Josh Linkner

Serial Entrepreneur, New York Times Bestselling Author & Venture Capital Investor

Josh Linkner

Serial Entrepreneur, New York Times Bestselling Author & Venture Capital Investor

Add to List Availability & Fees

Biography

Josh Linkner - a New York Times bestselling author - is a rare blend of business, art, and science. On the business front, he’s been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which created over 10,000 jobs and sold for a combined value of over $200 million. He’s the co-founder and Managing Partner of Muditā (moo-DEE-tah) Venture Partners - an early-stage venture capital firm investing in groundbreaking technologies. Over the last 30 years, he's helped over 100 startups launch and scale, creating over $1 billion in investor returns. He's twice been named the EY Entrepreneur of The Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.

While proud of his business success, his roots are in the dangerous world of jazz music. He’s been playing guitar in smoky jazz clubs for 40 years, studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, and has performed over 1000 concerts around the world.

His experiences in both business and music led him to become one of the world’s foremost experts on innovation. Josh is the co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, a global research, training, and consulting firm. Today, he’s on a mission to help leaders Find A Way^TM through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.

Speaker Videos

Josh Linkner 2023 Demo Reel #innovation #creativity #keynotespeaker

New Topics

Live Jazz Innovation Experience with Josh Linkner

Speaking Reel

Innovation Blast: Chief Startup Officer

See Fewer Videos

Speech Topics

The Find a Way

A proven innovation framework to solve problems, accelerate opportunity and sustain growth

Overview

As we enter a new era of business, 50% of leaders in the United States have lost confidence in their ability to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. The level of disruption, technology threats, and volatility can be paralyzing. We are in a leadership crisis and must embrace a new model to meet today's challenges.

Prolific entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and innovation expert Josh Linkner helps you Find A Way^TM through his proven 5-step innovation framework for cultivating full-organization ingenuity. Whatever outcomes you crave the most - from sales growth to competitive advantage to employee engagement - you’ll walk away with specific tools to drive sustainable success.

The Find a Way^TM framework prioritizes agility over brute force, creativity over hustle, and improvisation over perfect planning. Leaders who embrace the model are inspired and better equipped. They feel confident to move forward into the darkness and have a newfound capacity to win consistently, no matter the circumstances.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Facing uncertainty and volatility.
Seeking better ways to drive the outcomes they crave the most.
Struggling to keep up with the pace of change.

The audience will leave with

A proven model for harnessing ingenuity to solve any problem and seize any opportunity.
Innovative strategies to drive better results every day.
The confidence to walk into the unknown and emerge victorious.

Big Little Breakthroughs

How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results

Overview

The pressure to generate big ideas can feel overwhelming. We know that bold innovations are critical in these disruptive and competitive times, but when it comes to breakthrough thinking, we often freeze up.

Instead of shooting for a $10 billion IPO or a Nobel Prize, the most prolific innovators focus on Big Little Breakthroughs – small, creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time.

The Big Little Breakthroughs framework provides a specific and practical approach to unlocking dormant creative capacity. Instead of wild, risky, and expensive moonshots, participants learn to unleash small, daily creative acts to drive gigantic results over time.

In this inspiring, timely, and high-impact keynote, New York Times bestselling author and globally-recognized innovation expert Josh Linkner shows us how to de-risk the creative process, build the capacity to unlock breakthrough transformations and gain the creative confidence to take responsible risks.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Aware of the need to innovate but having a hard time getting started.
Responsible for creating a culture of innovation.
Feeling pressure to generate breakthroughs but struggling to deliver them.

The audience will leave with

A proven framework to cultivate a high volume of innovations without the typical risk.
Inspiring and memorable stories that show how ingenuity, creative problem-solving, and inventive thinking can lead to breakthrough results.
The mindsets, habits, and tactics of the world’s most prolific artists, business titans, and entrepreneurs.

The Music of Business

What business leaders can learn about collaboration, creativity, and performance under pressure from the mysterious world of jazz.

