ourselves and others based on our collective experience. I'm editing the audio, so stay tuned to hear that conversation when I post it here. I posted his background from his about page below. His short review: Leadership Step by Step: Become the person others follow written by Ron April 1, 2017 Ron's Short Review: Can you develop leadership? Josh sheds some light on the age old question of "Are leaders made or born". In a very practical way he identifies exercises that will…

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April 5, 2017
Education

Education now, and why I expect my courses and book to make history

100 years ago, in education it was important to learn to produce physically---to work in a factory, on a farm, etc. People could succeed in life by becoming manual laborers. 50 years ago it was important to know things, to process information. People could succeed by becoming knowledge workers. You could still learn manual labor, but you'd end up working for knowledge workers. Today, machines and computers are better in both of those domains---physical labor and processing information. Where they aren't, they're closing in. But people still need food, protection from the elements, and other goods and services. You still need to give the economy reasons to distribute what you need to live to you. The needs of the next decades are to show that…

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April 4, 2017
Mastering Leadership Concepts: My conversation with Skip Prichard on his blog
Joshua Spodek on Leadership Step by Step on Skip Prichard's blog
Education / Leadership

Mastering Leadership Concepts: My conversation with Skip Prichard on his blog

I'm honored today for Skip Prichard to feature a conversation we had on leadership and leadership development on his blog. I love working with experienced people. He got right to the point and kept the conversation focused, engaging, and meaningful, at least to me. For a teaser, the post begins: Mastering Leadership Concepts Learning how to lead. It's the focus of many lectures, articles, blog posts, and books. Joshua Spodek prefers the active to the passive, teaching with exercises designed to master leadership concepts. He recently wrote a book titled Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow that takes this teaching approach. His background includes a mix of academic and corporate experience, allowing his coaching methods to incorporate the best of both. I recently…

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April 3, 2017
What’s Wrong With Business Plan Competitions: A Student View
My Inc. post today about problems with business plan competition
Education / Entrepreneurship / Inc.com

What’s Wrong With Business Plan Competitions: A Student View

My Inc. post today, "What's Wrong With Business Plan Competitions: A Student View," begins What's Wrong With Business Plan Competitions: A Student View More reasons business plan competitions hurt entrepreneurship: from a student they're supposed to help I've written in Inc. before about problems with business plan competitions. Most voices promote them as unerringly valuable to students and entrepreneurship in general. I'm presenting a contrary voice from an important source--a student. I'm not suggesting it's the last word, nor all voices, but a voice from the supposed beneficiary. Context I teach entrepreneurship at New York University. NYU and many organizations in Silicon Alley host tons of competitions and pitch events. I've also started several ventures over more than two decades and participated on both sides…

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March 31, 2017
The experience and results of Leadership Step by Step
Leadership Step by Step, so far 51 Reviews, 50 of them 5-star
Audio / Education / Leadership

The experience and results of Leadership Step by Step

You've read the reviews of Leadership Step by Step---51 so far on Amazon, 98% 5-star---and are interested. You wonder how they got so positive. Chris is a professional who did all the exercises in the book as an online course from SpodekAcademy.com. I interviewed him to learn his experiences taking the course and his results afterward. I edited the interview. Here are the highlights (I recommend listening): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0ODcbJarCM The full interview is available here.

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March 28, 2017
Audio / Education / Leadership

How you learn is as important as what you learn, part 2

Today follows up last week's post, "How you learn is as important as what you learn, part 1," with the second part of my conversation with transformative principal Jethro Jones. Click here to listen to part 1 of that conversation. Click here to listen to part 2 of that conversation. The concept that how you learn is as important as what you learn is one of the fundamental principles behind my change from teaching through traditional educational and coaching techniques that may challenge and develop students and clients intellectually, but stagnate emotionally and socially. Leadership, entrepreneurship, influence, persuasion, and much of human relations are fundamentally emotional and social. Not activating students and clients socially and emotionally deprives them of the challenges necessary to develop the…

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March 20, 2017
Awareness / Education / Models / Nature

One of the most important videos on the internet barely has 10,000 views: Donella Meadows on Sustainable Systems

I just watched what I consider one of the most important videos I've seen. It's not exciting, but it covers what I consider the most important issue of our time---how to understand global warming and what we can do about it. Not just the usual questions about science, numbers, and politics. The video is of Donella Meadows speaking at the University of Michigan. She approaches the topic through systems thinking, which is, in my opinion, the most useful and illuminating way to understand it. The talk explains systems, systems thinking, the environment, and how we, as humans with technology, values, economies, and so forth interact with it. By the way, I've long ranked Donella Meadows near the top in my influences and resources page. I…

