Have you ever loved a job or person without the love resulting in more work and commitment? Did the work lead to loving it, him, or her more? But did feeling that you’d have to work more stopped you, often unconsciously, from allowing yourself to love something or someone? Do we move away from passions for the reasons we should move toward them? I call the feeling driving that inhibition,[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →

The host of a podcast we just recorded emailed: Again, I so enjoyed our conversation today. Thank you for bring your whole self to the table. … I loved it. (and I know my audience will love it too.) I never used to hear that I brought my whole self to anything. On the contrary, as I’ll share below, I spent the first few decades of my life only able[…] Keep reading →

Leadership is about more than business and politics, where people associate it most. Leadership applies to all relationships, including with yourself, to family, school, and significant others. Especially the kind of leadership that my book, Leadership Step by Step, develops: based on understanding, empathy, compassion, listening, connecting their passions to the team, teamwork, support, and similar social and emotional skills. More.com is more for the next generation, but they caught[…] Keep reading →

Laura Coe, host of The Art of Authenticity podcast, posted today our second interview, “Joshua Spodek: Becoming The Person Others Follow,” which covers Leadership Step by Step, along with authenticity in general. Laura is a wonderful interviewer who genuinely cares about her guests. A second interview means more familiarity and comfort, which means covering perspectives and details beyond what a first interview can cover. Listen to the interview! (scroll down)[…] Keep reading →

A reader wrote with some questions common enough from other readers to share. His second message is the common one. The first sets the context of dealing with a difficult person. Here’s the first message: I’d like to know how to deal with the type who is indifferent to the possible adverse repercussions for his actions (or lack thereof) and may actually want to deliberately trigger you to intervene and[…] Keep reading →

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[…] Keep reading →