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Initiative: A Proven Method to Bring Your Passions to Life
Our culture is in a crisis of initiative.
People everywhere in all walks of life feel stuck in their work, hobbies, and social lives, but they see the alternatives as too big and challenging, so they endure just bearable limits. We celebrate entrepreneurship in top-rated television shows, magazines, movies, and biographies, but fewer and fewer people are actually starting companies. What has gone wrong, and how can we break free and take the lead in our own lives?
Joshua Spodek, PhD, MBA, author of Leadership Step by Step , shows us the startling The TV shows, movies, books, and courses that celebrate entrepreneurship have turned it into an artificial performance competition, not only subverting it to serve their promoters’ interests but undermining real initiative with myths and unattainable ideals. Worse still, our education system, far from helping us break free, leaves us with fewer options and less self-direction. Courses in business often skip over the hard part or leave students stuck in theory without any practice.
In Initiative , Spodek presents a practice-based method, not ideas or abstract principles but a sequence of concrete exercises that will lead you to discover and develop passions and take initiative—even if you don’t yet know what you want to take initiative on.
Spodek’s Method Initiative exercises have been tested and refined over years in his popular course at New York University. Spodek illustrates the problem and the solution with stories of students in his course who have started with only a vague idea—or not even that—and have taken initiatives that have transformed their lives and the lives of others.
People everywhere in all walks of life feel stuck in their work, hobbies, and social lives, but they see the alternatives as too big and challenging, so they endure just bearable limits. We celebrate entrepreneurship in top-rated television shows, magazines, movies, and biographies, but fewer and fewer people are actually starting companies. What has gone wrong, and how can we break free and take the lead in our own lives?
Joshua Spodek, PhD, MBA, author of Leadership Step by Step , shows us the startling The TV shows, movies, books, and courses that celebrate entrepreneurship have turned it into an artificial performance competition, not only subverting it to serve their promoters’ interests but undermining real initiative with myths and unattainable ideals. Worse still, our education system, far from helping us break free, leaves us with fewer options and less self-direction. Courses in business often skip over the hard part or leave students stuck in theory without any practice.
In Initiative , Spodek presents a practice-based method, not ideas or abstract principles but a sequence of concrete exercises that will lead you to discover and develop passions and take initiative—even if you don’t yet know what you want to take initiative on.
Spodek’s Method Initiative exercises have been tested and refined over years in his popular course at New York University. Spodek illustrates the problem and the solution with stories of students in his course who have started with only a vague idea—or not even that—and have taken initiatives that have transformed their lives and the lives of others.
258 pages, Paperback
Published May 21, 2019
25 people are currently reading
115 people want to read
About the author
Joshua Spodek
4 books7 followersJOSHUA SPODEK, PH.D. is an Adjunct Professor at NYU, a leadership coach and lecturer for Columbia Business School, and a columnist for Inc. He holds six patents and five Ivy-League degrees, including an MBA and a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. Named one of the “Best and Brightest” by Esquire in their Genius Issue, he has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Forbes, and other major media.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 20, 2021
A simple method for taking initiative on any professional project, either inside a company or creating a business.
I am tempted to say it is perhaps too simplistic, but after a second thought I guess that's where part of its value reside.
A very summarised summary:
1. Find/think of a topic you are interested in, that you feel motivated about. What's a problem in that area that you'd like to help with?
2. Follow a sequence of iterations talking to people related to the topic, from close acquaintances to valuable people away from you. Ask useful questions. Listen. Take notes. Move gradualy from problem discovery/exploration to solution ideation. Reflect. Refine your assumptions.
3. Create a diagram that captures your solution as a system (your project, your business...), actors and dynamics (what each actors gives to and gets from the system).
4. Sketch basic financials of that system. Refine it iteratively (along with the diagram) until it is sustainable (usually meaning "profitable", but not just that)
5. Reach out to highly valuable people (potential partners, investors,clients...) as you get your project moved from paper to reality.
So, obviously nothing truly new if you've read things about entrepreneurship, personal MBA, etc... Yet, here it is put in a pretty simple and practical way (it is written in a sort of step-by-step guide) that makes it easier to get started.
I's recommend it to anyone thinking on starting a project and not quite sure on how to do it.
