Meaningful Meetings With Josh Linkner: Lessons From a Winner on Failures, Setbacks and More
As part of the Meaningful Meetings, Lessons Shared series of the Enterprise Engagement Alliance, a serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, jazz guitarist, and best-selling book author shares what he has learned along the way.Venture Capital Focused on Enabling People Through Technology
Key Lessons Shared
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Growing up in Detroit with a single mother, Josh Linkner says he felt like a misfit, but he didn’t act like one. He says he started his first business, an (illegal) fireworks venture, at the age of 11 and played his first paid gig at a jazz club at 13. His passion for jazz led him to become the highest-ranking incoming jazz guitarist at the Berklee College of Music at 17.
Click here to watch and/or listen to the 30-minute session with Linkner, part of the YouTube Meaningful Meetings: Lessons Shared series hosted by EEA Founder Bruce Bolger and co-host Jaki Baskow, Founder and CEO of Baskow Talent and the Las Vegas Speakers Bureau.
Linkner shares the most valuable lessons he has learned from a remarkable career in which he:
- Founded, built, and sold five tech companies, creating over 10,000 jobs and generating over $1 billion in investor returns.
- Became a New York Times bestselling author, known for books like Big Little Breakthroughs: How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results, which emphasizes the power of small, creative acts to unlock massive rewards.
- Developed what he calls a simple system for growth and transformation, helping individuals and organizations tackle tough challenges and seize opportunities without burnout or excessive risk.
Venture Capital Focused on Enabling People Through Technology
His investment firm, Mudita Venture Partners, invests in early-stage tech companies, primarily in the software sector. In Sanskrit, Mudita means joy, particularly one that is especially sympathetic and vicarious. The company looks for companies that are post-revenue, meaning that they are generating revenue but in pre-growth spurt, otherwise known as “pre-escape velocity.”
He says Mudita has a unique approach, emphasizing "deep human" rather than "deep tech.” This means they focus on “elevating the humans behind the technology and helping leaders become the best versions of themselves to build effective companies. They aim to invest in companies that will have a net positive impact on the world while also providing good economic returns. For example, it has invested in a company that developed an app with bi-directional, real-time American Sign Language (ASL) translation technology.
Key Lessons Shared
- Embrace your inner misfit. Josh Linkner emphasizes the importance of leaning into one's unique qualities and differences. He believes that everyone has a bit of a "misfit" in them, and it's these unique traits that can lead to creativity and innovation.
- Jazz as a metaphor for life and business. Linkner draws parallels between jazz music and business. He explains that jazz involves improvisation, collaboration, and adapting to changing conditions on the fly, which are also essential skills in business and entrepreneurship, he believes.
- Find a way. One of Linkner's core philosophies is to "find a way." He believes that leaders need to navigate ambiguity and figure things out, even when the path is not clear. This involves creative problem-solving and resilience.
- Start before you're ready. Linkner advises against waiting for perfect conditions before starting a project. He encourages acting and figuring things out along the way, which he says can lead to unexpected opportunities and growth.
- Give generously without keeping score. Linkner promotes the idea of giving generously without expecting anything in return. He believes that this approach leads to greater personal and professional fulfillment.
- Awaken the artist within. Linkner encourages individuals to tap into their creative potential. He believes that everyone has an innate capacity for creativity, which can be harnessed to drive innovation and success.
- The power of the Judo flip. Linkner uses the concept of a "Judo flip" to describe his approach to business. This involves looking at what everyone else is doing and then considering the opposite. He believes that this contrarian approach can lead to unique and successful outcomes, even if the contrarian approach is not feasible, because it helps ensure a better plan.
- Deep human focus. In his venture capital work, Linkner emphasizes the importance of focusing on the human element behind technology. He believes that supporting and elevating the people behind the innovations is crucial for long-term success.
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 15th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:
1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
- ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996. Click here to subscribe; click here for media kit.
- EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards since 2020
Management Academy to enhance future equity value for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
Contact: Bruce Bolger at TheICEE.org; 914-591-7600, ext. 230.