Overview

The mysterious and dangerous world of jazz is a caldron of spontaneous creativity. And in times of radical change and uncertainty, it serves as the perfect model for modern leadership. Professional jazz guitarist and prolific entrepreneur Josh Linkner connects the dots between jazz and business, helping to unlock the secrets of some of the world’s most creative geniuses. Using live jazz as a metaphor for collaborative innovation, this session is entertaining, inspiring, and directly applicable to the daily challenges we face in business.

A fusion of live musical performance and keynote presentation, the session’s finale includes audience members “joining the band” to compose and perform a song in real-time to the delight of the audience. Cameras will flash as the entire group is dazzled by their colleagues' improvisation and spontaneous invention.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Looking for an elevated experience beyond a typical keynote.
Craving deeper collaboration, creativity, and performance.
Seeking a way to stand out from the pack and lead in a fresh, creative manner.

The audience will leave with

The mindset and perspective of a jazz musician serving as a creative new model for business growth and results.
A deeper understanding of collaborative creativity and specific tools to harness inventive thinking and artistic expression.
A memorable and inspiring sense of what’s possible and how to push boundaries and barriers to achieve remarkable outcomes.
The creative confidence to pursue our highest calling and to never let the music inside us die.

The Innovative Leader

A modern framework to lead with confidence in the face of uncertainty and change

Overview

The business you're running today isn't the business you'll be running next year. In this moment of volatility and uncertainty, we are being called to lead in a radically different way... more decisive, creative, and adaptable. So how can we use this defining moment to ensure relevancy, sustainability, and success in the future?

In this inspiring and practical keynote, battle-tested CEO, venture capital investor, and leadership expert Josh Linkner delivers a modern and accessible framework to help leaders thrive in the face of uncertainty and leverage their skills to move into uncharted territory with confidence.

You’ll learn how to unlock inventive thinking, creative problem-solving, and ingenuity in every box of the org chart. The most successful leaders today help everyday people become everyday innovators. They make sure that innovation is an everyday business.

This can’t-miss session goes way beyond the future of work. This is the future of growth, the future of relevancy, the future of leadership, and the future of success.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Being called to lead in a bold, new way
Overwhelmed with the demands of modern leadership
Craving a more innovative approach to drive explosive growth, gain competitive advantage, and get more from their teams

The audience will leave with

A modern framework for innovative leadership
Insights from some of the world’s most prolific leaders
A behind-the-scenes view of legendary business disruption
Strategies to drive growth, engagement, and success amid change and uncertainty

Disciplined Dreaming

A proven system to drive breakthrough creativity.

Overview

In our modern AI-driven world, creativity has become the currency of success. It’s the one thing that can’t be outsourced or automated; the indisputable competitive advantage. We are all hard-wired to be creative, yet most of us have underdeveloped creative skills. And today, more than ever before, creative problem-solving and inventive thinking are crucial to overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities.

Based on the breakaway New York Times bestselling book published in 19 languages and globally recognized by over 2 million readers as the definitive work on applied creativity, author and creativity expert Josh Linkner takes the audience on a journey to unlock their dormant creative capacity. Inspiring stories, surprising truths, and instantly-applicable solutions make this keynote both energizing and actionable.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Facing increasing challenges and competitive threats
Craving a new approach to harness their full creative potential
Struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation

The audience will leave with

A proven model for harnessing and applying human creativity
An understanding of how the most innovative and disruptive leaders think and act
Practical techniques to generate more high-quality ideas at any time and for any challenge

Rethink. Reboot. Reinvent

How to drive disruption and accelerate transformation

Overview

We’re living in a rate of change like none other in history. The hard truth is that we can no longer rely on the models of the past and expect the same results.

In this energizing and actionable keynote, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of rapid change and how to respond confidently and intentionally. New York Times bestselling author and lifetime disruptor Josh Linkner shares a proven model for you to take control and reinvent your own future.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are

Struggling to keep up with the rate of change.
Overwhelmed with competitive threats, technology advancements, and shifting disruptive market forces.
Recognizing the need for reinvention but struggling to gain traction.

The audience will leave with

A proven framework to lead reinvention efforts of all shapes and sizes.
The confidence to walk into the unknown and realize they can now navigate whatever challenges or opportunities emerge.
Mindsets and tactics to ensure relevance, adaptability, and sustainable success.
The ability to rethink old approaches and discover new ones.