I am tempted to say it is perhaps too simplistic, but after a second thought I guess that's where part of its value reside.
A very summarised summary:
1. Find/think of a topic you are interested in, that you feel motivated about. What's a problem in that area that you'd like to help with?
2. Follow a sequence of iterations talking to people related to the topic, from close acquaintances to valuable people away from you. Ask useful questions. Listen. Take notes. Move gradualy from problem discovery/exploration to solution ideation. Reflect. Refine your assumptions.
3. Create a diagram that captures your solution as a system (your project, your business...), actors and dynamics (what each actors gives to and gets from the system).
4. Sketch basic financials of that system. Refine it iteratively (along with the diagram) until it is sustainable (usually meaning "profitable", but not just that)
5. Reach out to highly valuable people (potential partners, investors,clients...) as you get your project moved from paper to reality.
So, obviously nothing truly new if you've read things about entrepreneurship, personal MBA, etc... Yet, here it is put in a pretty simple and practical way (it is written in a sort of step-by-step guide) that makes it easier to get started.
I's recommend it to anyone thinking on starting a project and not quite sure on how to do it.
August 17, 2021
I'm not sure initiative is really the right word for this. You need some basic initiative to start and the book is really a guide to help you get started to make a change. The first part of the the books talks about how the “dog show” or pitch competition is really not good for startups. I strongly agree with that. But it could have been much shorter to make that point. What I like about this book is what I always look for in these kinds of books: Give the reader some actions and a framework to use. Spodek lists seven core principles and then a set of 10 exercises to go through to help identify a problem that you care about, get feedback on it and learn more about it. And how to continue to move it along. I think what's good here is that these are very explicitly stated and there's no question that if you go through them you're going to learn a lot. And they are solidly based on best practices. So from that standpoint I would definitely recommend it to beginners. It's good for not just startups but for making change in a big organization.The basic ethos of the principles I definitely agree with. But I do think personality matters at least in terms of certain attributes that you can build up. But again this books has exercises and things to do which is its strength.
July 6, 2019
Joshua gives a completely different perspective on starting a business. He explains what the alternative could be to what a lot of us believe startups should be like. Some of us think it should be like Shark Tank, we should have a great pitch, and venture capital or angel investors. This style of business is not the only way and may not suit everyone. Initiative is a methodology on how to do it differently. Half the book is the explanation and the other half is exercises that include checklists. I think it's a great way to initiate anything whether it's a new business idea or an idea for an existing business. The book gives the step-by-step guidelines on how to develop your idea in a way that's collaborative and unforced.
June 11, 2019
I've been looking for a long time for such a methodology. I used to say that the most difficult part is to know what you want, what your goals are.
With this structured questioning and requirements to introspect, it provides a good way to define what you want and then implement it.
I am not there yet, but I can see that this method helps all along the way.
I understand that there is an online website that supports the readers.
It is indeed difficult to work the path on your own.
Joshua has done a great job.
With this structured questioning and requirements to introspect, it provides a good way to define what you want and then implement it.
I am not there yet, but I can see that this method helps all along the way.
I understand that there is an online website that supports the readers.
It is indeed difficult to work the path on your own.
Joshua has done a great job.
September 3, 2019
Exercises are actually super useful and worth the read, but 2/3 of the book feels like a self-serving promotion and could have been cut by half.
October 1, 2020
Four stars as a framework for exploring the viability of projects
As a read it is ok. I would have preferred the narrative parts to be less intertwined with the actual framework exercises
As a read it is ok. I would have preferred the narrative parts to be less intertwined with the actual framework exercises
May 12, 2024
The exercises have taught me new skills that have completely changed how I view developing new skills, achieving goals I previously thought impossible, and even how I perceive people – everyone you meet can be someone to help you achieve your goals!
I highly recommend buying the book and going through the exercises. I promise you’ll be better for having done them. You might even find your million dollar business idea. But even more than that, you'll discover your purpose in life, and what makes you happy while getting paid for it!
I highly recommend buying the book and going through the exercises. I promise you’ll be better for having done them. You might even find your million dollar business idea. But even more than that, you'll discover your purpose in life, and what makes you happy while getting paid for it!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews