In motivation, influence, and persuasion, sales and leadership overlap a lot. Sales is also the most common route to CEO, I've heard, so if you want to lead, you benefit from learning sales. Below is a video interviewing a guy who is incredible at sales. He sold an apple for five dollars, with the buyer believing she got a discount! My retelling the story about it led to a friend offering him a job. And the guy is still an undergraduate at NYU. This video tells the story of his acting on my assignment to sell an apple for as…

A reader asked me to write about common traits of leaders and successful people across different industries and fields. Of course there's a famous business book that covers seven of their habits. I'll look at it from a couple different perspectives. Functional skills hold you back at higher levels Functional skills are ones to do a specific type of work, like sales, programming, engineering, marketing, and so on. Most people get hired for functional skills. They look good on your resume when you start. A typical job progression for someone who succeeds at each level starts with a functional role…

Referrals help get things done. After all, your network is often your greatest asset in any project and referrals increase your network. More valuable than a single referral is someone who will refer you again---a goose that lays golden eggs. You want people like that in your world and you want them motivated to refer you more. Sometimes people get so enamored with a new connection they forget what created the connection: the person who referred them. If they gave you one great referral, they probably have more. My policy for following up a referral: Make the person who referred…

[EDIT: Download the presentation slides here] Ivy Exec is an online set of resources for building community among those serious about getting ahead. Among other resources, they host webinars on workplace skills. Today at 12:30 I'll host a webinar on the core of my seminar "How to Lead People So They Want You to Lead Them Again," principally the central exercise. As with all my seminars, I will give a core skill you can use immediately and a simple explanation of why it works so you can make it your own. This exercise helps you motivate people deeply to contribute…

With the semester finishing, I wanted to record what I did at NYU. My main goal was to help my students and give to the NYU community. Taught Entrepreneurial Marketing and Sales. One of main roles NYU hired me for was to teach this elective for graduate students. Several students said it was the best course they took at NYU and I was their best instructor. More than half said they are continuing the projects they started in the course after it ends. At least one got a job offer from a class exercise. At least one got an internship…

Here is the video from April 21st's panel on women in entrepreneurship I posted about before. From the April 21, 2014 event announcement: Bridge at Wagner, NYU Special Interest Housing and NYU Entrepreneur's Network Present Women in Entrepreneurship Many entrepreneurs face similar challenges: getting the first round of funding, launching while in school, or avoiding burnout in the lean years before your business becomes profitable. While we often look for ways to solve these challenges, we rarely talk about how this experience is different for women. Join NYU Entrepreneurship Special Interest Housing, the NYU Entrepreneur's Network and Bridge at Wagner…

Why do you read business books? I've asked people that question lately and a common theme runs through their answers. They read business books to improve their performance. They read them to get this feeling, like when the read something like that mastery takes ten thousand hours of dedicated effort: "That's a useful piece of information [or technique]. Now that I know it I can use it to get ahead." That is, they read business books to change their behavior. Some people clarify that they read them to improve skills so they can lead others better, meaning to change others' behavior,…

An attendee from March's seminar “How to Lead People So They Want You to Lead Them Again”, wrote about her experience using the techniques of the seminar at her job---that is, leading employees so they want you to lead them again. She also has an MBA from Columbia and works at a prestigious firm. Josh, you may be interested to know I took out an Associate who will be working on my team and used your technique. She teared up, saying, no one ever asked her these questions and she is so grateful that I am taking an approach to…

As the faculty advisor to NYU's special interest housing floor for entrepreneurship, I asked my residents what types of events they wanted. Among the responses was that they wanted exposure to women in entrepreneurship. I asked a friend if she would speak. She responded with several women who could speak. The entrepreneur in me seeing high demand and high supply knew there was opportunity in bringing them together. I followed up by speaking to some NYU student groups that all showed interest in building the event, community formed, and meeting the initial student request evolved into a major panel of…

An attendee, David, at Friday's talk at Harvard with GiveGetWin, spoke to me for a while before the event began and then after. He wrote the following Joshua’s talk at Harvard was wonderful. He masterfully dissected the process of decision-making and the influence it has on people’s lives. In less than 15 minutes he left me with enough to think about for a week. After the event we ended up speaking more and Joshua’s knowledge of etymology and his precise and knowledgeable demeanor blew me away. I couldn't help sharing it. The audience asked lots of questions and shared personal…

I've been invited to participate on a panel with several distinguished entrepreneurs and leaders at NYU March 27 6pm-7:30pm. Click here for the announcement and to register (the event is free, but you have to register). Below is the text. NYU Entrepreneurs Network & NYU Leadership Development Initiative present Entrepreneurship VS Leadership Similarities, Differences, & Lessons Learned We often talk about leadership and entrepreneurship as if they were the same thing. Have you wondered what is the relationship between these two fields? How transferable are the skills and capacities that might be required for each? What role does entrepreneurship play…