Take my Leadership Course this fall at NYU, Wednesdays starting September 21

I am offering my leadership course at NYU this fall at NYU's School of Professional Studies Wednesdays 6pm - 9pm September 21 - December 13 (12 sessions, no class Thanksgiving) Here is the syllabus Register here! Limited seats available (9 last I checked) Student reviews from my courses The course will show you why my courses get reviews like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxo-msa9dGQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnblmP_VlHg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzm7iL6reFY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoL4zWav8Hw Register here! Limited seats available (9 last I checked) “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…

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Looking for a mastermind group?

Do you have ideas or potential you're looking to develop? Do you find having others help while you help them spurs more creativity and action? Then you may want to work with a mastermind group. My friend and fellow coach, Silvia Christmann, is leading two eight-week curated groups, one starting September 15, the other September 20. While I coach, I don't have any stake in her work. I can tell you that if you like my perspective and how I work, you'll like working with her too. She has helped me through difficult times with sensitivity and caring. She has…

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Influence and persuasion: What academia since Aristotle missed

  • Post category:Leadership

I don't study philosophy, but I've been reading up on Aristotle and his Rhetoric, which is about persuasion. I'd rather put myself out there and have someone call me ignorant and foolish and set me straight than remain blissfully ignorant. I teach and write about persuasion. This stuff is interesting to me. Aristotle's Rhetoric treats three main modes of influence, mostly based in words: Credibility (ethos) Emotions and psychology of the audience (pathos) Patterns of reasoning (logos) I learned techniques rooted in this theory in college---how to write an effective essay. The problem is that most academics aren't persuasive and…

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How off-the-mark gifts destroy relationships, what to do about it, and how it helps you as a leader

Do you ever get a gift that's almost what you want, but not quite? People who know me know I don't like books, as I wrote about in "Less, please". Sometimes someone gives me a book. I don't want it. I can get it from the library across the street from me. Now I have to feel weird selling to a bookstore for $5 something you paid $25 for. What do you do about the mismatch? You feel awkward, they see you as ungrateful... If you thank them, they may buy you more of what you don't want. Others may…

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Start conversations and relationships with “passion”: vindicated by Fast Company

A reader and former NYU collaborator sent me this article from Fast Company under their "Leadership" heading: "27 Questions To Ask Instead Of "What Do You Do?" She knows my passion for effective and meaningful conversation, making people feel comfortable sharing their vulnerabilities, and supporting them on things they care about. Longtime readers will remember how I disparage "So what do you do?" as a leach that saps passion from conversation in favor of boring small talk that, by not risking hitting a vulnerability, avoids hitting what the person cares about. In my post "How to stop boring everyone you…

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Why This Ivy-League Physics PhD Teaches Leadership, Not Science

My Inc.com article today, "Why This Ivy-League Physics PhD Teaches Leadership, Not Science," begins Why This Ivy-League Physics PhD Teaches Leadership, Not Science The world's big problems come from our behavior. Science doesn't change behavior. Leadership does. Another week of hot, humid summer weather (sorry Australia) means more freezing offices where I have to bundle up. Might as well learn a lesson from it in the differences between science, engineering, and leadership. I got my PhD in physics from Columbia. But I teach leadership now. Here's why I moved away from teaching science. Read the rest at Why This Ivy-League…

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Why leadership, sales, influence, and motivation is about them, not you

People didn't follow Martin Luther King because he wanted equality and freedom. They followed him because they wanted equality and freedom. Elon Musk isn't so popular because he loves electric cars. He's popular because we love electric cars, and their benefit relative to gas-powered cars. Dwight Eisenhower didn't enjoy leading the D-Day invasion. The allies, soldiers, and their families feared Hitler and wanted to protect themselves. Eisenhower's description of leadership is one of the most concise and effective I've seen, not surprising, given his leadership experience beyond nearly anyone's: Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something…

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Leadership you can’t teach

Since every leadership situation is unique, I can't teach you what to do in every situation. I can teach you to lead so you can figure out how to lead in every situation. It's like saying I can't teach you how to get from any place to any other place but I can teach you to ride a bike so you can get from any place to any other.

