Entrepreneurship

Read my Forbes interview today by Jimmy Rohampton!
Jimmy Rohampton's interview of Joshua Spodek in Forbes
Entrepreneurship / Leadership / Relationships / Tips

Read my Forbes interview today by Jimmy Rohampton!

Jimmy Rohampton of Forbes caught up with and interviewed me. He posted the article today, "An Executive Coach's Best Tips On Facebook Groups, Habits And Doing Work You Love." Longtime readers who know how much I owe my success to writing daily in my blog will appreciate Jimmy's page: HowToCreateABlog.org. I found the connection helped us connect and make the interview more relevant. I was delighted to find that Forbes filed it under "The Little Black Book of Billionaire Secrets." Read An Executive Coach's Best Tips On Facebook Groups, Habits And Doing Work You Love!

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May 18, 2017
5 Pieces of Advice From an Internet Entrepreneur Who Overcame More Than You Did
5 Pieces of Advice From an Internet Entrepreneur Who Overcame More Than You Did, by Joshua Spodek
Entrepreneurship / Inc.com / Tips

5 Pieces of Advice From an Internet Entrepreneur Who Overcame More Than You Did

My Inc. article today, "5 Pieces of Advice From an Internet Entrepreneur Who Overcame More Than You Did," begins 5 Pieces of Advice From an Internet Entrepreneur Who Overcame More Than You Did If the adversity you face is less than his, his simple advice may help you overcome it. How many internet sensations make you think, examine your life, or motivate you to realize your potential? Many, like Psy and Justin Beiber, entertain. Others, like TED talks, fascinate. Still others, like the Ice Bucket Challenge, are fun. Since Inc.'s world eschews flash, pure entertainment, and publicity in favor of thoughtfulness and helping others entrepreneurially, you'll be forgiven if you don't know our community's internet influencers quite as well. Meet a truly self-made internet entrepreneur I've…

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May 15, 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
Entrepreneurship / Tips

Pricing: A tried and true method for starting working relationships

How do you price a job when you first start working with someone? You don't have a history with them. Go too high and they might choose someone else. Too low and you lose potential money, and they might think you're lower quality. You're not negotiating a long-term job offer, so you don't want to go into too much depth. A friend liked the advice I gave him and suggested I share it. I wrote him: Pricing is hard in a new relationship. In a situation like yours, where I suspect they've worked in similar arrangements, I say that if they've hired people in similar ways before, then I'm comfortable working with the average of what they've paid others, or maybe a little more. They…

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May 8, 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
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
The Great Barrier Reef’s Demise and You
Great Barrier Reef at 'terminal stage'
Choosing/Decision-Making / Entrepreneurship / Leadership / Nature

The Great Barrier Reef’s Demise and You

According to The Guardian: Great Barrier Reef at 'terminal stage': scientists despair at latest coral bleaching data 'Last year was bad enough, this is a disaster,' says one expert as Australia Research Council finds fresh damage across 8,000km I read this at a message board for geeks and entrepreneurs and shared the following, which I wanted to share here: Many posts here about how sad and disgusted people are. Not much about people taking personal responsibility. What do people think the carrying capacity of the planet means? Sustaining more humans means sacrificing other life that competes for our resources. It means pollution rising until it doesn't quite kill us but is well above the levels of a pristine, clean environment. Nobody wants to live near…

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April 10, 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
So You Want to Build a Luxury Vodka?
My interview of Jonas Tahlin, CEO of Elyx, Absolut's foray into retaking the lead in premium vodka
Entrepreneurship / Inc.com / Leadership

So You Want to Build a Luxury Vodka?

My Inc. article yesterday reflected my journey from a pipe-dream I had in business school of starting a vodka brand to meeting the CEO of Absolut's attempt to regain the lead it lost decades ago, Jonas Tahlin. He's taking on the challenge in part by connecting himself personally with the brand. He has lots of resources but a lot to lose. The article, "So You Want to Build a Luxury Vodka?," begins So You Want to Build a Luxury Vodka? Premium is more personal and vulnerable than ever. Do you have the guts to do it? Jonas Tahlin shares what it takes behind Absolut's foray with Elyx. I had a great idea for a vodka in business school. Starbucks had just acquired Ethos Water and…

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March 30, 2017
Why Do We Dream Big About Everything Except Changing Our Behavior to Pollute Less?
Entrepreneurship / Inc.com / Leadership / Nature

Why Do We Dream Big About Everything Except Changing Our Behavior to Pollute Less?

