This Saturday begins my class at General Assembly on influence and persuasion. Register here We call the class “Entrepreneurial Sales” because it teaches entrepreneurial skills and uses a model of selling for its structure, but it’s about broader concepts of influence, persuasion, value, and building relationships based on understanding others’ needs. I used to think sales was part of the business other people did—something low-level that used pressure and made[…] Keep reading →

If you think of used car salespeople when you think sales, you’re missing out on some of the most important skills and perspectives for life. Not just business, but any interactions with people. Sales also means proposing ideas, job interviews (selling your labor),  hiring great people (selling your organization), fund-raising (selling equity), and more. Approaching sales from a leadership perspective teaches you to influence and persuade to create long-term, productive,[…] Keep reading →

I recently wrote how I finished recording the audio for the online leadership course I’m creating. I also posted about the leadership course I start teaching at NYU in a couple weeks. Both courses put into practice material that I’ve compiled for years, maybe a decade or so. This week I’ll start posting the interview I did with Chris, the other guy in the recording for the online course. I[…] Keep reading →

My next leadership seminar will be January 12 at The Yard, a premier office space and coworking community designed to support business growth whose environment promotes creativity, collaboration, and connections. Perfect for my seminar! If you’ve thought about attending one of my seminars, this will be a great chance in a beautiful space, conveniently located. Click here for testimonials.   HOW TO LEAD PEOPLE …so they want you to lead[…] Keep reading →

Science is the study of nature, looking for patterns, to predict results. For the moment I’m not approaching leadership with the institutional view of science with researchers applying for grants from the National Science Foundation to do double-blind controlled experiments for peer-reviewed publication, though I’ve had a few graduate students approach me to do research like that. Here’s a simpler view: science turns observations about nature into models and predictions[…] Keep reading →

I’ve been invited to lead a leadership workshop at a great location in Manhattan Saturday, December 6. If you like my material, want to lead better, and like the testimonials of recent attendees, come to the seminar. Below is from their announcement. Click here to register! “How to lead people so they want you to lead them again” by Joshua Spodek Saturday, December 6, 2014 10am to 5pm Soho –[…] Keep reading →

A reader responded to “Another genius business idea: Communities refurbishing their subway platforms” to describe the idea already in action in San Francisco: Hello Joshua, I want to share with you the concept of property and business improvement districts and how one in San Francisco beautified the plaza around the Castro Street subway station. I’m sharing this as a real-world example you might find interesting. The gist is that a[…] Keep reading →

“Which is more important as a leader, to work alone or to work in groups?” I heard that question asked of a panel of business leaders last week. The panelists all answered something like “in this day and age you have to be able to work in groups. That’s where you get everything done” with some acknowledgment that you had to be able to work solo too sometimes. As soon[…] Keep reading →

An attendee of one of my seminars on How To Lead People So They Want You To Lead Them Again wrote to her seminar-mates and me the results of her putting what she learned into practice. She had mentioned during the seminar an employee she had written off as unmanageable, who consistently disregarded her agreed-on priorities in favor of less important tasks and showed uninspired morale. Maybe you’ve worked with[…] Keep reading →