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Jim Harshaw podcast follow-up

Following up the podcast I loved with Jim Harshaw that I posted two days ago, Jim prepares an action sheet for each conversation. Click here for the pdf of it. I also copied the text here so you can see some of what the conversation was about. I'll include podcast below the text so you can listen to it from this page. I'm confident you'll like it. Wrestling with Success Podcast Action Plan Episode #58 Josh Spodek Today I bring you Josh Spodek. A Professor at NYU and columnist for Inc., he holds five Ivy-League degrees, including a PhD in…

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Feedforward at Nevins Consulting

  • Post category:Leadership

My friend and colleague, Mark Nevins PhD of Nevins Consulting, published a piece I wrote on Feedforward, one of the most effective techniques for professional and personal development I know of. His introduction begins The Power of Feedforward Effective executive coaches and leadership development experts have long been aware of a powerful technique called “Feedforward”—its name is meant to differentiate it from “Feedback.” Even if you don’t think you know about this technique, you probably do, and using it more often is bound to make you more effective in both your professional and personal lives. Our colleague Joshua Spodek does…

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Listen to Jim Harshaw’s Wrestling With Success podcast interview with me

I had a fantastic conversation with Jim Harshaw for his podcast, Wrestling With Success. I am honored and humbled that he invited me into the ranks of his guests. I recommend listening to many other episodes besides mine, including his early ones where you get to learn about him. Among other guests, he's had people in space. I've only helped build satellites. Jim is a Division 1 champion wrestler and coach who brings what sports and athletics brings to business and life. In his words, his podcast uncovers the secrets of the most successful people on the planet who are…

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Quora Saturday: big-time failure, anger, jealousy, insecurity, and leadership

Continuing my Saturday series on posting my answers to questions from Quora, here are my next questions answered: What are some historical examples of failures managed by great leaders? Especially by taking responsibility and not throwing anybody under the bus. How do I overcome feelings of anger and jealousy? How can people overcome insecurity and jealousy in their relationships? Is it possible to overcome jealousy? If so, how can jealousy be tackled and avoided? How do I overcome jealousy? What really causes jealousy? What system of leadership is the best and why? I answered a few similar questions on jealousy…

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A Leadership Lesson From Nelson Mandela (Happy Birthday)

My Inc.com post yesterday, "A Leadership Lesson From Nelson Mandela (Happy Birthday)" began A Leadership Lesson From Nelson Mandela (Happy Birthday) Nelson Mandela, perhaps the greatest leader of our time, would have turned 98 last week. Here is an example of him leading his jailers on his way to becoming President. Happy birthday Nelson Mandela, arguably the greatest leader of our time. He would have turned 98 last week. He led as a human, through empathy, compassion, and understanding, not authority. In fact, his political opponents had far more authority, resources, weapons, money, and everything. Yet he led them. Don't…

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There Are 2 Kinds of Inspiration. If You Want to Inspire, Better Know Both.

My Inc.com post yesterday, "There Are 2 Kinds of Inspiration. If You Want to Inspire, Better Know Both." begins: There Are 2 Kinds of Inspiration. If You Want to Inspire, Better Know Both. Some leaders inspire a nation to sacrifice to get to the moon. Others to buy steak knives. Both work, as long as you don't confuse them. Everyone feels inspired in late December to get fit. Then, come Valentines Day, the gyms are empty. Yet Martin Luther King inspired people to march, boycott, and go to jail for years. At some point, everyone has felt inspired to set…

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Habits Are Contagious. How to Make The Science Work for You.

My Inc.com article today, "Habits Are Contagious. How to Make The Science Work for You." began Habits Are Contagious. How to Make The Science Work for You. Research finds that we transmit habits like diseases, or like cures. How to use that insight to make the habits you want stick. Studies show that quitting smoking and losing weight spread through networks like diseases do. Many other behavioral changes work similarly. If you lead, you change behavior in yourself and others. You may find changing teams may change someone's behavior more than trying to change them directly. Here's relevant research: From…

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Feedspot rated my blog one of the best

  • Post category:Leadership

I was honored and flattered to receive this email from Feedspot: My name is Anuj Agarwal. I'm Founder of Feedspot. I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog  Joshua Spodek | LEADERSHIP — MEANING — PASSION  has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 300 Leadership blogs on the web. [...] I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top Leadership blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this! [...] Best wishes, Anuj including this badge to display: Since they ranked blogs based on…

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Quora Saturdays: Advice on sales and leadership

I've been answering questions on the social media site Quora for about a month. My responses are getting more views and upvotes, so I thought I'd put some here, since the posts there are like posts here for readers who don't feel like going there. I'm thinking about making a standard Saturday practice of collecting my responses here from there for the week. Since I have a month to catch up on, today's post will be long. To summarize, here are the questions I answered: What options do I have if a sales manager cannot manage but can sell? Who…