My Inc. article today, "Why Do We Dream Big About Everything Except Changing Our Behavior to Pollute Less?," responded to a New York Times opinion piece yesterday that I found lame, even sad. My piece begins Why Do We Dream Big About Everything Except Changing Our Behavior to Pollute Less? A New York Times editorial illustrates our limited vision about our shared world Inc. readers are resourceful. We dream big. We entrepreneurs and visionaries are inspired by our predecessors in science, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, NASA, and so on. People who launched humans to the moon, doubled transistors per chip every 18 months for generations, worked for equality and fairness, beat humans at chess and Jeopardy!, and more. We look to Mars, fusion, and artificial intelligence…

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March 27, 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
The Benefits of Experiential Learning for Leaders with Rocket Scientist Joshua Spodek
Audio / Awareness / Education / Entrepreneurship / Exercises / Habits / Leadership / Perception

The Benefits of Experiential Learning for Leaders with Rocket Scientist Joshua Spodek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-DZIZxl1IM Mark Bidwell, founder and podcast host of Innovation Ecosystem, posted today a wonderful interview about Leadership Step by Step, experiential learning, exercises, and more. I can only describe Mark as someone who gets it. He ascended the corporate ladder, where he drove innovation, built teams, and so on, then found there was more to life and is creating resources to enable others to. If you are looking to improve your leadership, social, and emotional skills, Mark gets to the heart of how to, covering techniques that work, as well as the problems of traditional education that suppress learning these things. Listen to the interview! A few words about Mark and the Innovation Ecosystem podcast: We interview remarkable and thought-provoking guests about innovation, leadership and…

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February 21, 2017
Forbes profiles three graduates of my course!
Education / Entrepreneurship / Exercises / Stories

Forbes profiles three graduates of my course!

Forbes's Carrie Kerpen profiled three graduates of my entrepreneurship course in, "Three Important Lessons Women Learn Early In Their Careers." The three students---Nikita, Grace, and Nahima---did the course's exercises with diligence and discipline. None of them knew how experiential the course would be and didn't expect to create projects that impassioned them or their customers as much as they did. In other words, they didn't have secret or magical skills you and I don't. They had direction and worked at it. You can too (shameless plug: if you take my course). Her story begins: I often write about the wisdom I've gained from women with long, successful careers. But I've learned just as much from young women at the very start of their journeys, too.…

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February 14, 2017
My radio interview on Jim Blasingame’s Small Business Advocate
Jim Blasingame's interview of Joshua Spodek
Audio / Entrepreneurship / Leadership

My radio interview on Jim Blasingame’s Small Business Advocate

This morning Jim Blasingame interviewed me on his Small Business Advocate Show. Here is the interview: Find interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show Find interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show If you don't have javascript (and you see white space above this line), click the image below: Click below for three edited highlights: Defining leadership elements that sustain success: Joshua Spodek joins Jim Blasingame to reveal more key leadership disciplines, including serving others and creating new leaders. Defining leadership with four key steps: Joshua Spodek joins Jim Blasingame to reveal how he defines leadership, including the paradox of leadership as a way of serving others, and to advance the leadership discipline of introspection. Defining leadership…

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February 13, 2017
Forbes on marketing Leadership Step by Step
Entrepreneurship / Leadership

Forbes on marketing Leadership Step by Step

Cheryl Conner at Forbes wrote, "Three Entrepreneurs Share How They Took Their Public Relations Strategy To A New Level," which covered me. Lord knows I'm in the middle of public relations! Anyone who has seen me in person this year has heard me say "I can't believe how much work goes into launching a book." I'm the third of three entrepreneurs profiled in the story. The part about me begins Joshua Spodek is a New York City-based executive coach and academic (he's an adjunct professor for NYU) who is passionate about transformative leadership, creativity, strategy and motivation. His problem: A great book that nobody knew about. "I signed my contract with a publisher [the American Management Association] almost exactly a year ago to write my book,…

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February 10, 2017
Authenticity, Leadership & Finding Your “One Thing” from the C Method Podcast
Choosing/Decision-Making / Entrepreneurship

Authenticity, Leadership & Finding Your “One Thing” from the C Method Podcast

Christina Canters of The C Method podcast posted her interview of me today. We had a fun, open conversation. I think you'll like listening. We talked about authenticity and how to achieve a lot by knowing how to focus on one thing by knowing what you want, not wondering, among other topics. Many people hold back from devoting or committing themselves to one thing, afraid of regretting losing what they decide against. We talked about what specifically to do to prevent holding yourself back. See my Harvard talk on not dwelling on decisions for more on deciding. Her blog page introduces me as: Joshua Spodek is an author, executive coach and leadership expert who is one of the most accomplished people I've ever met. He…

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February 2, 2017
The Leadership Podcast interviewed me. What great interviewers!
Audio / Education / Entrepreneurship / Leadership / Models

The Leadership Podcast interviewed me. What great interviewers!

The Leadership Podcast---hosted by Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos---posted their interview of me today, "What An Ivy League Degree Can't Teach You." Jan and Jim have clear passions and experience for leadership and interviewing. Their questions got to the heart of what I teach, what my book, Leadership Step by Step, is about, my goals in teaching, my motivations, and the inside story. Highly recommended! Here's their introduction and description on their page with the interview Professor and scientist, Josh Spodek, created specific exercises that teach emotionally intelligent behaviors   Summary & Ideas for Action Co-hosts Jan Rutherford and Jim Vaselopulos interview Josh Spodek, an Adjunct Professor at NYU, leadership coach, workshop leader for Columbia Business School, columnist for Inc., founder of Spodek Academy, and…

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February 1, 2017
Becoming Your Best Podcast interviews me!
Entrepreneurship / Leadership

Becoming Your Best Podcast interviews me!

