NSB Logo Josh Linkner Josh Linkner

Josh Linkner

Speaker

Detroit, Michigan, USA

Serial Entrepreneur, New York Times Bestselling Author & Venture Capital Investor

Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, professional jazz guitarist, and a globally-recognized innovation expert

Keynote Speeches

Virtual Keynotes & Webinars
Contact us for more information about this speaker & their virtual presentations. Click here for some of the most popular formats for virtual events.
Find A Way

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.


As we enter a new era of business, 50% of leaders in the United States have lost confidence in their ability to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. The level of disruption, technology threats, and uncertainty can be paralyzing. We are in a leadership crisis and must embrace a new model to meet the day’s challenges.

Prolific entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and innovation expert Josh Linkner helps you Find A Way™ through his proven 5-step framework for cultivating full-organization ingenuity. Whatever outcomes you crave the most— from sales growth to competitive advantage to employee engagement— you’ll walk away with specific tools to drive sustainable success.

The Find a Way™ framework prioritizes agility over brute force, creativity over hustle, and improvisation over perfect planning. Leaders who embrace the model are inspired and better equipped. They feel confident to move forward into the darkness and have a newfound capacity to win consistently, no matter the circumstances.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Facing uncertainty and volatility.
  • Seeking better ways to drive the outcomes they crave the most.
  • Struggling to keep up with the pace of change.

The audience will leave with: 

  • A proven model for harnessing ingenuity to solve any problem and seize any opportunity.
  • Innovative strategies to drive better results every day.
  • The confidence to walk into the unknown.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, Find A Way™ has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Innovation recognition programs
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events

Watch Keynote Preview

Big Little Breakthroughs

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 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 on Big Little Breakthroughs – small, creative acts that unlock massive rewards over time.

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 this inspiring, timely, and high-impact keynote, New York Times bestselling author and globally recognized innovation expert Josh Linkner shows us how to de-risk the creative process, build the capacity to unlock breakthrough transformations, and gain the creative confidence to take responsible risks.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Aware of the need to innovate but having a hard time getting started.
  • Responsible for creating a culture of innovation.
  • Feeling pressure to generate breakthroughs but struggling to deliver them.

The audience will leave with: 

  • A proven framework to cultivate a high volume of innovations without the typical risk.
  • Inspiring and memorable stories that show how ingenuity, creative problem-solving, and inventive thinking can lead to breakthrough results.
  • The mindsets, habits, and tactics of the world’s most prolific artists, business titans, and entrepreneurs.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, Big Little Breakthroughs™  has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events
The Innovative Leader

Become an unstoppable force by unlocking ingenuity in yourself and your team, gaining confidence and boosting results in times of dramatic uncertainty and disruption. Elevate your capacity to lead and win in volatile times.


The business you’re running today isn’t the business you’ll be running next year. In this moment of volatility and uncertainty, we are being called to lead in a radically different way… more decisive, creative, and adaptable. So how can we use this defining moment to ensure relevancy, sustainability, and success in the future?

In this inspiring and practical keynote, battle-tested CEO, venture capital investor, and leadership expert Josh Linkner delivers a modern and accessible framework to help leaders thrive in the face of uncertainty and leverage their skills to move into uncharted territory with confidence.

You’ll learn how to unlock inventive thinking, creative problem-solving, and ingenuity in every box of the org chart. The most successful leaders today help everyday people become “everyday innovators.” They make sure that innovation is an everyday business.

This can’t-miss session goes way beyond the future of work. This is the future of growth, the future of relevancy, the future of leadership, and the future of success.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Being called to lead in a bold, new way.
  • Overwhelmed with the demands of modern leadership.
  • Craving a more innovative approach to drive explosive growth, gain competitive advantage, and get more from their teams.

The audience will leave with: 

  • Being called to lead in a bold, new way.
  • Overwhelmed with the demands of modern leadership.
  • Craving a more innovative approach to drive explosive growth, gain competitive advantage, and get more from their teams.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, The Innovative Leader has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events

 

Disciplined Dreaming

A proven system to drive breakthrough creativity. Learn how to balance raw imagination with business rigor to drive profound and predictable results. Boost creativity and rigor simultaneously to drive better outcomes.


In our modern AI-driven world, creativity has become the currency of success. It’s the one thing that can’t be outsourced or automated; the indisputable competitive advantage. We are all hard-wired to be creative, yet most of us have underdeveloped creative skills. And today, more than ever before, creative problem-solving and inventive thinking are crucial to overcoming obstacles and seizing opportunities.

Based on the breakaway New York Times bestselling book published in 19 languages and globally recognized by over 2 million readers as the definitive work on applied creativity, author and creativity expert Josh Linkner takes the audience on a journey to unlock their dormant creative capacity. Inspiring stories, surprising truths, and instantly-applicable solutions make this keynote both energizing and actionable.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Facing increasing challenges and competitive threats.
  • Craving a new approach to harness their full creative potential.
  • Struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation.

The audience will leave with: 

  • A proven model for harnessing and applying human creativity.
  • An understanding of how the most innovative and disruptive leaders think and act.
  • Practical techniques to generate more high-quality ideas at any time and for any challenge.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, Disciplined Dreaming™  has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events

Watch Keynote Preview

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.


We’re living in a rate of change like none other in history. The hard truth is that we can no longer rely on the models of the past and expect the same results.

In this energizing and actionable keynote, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of rapid change and how to respond confidently and intentionally. New York Times bestselling author and lifetime disruptor Josh Linkner shares a proven model for you to take control and reinvent your own future.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Struggling to keep up with the rate of change.
  • Overwhelmed with competitive threats, technology advancements, and shifting disruptive market forces.
  • Recognizing the need for reinvention but struggling to gain traction.

The audience will leave with: 

  • A proven framework to lead reinvention efforts of all shapes and sizes.
  • The confidence to walk into the unknown and realize they can now navigate whatever challenges or opportunities emerge.
  • Mindsets and tactics to ensure relevance, adaptability, and sustainable success.
  • The ability to rethink old approaches and discover new ones.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, Rethink. Reboot. Reinvent. has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events

Watch Keynote Preview

Innovation in the Age of AI

With the most significant technology revolution in decades fully underway, the route to growth, competitive advantage, and enterprise value has fundamentally changed. The path forward involves integrating human creativity with artificial intelligence to thrive amidst uncertainty, rapid change, and disruption.


In an era where artificial intelligence is not just a tool but a transformative force, Josh Linkner invites you on a thought-provoking journey into unlocking the synergies between AI and human potential for next-gen engagement, growth, and profitability.

Josh Linkner, a prolific tech CEO, venture capital investor, and innovation expert, has been a technology pioneer for over 30 years. He founded, launched, and sold five groundbreaking tech businesses that leveraged cutting-edge innovation to gain a competitive advantage. Today, Josh remains at the forefront of tech transformation, running a venture capital firm and innovation studio focusing on the next generation of AI disruption.

In this mind-opening keynote, Josh shows leaders a new model where human creativity and AI fuse together to win during relentless waves of disruption and change. Through groundbreaking research, compelling stories, and unexpected insights, this keynote illuminates the path forward as AI reshapes nearly every dimension of business and life.

What you’ll discover:

  • The Human Edge. Learn about the unique human skills that AI cannot replicate – creativity, empathy, and intuition – and how cultivating these skills can give you an irreplaceable edge in the AI-driven world.
  • Creative Disruption. Learn how to use AI as a springboard for creative disruption, turning challenges into opportunities and ideas into revolutions.
  • The Power of Unconventional Thinking. Discover new techniques to foster nontraditional thinking and break free from established and new digital competitors.
  • Ethical Imagination. Explore the ethical dimensions of AI innovation and the responsibility of creators to imagine and steer technology toward outcomes that uplift humanity and protect our values.
  • The Myths of Creativity in the AI Era. Uncover the common myths surrounding creativity and AI and explore how rethinking these myths can lead to breakthrough innovations.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Seeking a new synergistic way where AI and human potential.
  • Feeling overwhelmed and unprepared by the rapid change from AI-powered transformation.
  • Looking for a playbook that mitigates risk and maximizes opportunities in this new wave of disruption.

The audience will leave with: 

  • An elevated understanding of the changes AI will bring and what to do right now to adapt and prepare.
  • A leadership model to embrace the AI revolution instead of fearing it.
  • Strategies to fuse human creativity with AI to gain competitive advantage and drive profitable growth.
  • Mindsets and tactics to boost relevance, agility, and adaptability.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, Innovation in the Age of AI is especially effective in the following settings:

  • Senior leadership meetings
  • Strategy kick-offs
  • Client events
  • All-team meetings
  • Association conventions
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.


The mysterious and dangerous world of jazz is a cauldron of spontaneous creativity. And in times of radical change and uncertainty, it serves as the perfect model for modern leadership.

Professional jazz guitarist and prolific entrepreneur Josh Linkner connects the dots between jazz and business, helping to unlock the secrets of some of the world’s most creative geniuses. Using live jazz as a metaphor for collaborative innovation, this session is entertaining, inspiring, and directly applicable to the daily challenges we face in business.

A fusion of live musical performance and keynote presentation, the session’s finale includes audience members “joining the band” to compose and perform a song in real time to the delight of the audience. Cameras will flash as the entire group is dazzled by their colleagues’ improvisation and spontaneous invention.

This keynote serves leaders & teams who are:

  • Seeking a new synergistic way where AI and human potential.
  • Feeling overwhelmed and unprepared by the rapid change from AI-powered transformation.
  • Looking for a playbook that mitigates risk and maximizes opportunities in this new wave of disruption.

The audience will leave with: 

  • The mindset and perspective of a jazz musician serving as a creative new model for business growth and results.
  • A deeper understanding of collaborative creativity and specific tools to harness inventive thinking and artistic expression.
  • A memorable and inspiring sense of what’s possible and how to push boundaries and barriers to achieve remarkable outcomes.
  • The creative confidence to pursue our highest calling and never let the music inside us die.

While Josh carefully customizes this keynote for every event type, The Music of Business has proven to be highly effective in the following formats:

  • Strategy kick-offs
  • R&D meetings
  • Sales kick-offs
  • Client events

Watch Keynote Preview

Audience reviews:

  • Our entire team and our clients have totally and thoroughly enjoyed your presentation and have taken so many great ideas away from it. Your feedback scores average 98% so far from D.C. to Atlanta! You are a huge hit with everyone and we so appreciate the energy, enthusiasm, excellent content and delivery that you bring to each conference.

    - Marketing Manager, Fidelity Investments
  • We very much enjoyed your talk and workshop. You created just the right finish and exclamation point in our program. The feedback from our team – amazing, energizing messages, entertaining and humorous, actionable learnings, things people can do right away.

    - Managing Director, Intel Security
  • It was quite literally one of the most motivating and thought provoking two hours
    of my professional career. I was blown away!
    - Robert Cunningham, Heineken
  • You were a pleasure to work with and a meeting planner’s dream. Thank you for being so flexible and being so great and delivering an exceptionally tailored talk to our group. People are still raving about it today.

    - CMP, Event Program Manager, International Facility Management
  • 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!

    - Assoc. Vice President Customer Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Your presentation was filled with great energy and new ways of thinking. It
    created a buzz throughout our team. I cannot even count how many commented
    on your presentation and how great it was and that they really needed to hear
    this type of content. - Debra Florence, NOKIA

Speaker Biography

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 (mooDEE-tah) 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.

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.