Build a culture of sustainable innovation and unlock front-line ingenuity to drive results with innovation keynote speaker Josh Linkner.
Key trends and opportunities that Josh helps leaders navigate
In the age of AI, building a culture of innovation has never been more crucial. Amidst changing market dynamics and increasing competition, innovation is the most important force for sustainable growth and the only antidote to disruption. Yet harnessing it has never been more elusive.
As one of the world's leading innovation experts, Josh Linkner is the secret weapon of high-profile CEOs, celebrity entrepreneurs, and the world's biggest brands. He's a New York Times bestselling author, battle-tested CEO, venture capital investor, and professional jazz guitarist. Josh brings a unique mix of art, science, and business to help leaders unlock innovation at every box of the org chart, fostering inventive thinking, creative problem-solving, and ingenuity.
Losing Competitive Advantage to Faster Innovators
The Problem: From startups to global titans, the speed of innovation is accelerating. Clunky frameworks and slow-moving bureaucracies are quickly losing ground to faster, modern competitors who are innovating at warp speed.
How Josh Helps: Josh’s proven framework helps leaders accelerate innovation velocity. From rapid experimentation to digital prototypes, he shares strategies to regain competitive ground and win the innovation arms race.
Stalled Growth from Outdated Processes and Mindsets
The Problem: Many organizations cling to legacy processes that inhibit fresh thinking. A Deloitte study shows that companies willing to revamp their operational DNA are twice as likely to rank in the top quartile of their industries for financial performance.
How Josh Helps: Josh brings field-tested strategies to dismantle the institutional “we’ve always done it this way” inertia while inspiring your team to rethink and reimagine. Through compelling examples and practical exercises, he will show your team how to avoid defaulting to old patterns, spark new ideas, and generate breakthrough outcomes.
Inefficient Collaboration and Siloed Teams
The Problem: Cross-functional communication often hits roadblocks, delaying product launches and driving up costs. According to Harvard Business Review, teams that adopt an open, collaborative approach to innovation are 17% more likely to launch successful new offerings on schedule and within budget.
How Josh Helps: Josh offers fresh frameworks to build a culture of collaboration, harness diverse perspectives, and drive aligned execution. Drawing on his experience as both a hyper-growth CEO and a professional jazz guitarist, he delivers practical approaches to unleash creative collaboration and collective genius.
Low Employee Engagement in Creative Initiatives
The Problem: Gallup data indicates that only 36% of employees feel engaged at work, and a lack of meaningful creative outlets is often at fault. Employee disengagement leads to higher turnover, lower productivity, and fewer “a-ha” moments.
How Josh Helps: Tapping into his proven framework to build highly engaged and innovative corporate cultures, Josh reveals proven tactics to cultivate inventive thinking, creative problem-solving, and ingenuity. He shares specific methods for building an environment conducive to innovation, encouraging more frequent and bolder idea-sharing, and retaining the top talent that propels sustainable growth.
Lack of a Sustainable, Repeatable Innovation Process
The Problem: Relying on a select few to invent your company’s future is a faulty strategy.
IBM research found that 84% of CEOs prioritize innovation, yet only 6% are satisfied with their organizations’ current innovation efforts.
How Josh Helps: Josh’s proven system for cultivating organization-wide innovation will help you transform innovation from magic to method. Drawing on his 20 years of research into human creativity, coupled with his experience founding and leading tech startups, he delivers the necessary tools to systematize and unleash innovation at scale.
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. His keynote was high-energy, interactive, and left us with specific tools and techniques to improve our creative output."
Juergen Rochert
CEO, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Australia
Hi, I'm Josh.
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 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.
A lifetime Detroiter, Josh has deep roots in the automotive world. Growing up in the business (his grandfather was a lifetime General Motors engineer), he developed an early love of manufacturing innovation and design. Over his 30+ year career, he’s worked with senior leaders at some of the largest and most advanced manufacturers, suppliers, and logistics companies to help build a culture of sustainable innovation and unlock front-line ingenuity to drive results.
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™ through creative problem-solving, inventive thinking, and ingenuity.
Keynote Topics
+ Outcomes
Find A WayTM
Every problem can be solved, and every opportunity can be seized. Through a proven innovative framework, you'll discover new paths to explosive growth, competitive advantage, and sustainable results.
Expand organization-wide capability for creative problem-solving and inventive thinking.
Big Little BreakthroughsTM
Instead of high-risk moonshots, the most innovative leaders cultivate a high volume of ‘micro-innovations’ and build a culture of everyday innovation.
Gain the tools to become an everyday innovator.
The Music of Business
What business leaders can learn about agility, collaboration, creativity, and performance under pressure from the mysterious world of jazz.
Inject artistry and agility into your business through an unforgettable, interactive experience.
