Josh Linkner is a New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and a globally-recognized innovation expert whose electrifying keynotes combine the science of innovation with the soul of jazz.
Josh Linkner is not your typical business speaker. A seasoned entrepreneur, venture capitalist, jazz guitarist, and bestselling author, Josh is on a mission to help leaders and organizations Find A Way™ to solve problems creatively, unlock breakthrough ideas, and drive sustainable growth through everyday innovation. He is also well-known for his keynote and motivational speaking. Josh Linkner is available to be booked for corporate and private events. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group today to inquire about Josh Linkner’s fees.
Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group at (215) 995-0905 to book Josh Linkner for corporate or private events, keynote speeches, workshops, fireside chats, motivational speaking, or virtual appearances. Our agency will work directly with your organization and our keynote speakers to create an unforgettable event.
The Mollie Plotkin Group is the leading keynote speakers agency and entertainment bureau bringing excitement to audiences, clients, and employees. We represent subject-matter experts in every possible field. So whether we’re your partner in creating a memorable meeting or your meeting planner’s secret weapon in securing the perfect keynote speaker, we’re in this with you.
Josh Linkner’s entrepreneurship started young when he ran (and quickly shut down) a fireworks business at 11. By the age of 13, he was playing paid jazz gigs. By 20, he’d launched his first tech company from his college apartment, assembling discounted computer systems and learning firsthand what it takes to build something from scratch. That entrepreneurial spark turned into a decades-long fire.
Over the last 30 years, Josh has founded and led five tech companies as CEO, creating over 10,000 jobs and generating exits worth more than $200 million. He later became the CEO of an early-stage venture firm before co-founding Muditā Venture Partners, a VC firm investing in game-changing technologies, including many AI-powered startups redefining how we work, live, and create. With over 100 startup investments and $1 billion in investor returns, Josh brings a rare, front-line perspective on innovation that’s practical, proven, and personal.
Before tech and venture capital, Josh’s first love was jazz. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he’s played over 2,000 concerts around the world. Jazz remains more than a passion; it’s a powerful metaphor in his work. His keynotes often highlight the creative improvisation, real-time adaptability, and collaborative mindset that jazz musicians use. The very same principles that drive modern leadership and innovation.
Josh has written four books on innovation and creative problem-solving, including the New York Times bestseller Disciplined Dreaming. His research and frameworks have helped leaders at organizations like Google, Disney, AT&T, the NFL, and Starbucks turn everyday people into everyday innovators. Through his global consulting and training firm, Platypus Labs, he helps companies embed innovation into their culture and develop inventive thinking across teams.
With thousands of keynotes delivered to audiences in over 20 countries, Josh’s speaking is a blend of inspiration, entertainment, and actionable insight. Whether in a 60-minute keynote or workshop, audiences leave with specific tools, tangible frameworks, and a renewed belief in their ability to tackle challenges through creativity and ingenuity.
Josh’s real-world experience, as a founder, CEO, venture capitalist, and artist, sets him apart from the usual innovation “experts.” He’s not just teaching theory; he’s lived it. And he brings that hard-won wisdom to every audience, helping them Find A Way™ no matter the obstacles.
Find out how to hire Josh Linkner to appear at your next event. Contact the Mollie Plotkin Group to inquire about Josh Linkner’s availability and cost. When booking Josh Linkner for an event, we need to know the type of venue and location the event will take place. Josh Linkner is a popular choice for corporate events, private events, and virtual events. So, you can click the Check Availability button or contact us and an MPG Josh Linkner booking agent will get back to you within 48 hours.
How much to book Josh Linkner depends on the type of event. So, the cost to hire Josh Linkner for corporate or private events is available by contacting a Mollie Plotkin Group Agent. Notably, Josh Linkner is available for conferences, festivals, private parties, and events. Just contact the Mollie Plotkin Group and tell the booking agent the proposed date, time, and location.
Our speakers are in high demand! View their upcoming events.
A proven innovation framework to solve problems, accelerate opportunities, and sustain growth.
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 volatility can be paralyzing. We are in a leadership crisis and must embrace a new model to meet today’s challenges.
Prolific entrepreneur, venture capital investor, and innovation expert Josh Linkner helps you Find A Way™ through his proven 5-step innovation 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.
How Small, Everyday Innovations Drive Oversized Results
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.
What business leaders can learn about collaboration, creativity, and performance under pressure from the mysterious world of jazz.
The mysterious and dangerous world of jazz is a caldron 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.
A modern framework to lead with confidence in the face of uncertainty and change
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.
A proven system to drive breakthrough creativity.
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.
How to drive disruption and accelerate transformation
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.
“In today’s fiercely competitive global marketplace the most important resource any business has is the creative thinking of its people. Josh Linkner lays out a road map that will guide individuals, teams, and companies to higher levels of creativity. It is a journey that will lead to better ideas and breakthrough thinking.” – Bill Ford, Executive Chairman, Ford Motor Company
“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.” – Sajeena Warrier, Managing Director, Intel Security
“Building a culture of innovation in large companies is critically important, and there’s no better way to learn than with a trusted roadmap of tools and real-life examples. Josh Linkner illustrates how innovative thinking is possible for every employee and business leader, so we can all unlock our full creative potential.” – Mike Kaufman, CEO, Cardinal Health
“Josh Linkner helps organizations discover and exploit their strengths in a changing business world. He clearly shows how to reignite innovation and unlock new business value such as speed, agility, persistence and partnership.” – Alan Boehme, Chief Innovation Officer and Global CTO, The Coca-Cola Company
A 5-part process that will transform your organization — or your career — into a non-stop creativity juggernaut
We live in an era when business cycles are measured in months, not years. The only way to sustain long term innovation and growth is through creativity-at all levels of an organization. Disciplined Dreaming shows you how to create profitable new ideas, empower all your employees to be creative, and sustain your competitive advantage over the long term. Linkner distills his years of experience in business and jazz — as well as hundreds of interviews with CEOs, entrepreneurs, and artists — into a 5-step process that will make creativity easy for you and your organization. The methodology is simple, backed by proven results.
Disciplined Dreaming shows even the stuffiest corporate bureaucracies how to cultivate creativity in order to become more competitive in today's shifting marketplace.
#8 New York Times Bestseller (Hardcover Business)
#2 Wall Street Journal Bestseller (Hardcover Business)
#9 Wall Street Journal Bestseller (Hardcover Nonfiction)
#9 Washington Post Bestseller (Nonfiction Hardcover)
#1 USA Today Bestseller (Money)
#10 Publishers Weekly Bestseller (Nonfiction)
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