Testimonials

"We truly appreciate how your keynote talk set the stage for the day and inspired the audience with innovative ideas, empowered them with the knowledge we can all be creative, and how you customized your session so we all felt that you knew FedEx intimately and were talking directly to us. Great job! Really enjoyed it."

- FedEx

"Terrific! Our people were very engaged and had some great takeaways. You definitely make an impact."

- ESPN

"Josh – I wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for your involvement at our Leadership Conference. Your presentation was critical and signaled our commitment to a different approach. I received positive feedback from many who attended the conference. You made a difference which is what we all try to accomplish each day. Thank you again!"

- Key Safety Systems

"Josh, I just wanted to send a sincere thank you for your participation in our OC event. You were an undeniable smash hit! There were tons of comments on how useful your talk was, and they were even using your language (the judo chop, getting scrappy etc…) the rest of the day. I look forward to collaborating in the future!"

- Avanade Inc.

"Josh, you were fantastic and an absolute delight to work with. Wow – what can I say except a huge THANK YOU. Your presentation was so excellent and a wonderful way to kick off our Annual Meeting. I heard so many of our members making reference to your presentation throughout the Meeting. And, signing books for two hours was a true testimonial to how well your presentation resonated with our members. Plus, you were a pure delight to work with... very low maintenance."

- ASAE

"When Josh speaks, business improves."

- Earvin “Magic” Johnson

"Josh has unmatched ability to embrace innovation. At his repeated visits to Viacom, Josh has consistently offered the strategic ideas and practical techniques necessary to drive creative thinking."

- Viacom

"Josh Linkner is a truly special entrepreneur; Part of a rare breed."

- CEO, Groupon

"Josh Linkner made a huge impact on our organization. His message on creativity and innovation was spot-on and his work has had a lasting effect. After hiring him for one conference where he was voted the top speaker by far, we promptly invited him back to present to a larger audience. His keynote was high-energy, interactive, and left us with specific tools and techniques to improve our creative output."

- Vice President, Daimler Financial Services

- Mercedes-Benz

"In today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace, the most important resource any business has is the creative thinking of its people. Josh Linkner lays out a road map that will guide individuals, teams, and companies to higher levels of creativity. It is a journey that will lead to better ideas and breakthrough thinking—and those who take it will also have a lot of fun along the way."

- Ford

"Thank you a million times over—you nailed it with the presentation yesterday and it was spot on for our team! You sparked so many follow-on discussions yesterday and were a continued theme throughout our meeting—people are already brainstorming great new ideas about how to implement small innovations and use your tips to break down barriers on our teams."

- Director Public Affairs, American Express

"The feedback I have heard has been incredibly positive, and I think it really contributed to the strong outcomes for the real work we went on to do over the day. It was definitely the first time I’ve heard someone from Sony Japan feedback to a room as Yoda! I also really appreciated how you tailored you message to the audience from the discussions in the weeks prior to the program.”

- Sony

"Thank you so much for keynoting The Marketing Forum. Your presentation was perfectly on target! I will send you the official evaluation numbers in a few weeks, but everyone I have spoken with so far really enjoyed your presentation. I thought it was just what we had discussed; targeted for this audience, combining a 30,000 mile view with specific takeaways to implement now."

- Richmond Events

"I felt compelled to send you on a short email to let you know quite how blown away I was by your presentation to us yesterday in London. It was quite literally one of the most motivating and thought provoking two hours of my professional career."

- Heineken

"On a dreary winter afternoon, Josh raised the energy level at our quarterly team meeting with thought-provoking discussion on creativity and leadership. His passion is contagious. The concepts discussed were supported with both qualitative and quantitative data so it appealed to both left and right-brained colleagues. We were engaged throughout and left the meeting fired up!"

- Deloitte Consulting

"Josh's presentation was perfect. The content was spot on and you could tell he really prepped. I would highly recommend Josh to other clients if they are looking to unlock the power of creativity across their organization."

- Frito-Lay North America