Linda Rottenberg
ABC and NPR declared her “the entrepreneur whisperer" and she's also been called “Ms. Davos”
Named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News and one of TIME’s 100 “Innovators for the 21st century,” Linda Rottenberg is considered among the most dynamic experts on entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, and leadership. A frequent keynote speaker at Fortune 500 companies, and subject of multiple Harvard and Stanford business school case studies, Rottenberg has won acclaim for her pioneering work. ABC and NPR declared her “the entrepreneur whisperer;” Tom Friedman dubbed her the world’s “mentor capitalist;” Business Insider named her “Ms. Davos;” and for years she was known as “La Chica Loca” (the crazy girl) for insisting that entrepreneurs existed outside of Silicon Valley, in emerging and growth markets. As co-founder and CEO of Endeavor, Rottenberg has led the global entrepreneurship movement for two decades.
Crazy Is a Compliment: The rewards of creating your own path
Every entrepreneur at one point in time has had a “crazy moment”—a time when almost everyone bets
against them. What separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest is the ability to face down naysayers,
embrace and manage risk, harness chaos, tolerate failure, and muster the courage to be contrarian. The
best entrepreneurs zig when everyone else zags. Linda Rottenberg has spent her career helping innovators
think big and get over their own fears. Blending inspirational stories with practical tips, she will help you
hone your entrepreneurial personality, take smart risks and adapt the tenets of leadership 3.0. As Linda
says, “If people aren’t calling you crazy, then you’re not thinking big enough.”
Think Like an Entrepreneur: Lessons from the world’s most successful innovators
Twenty-five years ago, “entrepreneurship” was a rarely-used French term that applied to a handful of
individuals that were mostly in tech, mostly in California, and mostly go it alone. Today, entrepreneurship is
better viewed as a distinct set of skills and a way of approaching the world. Top corporations have taken
note and are seeking ways to disrupt themselves before others beat them to it. For 18 years, Linda
Rottenberg has guided 1,000 “high-impact” innovators around the world, helping them scale from promising startups to global multinationals. Now she shares cutting-edge strategies for success and compelling—and occasionally irreverent—business lessons. Managers will come away with practical tips for adopting an entrepreneurial mindset essential to success in the new global economy.
Leadership 3.0: Motivation and innovation for the new global workforce
Named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report, Linda Rottenberg has developed a
playbook for leading effectively in the new global economy. Thanks to 20 years of experience working with
1,000 world-class entrepreneurs while simultaneously scaling her organization, Endeavor, in 20 countries,
she has identified the “Goldilocks rules” of 21st century leadership: not so “hard” that they apply only to
button-downed organizations; not so “soft” that they apply only to t-shirt startups. In this talk, Linda
explains how to use chaos to your advantage; motivate employees with “psychic equity”; attract and
manage millennials; infuse your business with purpose; and remain nimble in an age of disruption. Linda
also shares tips for building a diverse global workforce and ensuring that all employees find meaning in their work.
De-Risking Risk: Survival strategies for the 21st century economy
Stability is dead. Economic crises, technological disruption and nimbler competition mean that more than
ever, individuals and corporations must adapt or perish. If you think risk-taking is risky, being risk-averse is
often riskier. But how do you know which risks to take? This is Linda Rottenberg’s expertise. The backer of
1,000 top entrepreneurs and author of Crazy Is a Compliment: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else
Zags, Linda is a leading champion of challengers to the status quo. In this talk, she discusses strategies to
stop planning and start doing, mitigate risk, embrace chaos, win backers (including your boss) and take your idea to market. Above all, she will help you realize that nowadays you need to be agile and daring, and
maybe a little bit crazy, or risk being left behind. “If you’re not being called crazy,” says Rottenberg, “you’re
probably not thinking big enough.”
Skunks in The Workplace: Intrapreneurship as the edge to success
Have you lost your edge? Job security and your secured position at the head of the pack are relics of the
past. Caught between increased competition and economic fluctuations, corporations are struggling to stay
dominant. Research shows that even top companies are losing their leadership position faster than ever.
You must adapt from within or you’ll be forced to adapt from without. In this context, survival depends on
tapping into the creativity of your employees and giving them the freedom to pursue their ideas. Forget topdown corporate strategy—the key to success is intrapreneurship. Linda Rottenberg offers proven strategies to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit in your organization by encouraging risk-taking, embracing failure, dismantling silos, and creating a skunk work-like environment where ideas can percolate from the bottom up.
Go Big and Go Home: A CEO’s approach to work-life balance
“My favorite expression used to be ‘go big OR go home.’ Then I realized I needed to do both,” says Linda
Rottenberg, who in addition to being CEO of a major global organization, is also a full-time wife and mom of
nine-year-old identical twin daughters. In the same way that entrepreneurs are redefining many of the
traditional rules of the workplace, they’re also helping to break down one of the most stubborn boundaries
of all—the one between work and life. In this talk, which Linda has delivered to top female executives of
Fortune 500 companies, she relates moving personal stories, including her husband’s battle with (and
ultimate triumph over) one of the deadliest forms of cancer. She also draws upon a pantheon of female
pathbreakers, from Veuve Clicquot (the first international businesswoman) to Margaret Rudkin (the
frustrated mother who turned her son’s illness into Pepperidge Farm). With an engaging style, Rottenberg
motivates audiences to find ways to “go big AND go home.”
“Few people have more insight into what makes great entrepreneurs a success. Linda brings a dynamic presence, a keen intellect, and road-tested experience to the stage.”
“It was great to have Linda with us in New York City. We appreciated her taking the time to share the wonderful Endeavor story with our guests. Personally, we were so proud to see a trusted partner of SAP showcase such world-class leadership and vision. Her perspective contributed so much to what we wanted the CEO Summit to accomplish.”
“Linda was impressive and inspiring – made a difference to our global partners and we are grateful she attended.”
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