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March 18, 2017
Advice I would and wouldn’t give Trump: My radio interview with Matt Townsend
MattTownsend of BYU radio interviewed me on Leadership Step by Step
Audio / Education / Leadership

Advice I would and wouldn’t give Trump: My radio interview with Matt Townsend

Matt Townsend of BYU radio interviewed me today. I found Matt engaging. He did his research and he asked meaningful questions. Here's some background on his show: Matt Townsend specializes in energizing and involving audiences with his unique approach to building and maintaining successful relationships. Known as one of America's top presenters in the field of Human Relations and Development, Matt blends humor and story telling with interactive, real-life solutions that motivate and inspire his listeners. New episodes Monday through Friday at 9 am Eastern. The show notes said Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow (16:32) Joshua Spodek, bestselling author of Leadership Step by Step: Become the Person Others Follow, is an Adjunct Professor at New York University, leadership coach and workshop leader…

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March 17, 2017
Education

What’s wrong with your community?

NYU's president wrote in a letter to the university on the occasion of its spring break: A dozen people from Liberal Studies will be working with a local organization in Antigua, Guatemala, to build homes for low-income families. A group of students led by faculty from the Department of French will be working on a project to study and preserve the native French language spoken in Louisiana. In Stone Mountain, Georgia, students will work with a refugee center to tutor children and assist with distributing clothing donations. The Center for Student Activities, Leadership, and Service will bring a group of students to go once again to El Cidral, a town in the Dominican Republic, to carry on a multiyear project to build a levee to…

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March 15, 2017
Audio / Education / Leadership

How you learn is as important as what you learn, part 1

The concept that how you learn is as important as what you learn is one of the fundamental principles behind my change from teaching through traditional educational and coaching techniques that may challenge and develop students and clients intellectually, but stagnate emotionally and socially. Leadership, entrepreneurship, influence, persuasion, and much of human relations are fundamentally emotional and social. Not activating students and clients socially and emotionally deprives them of the challenges necessary to develop the social and emotional skills of those disciplines. Jethro Jones, principal and host of the podcast Transformative Principal, led a conversation on this topic, how I discovered the principle for myself, and how I implemented it. Jethro is a transformative principal himself. Personal growth, relationships, leadership, entrepreneurship, and business all related…

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March 12, 2017
The best way to improve your teaching (and possibly your leadership): the SLA Summer Teaching Institute, July 17-21, 2017
Education / Events / Leadership

The best way to improve your teaching (and possibly your leadership): the SLA Summer Teaching Institute, July 17-21, 2017

I know my readership includes many educators, from K-12 through university through executive coaches. If you want to improve your teaching, no matter what level you teach, the best resource I've come across is Science Leadership Academy's Summer Teaching Institute. I highly recommend spending a week this summer learning SLA-style teaching---no matter what level you teach, from K-12 through university and adult learning. I've attended, taught at, consulted to, and led workshops at half the Ivy League, at elite boarding schools, at inner city public schools, in corporations, and more, and Science Leadership Academy is at least the equal learning environment of any, if not better, in my opinion. If you think that because SLA is a high school and you teach university or adults,…

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March 6, 2017
My disillusion from visiting Columbia’s Earth and Environmental Science Department
Education / Leadership / Nature

My disillusion from visiting Columbia’s Earth and Environmental Science Department

I'll get in trouble for describing this visit as one of the most disillusioning interactions I've had for a long time. This post is part of a work in progress, of me disentangling my thoughts and impressions to figure out how to act in a community I'm partly an outsider, but whose involvement I consider critical for achieving goals I consider important. I welcome perspectives. I know I didn't write that clearly. You can tell from the date in the picture below that I've taken nearly a month to process my thoughts to reach this level. It will take a lot longer for me to process them enough to communicate them clearly and concisely. I was going to describe it as discouraging, but in the…

2 Comments
March 4, 2017
See me speak online TODAY at the Teach and Profit Summit
Education / Entrepreneurship

See me speak online TODAY at the Teach and Profit Summit

If you read my blog, you know I care about education and that, despite my Ivy League PhD and MBA, I've learned enough outside of school to consider classes outside universities more valuable in many areas. I value other venues. Hence creating my classes. Maybe you've thought about creating your own classes. I support trying. You'll learn a lot in the process. If it takes off, you could become successful. I've been invited to participate in an online week-long event on creating online courses. You'll learn from the experience of me and many people who have created online courses. It started today (sorry to be late, but you can still participate in all of it). It's called the Teach and Profit Summit. Step one is…

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February 27, 2017

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