Steven M. Covey said about Steve and Rob Shallenberger's work and book: "The 12 Principles are crucial to the success of any leader, in any organization, in any industry!" Steve and Rob run Becoming Your Best, and Steve interviewed me in their podcast. He got to some of my formative experiences and the views that emerged from them. They introduced the interview as follows: If you are going to become a good pianist it takes practice. If you want to be a good athlete it takes practice. The same goes for becoming a good leader. Joshua Spodek earned such praise as "Best and Brightest" (Esquire Magazine's Genius Issue), "Astrophysicist turned new media whiz" (NBC), and "Rocket Scientist" (Forbes Magazine and ABC News) with success in…

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January 30, 2017
Stellar reviews of other courses I’ve taught like Leadership Step by Step
Awareness / Education / Entrepreneurship / Exercises / Leadership

Stellar reviews of other courses I’ve taught like Leadership Step by Step

Pre-order Leadership Step by Step on Amazon! or Register for a free webinar on the course! Reviews of Other Courses of Joshua Spodek Below are anonymous reviews by people who did the progression of exercises of other courses that I teach in the same style as Leadership Step by Step. They range from first year undergraduates to graduate students to adult learners to adult clients. (Not all are native English speakers.) -- "This is one of the greatest classes I have ever taken. It was engaging, thought provoking, challenging, and fun. Josh is an incredible teacher, mentor, and friend to everyone in the class who is passionate about the subject matter. If I could take this class all over again, I would" -- "10/10 would…

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January 27, 2017
Education / Entrepreneurship / Events / Relationships

Learn influence, persuasion, and creating and closing deals! Take my 4-session course, January 16 – 26 in NYC

Take my 4-session in-person course in influence, persuasion, and creating and closing deals! I'm offering this course by popular demand, organized by the students who took my leadership class in-person last semester. They knew I've offered this class and wanted to take it so they took initiative to make it happen. How could I refuse? I often call it Entrepreneurial Selling, but it's deeper than "just" sales. It's about creating productive relationships, not just in business, though there is a business focus. It's fine if you've never done sales or never plan to, but want to be more persuasive and influential, in ways people appreciate, being the opposite of pushy or invasive, but rather warm, sensitive, caring, and empathetic In job interviews With your managers…

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January 6, 2017
What You Thought Graduates of Elite Schools Have, But Probably Don’t
Education / Entrepreneurship / Leadership

What You Thought Graduates of Elite Schools Have, But Probably Don’t

I guest posted today in SuccessVets.com, "What You Thought Graduates of Elite Schools Have, But Probably Don't." I wrote the piece for service-members transitioning to civilian leadership, but it applies to many people who worry about competing with graduates of elite schools. The guest post begins: It's easy to look at people who went to school while you served and think they're ahead of you, which can cause anxiety. As a professor with an MBA and PhD who teaches and coaches leadership and entrepreneurship at elite schools like Columbia Business School and New York University, I want to point out many skills they often lack that you might have assumed they had. My goal is to help you get hired, funded, or promoted by positioning…

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January 3, 2017
Art / Entrepreneurship / Inc.com

This Start-Up Is Revolutionizing Museums: Museum Hack will change how you visit them forever.

My Inc.com post today, "This Start-Up Is Revolutionizing Museums," begins This Start-Up Is Revolutionizing Museums Museum Hack will change how you visit them forever. Did you grow up bored with museums too? Grown-ups talked about them like they were an adventure but they made them feel like history class for old people. Times have changed! An entrepreneur and his team have transformed museums into exciting, vigorous, personalized adventures where you meet people, run around the museum, and, while you weren't paying attention, still learn about art. Their company is called Museum Hack. Its founder, Nick Gray, who didn't like museums growing up either, created it out of a hobby. He gave irreverent, informative, fun, free tours to his friends describing his take on New York…

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December 28, 2016
Entrepreneurship / Leadership

Secret Entourage Academy interviews me on entrepreneurship and leadership

Secret Entourage is a group that supports and promotes entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. I met them through my friend Jordan Harbinger, who invited me to North Korea. They interview me. If you like my style, the interview tells you a lot about me and my development. I recommend listening! (please excuse the video quality) Watch Secret Entourage Academy's interview of Joshua Spodek here. From their notes: About: Joshua Spodek decided to major in Physics after nearly giving up his love of science and math due to bullying through high school. After earning his PhD, he felt as if the more education one received, the less career options became available. He realized the corporate lifestyle and working under someone else wasn't for him. His first business venture…

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December 20, 2016
Education / Entrepreneurship / Leadership

Questions before you lead or teach

In his recent post, "Make the Work Worth Doing," Chris Lehmann, founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, lists questions tremendously useful for leaders or anyone who wants to engage others and create meaning in their work. His perspective reinforces how important how you lead or teach is compared to what you do or teach. If you think you can't learn from a high school principal how to improve your skills to lead, engage, enable, and create meaning for others, how many of the following questions from his post (edited to include leadership contexts) would you answer yes to in the past few times you led or taught others? Does the student or person you lead have the choice to personalize the work to reflect their…

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December 19, 2016

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