Josh Linkner is a Creative Troublemaker. He passionately believes that all human beings have incredible creative capacity, and he’s on a mission to unlock inventive thinking and creative problem solving to help leaders, individuals, and communities soar.
Josh has been the founder and CEO of five tech companies, which sold for a combined value of over $200 million and is the author of four books including the New York Times Bestsellers, Disciplined Dreaming and The Road to Reinvention. He has invested in and/or mentored over 100 startups and is the Founding Partner of Detroit Venture Partners.
Today, Josh serves as Chairman and co-founder of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm. He has twice been named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and is the recipient of the United States Presidential Champion of Change Award.
Josh is also a passionate Detroiter, the father of four, is a professional-level jazz guitarist, and has a slightly odd obsession for greasy pizza.
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 instead on Big Little Breakthroughs – small, creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time. By building a daily habit of creativity, leaders and organizations not only enjoy a high volume of small wins, but also the daily practice of micro-innovations — the fastest route to discover the massive breakthroughs we seek.
How did a convicted drug dealer use a Big Little Breakthrough to launch and scale a massively successful fitness company? Why was a nurse practitioner able to use daily micro-innovations to solve healthcare problems that the biggest corporations couldn’t crack? How did a tattoo lead to a 30% boost in performance for a publicly traded restaurant company?
Big Little Breakthroughs isn’t just for propeller-head inventors, fancy pants CEOs, or hoodie-donning tech billionaires. Rather, it is a simple yet effective method for all of us to cultivate the power of human creativity. Focusing on a simple and deliberate approach to daily practice, the system enables people from all backgrounds, training, and walks of life to expand their creative skillset and mindset. It helps everyday individuals and leaders unlock inventive thinking and harness innovation to tackle tough challenges and seize bold opportunities.
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 fact, cultivating high volumes of micro-innovations not only de-risks the creative process, it builds the much-needed skills that lead to colossal transformations…and the creative confidence to take responsible risks.
“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.”
“Linkner hit the ball out of the park!”
“Josh, as always you are amazing. It is quite obvious that you took the time to prepare to bring everything you have. Thank you for your coaching and support throughout. I am sending you so much gratitude. You amaze me…always!”
“If you are looking for someone to provide thought-provoking, actionable tactics that can be applied to your business, Josh will exceed your expectations.”
“Book him! He is amazing. Josh is the only speaker we have ever had that received a standing ovation! Josh Linkner is a perfect speaker for any business or charitable organization. His message is relevant and beautifully presented. He is also Very easy to work with and is willing to customize his presentation to your needs.”
“Josh was fantastic! He was very dynamic, engaging, and relevant. We received a lot of positive comments from attendees.”
“OMG, Josh Linkner was a HUGE hit you are looking for someone to provide thought-provoking, actionable tactics that can be applied to your business, Josh will exceed your expectations!”
“A journey that will lead to better ideas and breakthrough thinking.”
“Josh Linkner is a truly special entrepreneur; Part of a rare breed.”
“When Josh speaks, business improves.”
“Compelling, insightful, and practical.”
“It was quite literally one of the most motivating and through provoking two hours of my professional career. I was blown away!”
“Josh Linkner is fantastic! The group loved him and he’s so dynamic. And he’s easy to work with.”
“Josh was engaged, informed and spot on with respect to the conversation and advice he was able to provide our group. All organizations have a personality and we wanted to make sure that Josh understood ours so that he could be more successful. Not once did he give us the impression that we were taking up his time. I strongly recommend Josh.”
“Our group really enjoyed his presentation. They found his content to be relevant to their business and his energy and enthusiasm were contagious. We highly recommend him.”