*Please note this topic requires additional talent + gear. Accordingly, additional costs apply.
The Innovative Leader
Become an unstoppable force by unlocking your and your team's ingenuity, gaining confidence, and boosting results in times of dramatic uncertainty and disruption.
Elevate your capacity to lead and win in volatile times.
Disciplined DreamingTM
A proven system for driving breakthrough creativity. Learn how to balance raw imagination with business rigor to achieve profound and predictable results.
Boost creativity and rigor simultaneously to achieve better outcomes.
Rethink. Reboot.
Reinvent.
The business you’ll be running in five years will be dramatically different than today. Unlock the definitive playbook on reinvention, relevancy, and sustainable success.
Gain the confidence to venture into the unknown and thrive, no matter what the future brings.
Innovation in the Age of AI
A modern framework to unlock sustained profitable growth at the intersection of technology and human creativity.
Josh shows you how the path forward involves integrating human creativity with artificial intelligence to thrive amidst uncertainty, rapid change, and disruption.
For Innovation Meeting Professionals
Frequently Asked Questions
About Josh
Josh Linkner is a serial entrepreneur who has founded, scaled, and sold five tech companies while creating over 10,000 jobs. He is co-founder and Chairman of Platypus Labs, an innovation research, training, and consulting firm that helps global brands create and sustain a culture of innovation. He’s written four bestselling books and is considered on of the world’s foremost innovation experts.
In addition, his work as a venture capital investor puts him on the front lines of disruptive innovation. He’s invested in over 100 startups, creating over $1 billion of investor returns. Josh also draws on his experience as a professional jazz guitarist, helping leaders unlock dormant creative capacity in order to win at the speed of innovation.
Through live and virtual solutions, Josh helps organizations drive innovation, inventive-thinking, and creative problem-solving across every box of the org-chart. Formats include:
- Facilitated leadership sessions/fireside chats with executive leaders.
- Customized interactive team leader workshops to introduce and practice innovation mindsets & techniques.
- Customized In-Person & Virtual Consulting Solutions to help organizations drive a culture of innovation.
Recognizing the capacity for creativity in every human, Josh feels called to help unlock dormant creative capacity to elevate individuals, leaders, and organizations.
YES! One of Josh's most requested keynotes is the Business of Music keynote. It's a memorable experience with a fusion of a live musical performance and keynote presentation. The finale includes audience members "joining the band" to compose and perform a song in real-time to the audience's delight. Cameras will flash as the entire group is dazzled by their colleagues' improvisation and spontaneous invention.
About Josh's Keynotes
Absolutely! In fact, in the 1,300+ keynote he's delivered worldwide, Josh has never given the same keynote twice. Through a proven framework of pre-event calls, stakeholder interviews, and AI & human-powered industry research, Josh handcrafts every keynote for every organization— no "canned" talks.
Yes! Josh has extensive experience in curating the content and the format of keynotes to meet his client's needs.
After every keynote, audience members often walk up to Josh to share they're inspired to tap into their creative and innovative potential. Through live and virtual solutions, Josh helps organizations translate this inspiration into transformative results.
- Facilitated leadership sessions/fireside chats with executive leaders.
- Customized interactive team leader workshops to introduce and practice innovation mindsets & techniques.
- Customized In-Person & Virtual Consulting Solutions to help organizations drive a culture of innovation.
Booking Josh
Josh is always available for discovery calls to explore fit and customized programming options. Nothing is more important to Josh than finding the best fit for your event - even if it means a different speaker.
Yes! Josh has extensive experience in curating the content and the format of keynotes to meet his client’s needs.
Josh lives & practices his message of finding a way. Regardless of lead time, please fill out the Book Josh Form, and he'll do his best to make it work or help you find another speaker who'll be a great fit for your event.
5 Ways Josh Turns Your Event Up To "11"
Sparks a mindset & movement.
His authentic, relatable, research-backed content - with real-world case studies and a high-energy delivery - will inspire your audience to uncover and activate new opportunities every day.
Moves your team into action.
Your audience will not only be energized, motivated, and inspired, they’ll become better equipped with specific tools, frameworks, and techniques to drive meaningful results in the months and years ahead.
Handcrafted, not canned.
Josh takes the time to listen deeply before custom-building a keynote experience just for you. This ensures that every minute is on-point, relevant, and targeted to your unique challenges and opportunities.
Real and accessible.
Josh applies Find A Way™ principles in his everyday work as a leader, venture capitalist, musician, and author. Leaders inspired by his keynote often reach out to him for help finding a way in their everyday work.
Impact - 11, Drama - 0.
Coming from a place of humility and service, Josh believes that a great keynote is about the audience, not the speaker. Meeting professionals often call Josh one of the best keynote speakers to work with.