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What I do

A friend read my book, ReModel, and asked me: Josh, what's your model about yourself? He clarified: You wrote about how people can be Cathedral-Builders instead of being miserable. What's your equivalent of being a Cathedral-Builder? "Cathedral-Builder" refers to the parable of The Three Stonecutters: Many years ago, a passerby saw three workers cutting stones in a quarry. Though they were doing similar work, one looked unhappy, another looked content, and a third looked overjoyed. The passerby asked them what they were doing. The unhappy stonecutter replied, “I’m doing what it takes to make a living.” The content one answered,…

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Charles Barkley’s painful lesson in being himself

Speaking authentically is a key task of leadership. People will doubt you if you can't. Charles Barkley is one of my role models for speaking authentically. While he spoke and acted authentically his whole career, I believe he changed markedly after handling the incident where he spit in the direction of heckling attendees and hit a girl. Until then, he could reasonably suggest you could see his incidents of bar fights and gambling from a perspective that justified his words or actions. Here he couldn't. His own mother and grandmother called him wrong. I think many people would have folded…

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Do you lead for yourself or for them?

  • Post category:Leadership

Short post today. I wanted to record something I wrote and liked while writing my book draft: Leadership isn't about getting them to do what you want. It's getting them to do what they want. I think the mainstream picture of leadership is the opposite. This view suggests learning more about the people you want to lead, putting their interests first, choosing your team appropriately to the task, and working with their motivations as much as their behavior.

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Breakthrough Science on Leadership and Why You Shouldn’t Read This Article

My Inc.com article yesterday, "Breakthrough Science on Leadership and Why You Shouldn't Read This Article" began Breakthrough Science on Leadership and Why You Shouldn't Read This Article How great leaders who never learned leadership from science, books, or classes became great. As a leader, entrepreneur, and professor, I used to enjoy TED talks and learning about frontier science. Do you feel, watching them, like I felt: "This is forefront stuff. Since most people don't know it, I can use it to get ahead!"? Same with Malcolm Gladwell books: "He knows breaking research. When I know it too, I'll have an insight to get ahead."…

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Reading isn’t doing. You learn, grow, and improve by doing.

  • Post category:Leadership

Reading isn't doing. Watching videos isn't doing. Learning about research isn't doing. Only changing your behavior changes your behavior. What is your behavior while reading and watching? With regard to other people, it's passive and non-interactive---the opposite of leadership, which is active and interactive. Watching videos about leadership is like watching videos about lifting weights or running. You don't lose weight from watching others exercise, you don't get strong from watching others work, and you don't learn to lead from reading about or watching others lead. Nearly every book or video on leadership and most forms of professional development talk…

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Despite What Harvard Says, You Don’t Need a Crucible

My Inc.com post, "Despite What Harvard Says, You Don't Need a Crucible" begins Despite What Harvard Says, You Don't Need a Crucible While some have become leaders by overcoming great challenges, don't believe the myth that you need to. In September 2002, Warren Bennis and Robert Thomas wrote in Harvard Business Review's, Crucibles of Leadership, In interviewing more than 40 top leaders in business and the public sector over the past three years, we were surprised to find that all of them--young and old--were able to point to intense, often traumatic, always unplanned experiences that had transformed them and had become the sources of their distinctive leadership abilities. We…

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These two surprisingly touching Vince Lombardi quotes reveal the source of his winning leadership

For Vince Lombardi's birthday, I wrote in Inc.com, "These two surprisingly touching Vince Lombardi quotes reveal the source of his winning leadership." The piece begins These two surprisingly touching Vince Lombardi quotes reveal the source of his winning leadership For the great coach's birthday, how to create winning traditions in your teams. I'm writing this article exhausted and sore because two days ago I started researching for this article. Having hurt my leg running, I decided to skip a workout to recover. Then I read Vince Lombardi. His birthday is tomorrow. Most people think of him as a hard-core tough…

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At Princeton’s ELab: How to get job offers by acting entrepreneurially

I got a few short clips from my presentation on entrepreneurship when I spoke at Princeton’s Elab recently. In this clip I describe how to use behaving entrepreneurially to get job offers. If you want similar experiences, take my entrepreneurship course. It develops you in small steps to work up to handling interactions like this. Even if you don’t, call valuable people. Err on the side of making things happen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6LbymltzNA

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