LinkedIn Speaker Series

This month’s Speaker Series was hosted from our New York office with our special guest, Adam Braun, Founder and CEO, Pencils of Promise -- the epitome of a transformational story. JDan Roth, Executive Editor at LinkedIn, sat down with him to discuss the incredible work Pencils of Promise is doing and learned more about Adam’s personal journey.They also discussed his book: The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create Extraordinary Change. The Promise of a Pencil is an inspiring story that shares the essential lessons to creating a life of meaning, passion, and purpose. The book shares the riveting story of how Adam started with only $25 and has now built over 200 schools around the world. It also discusses the guiding steps that any ordinary person can take to lead a successful and significant life. Talk about transformation!More About AdamAdam Braun began on the path towards a career in finance, but met a young boy begging on the streets and asked him what he wanted most in the world. The answer- "A pencil." Braun then backpacked through 50+ countries to deeply understand the state of global education and develop a best-practice model to help local communities organize and educate their children.Pencils of Promise is now a leading nonprofit organization that has broken ground on more than 200 schools across Africa, Asia and Latin America and delivered nearly 10 million educational hours in its first five years. PoP was founded with just $25 using what Braun coined as a "For-Purpose" approach to blending nonprofit idealism with for-profit business principles.

LinkedIn's co-founder/chairman, Reid Hoffman, has written a new book with Ben Casnocha and Chris Yeh: The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age. Jeff Weiner sat down with Reid and Ben to discuss this fascinating and very relevant topic before the book is released in early July. The premise of the book is that the employer-employee relationship is broken. Managers face a seemingly impossible dilemma: You can't afford to offer lifetime employment. But you can't build a lasting, innovative business when everyone acts like a free agent. The solution: Stop thinking of employees as family or free agents, and start thinking of them as allies on a tour of duty. This bold but practical guide for managers and executives will give you the tools you need to recruit, manage, and retain the kind of employees who will make your company thrive in today's world of constant innovation and fast-paced change. What Are Business Leaders Saying About The Alliance? "GE is competing in its third century. The key to sustained performance is developing competitive leaders in every era. The Alliance captures the essence of modern talent development: trust and mutual value creation helps both employer and employee compete in the marketplace. The authors lay out a framework that helps big companies as well as startups develop their people more effectively, while creating a competitive team." – Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman and CEO, GE ___ "Engaged employees are the key to success in any business. The Alliance is a terrific book that offers real world insights on how to build loyalty, inspire creativity and manage winning teams for the long term." – Kenneth I. Chenault, Chairman & CEO, American Express

Do you seek purpose from your work? Do you strive for impact, personal growth and community? On Friday, May 23, we hosted Aaron Hurst, CEO of Imperative and author of The Purpose Economy, for our first Speaker Series event hosted from our Dublin office, and a discussion around working with purpose.A series of shifts are happening in our economy: A record of number of millennials are trading in conventional career paths to launch tech start-ups, start small businesses that are rooted in local communities, or freelance their expertise. We are sharing everything from bikes and cars to extra rooms in our homes.Globally recognized entrepreneur and founder of Taproot Foundation, that helped create the $15 billion pro bono service market, Aaron Hurst argues in his latest book, The Purpose Economy: How Your Desire for Impact, Personal Growth and Community is Changing the World, that while these developments seem unrelated at first, taken together they reveal a powerful pattern that points to purpose as the new driver of the global economy."Aaron Hurst powerfully sums up in The Purpose Economy the fundamental changes taking place in the business world." -Arianna Huffington, Chair, President and Editor-in-Chief, Huffington Post Media Group"Here is that rare animal, a business book grounded in compassion. The Purpose Economy taps into our deep craving for meaning in our life and work. If Aaron Hurst is right, and I think he is, we are on the threshold of a new, more value-rich era in business. This book will help find your place in it." -Daniel H. Pink, Author of TO SELL IS HUMAN and DRIVEMore About AaronAaron Hurst is an award-winning entrepreneur and globally recognized leader in fields of purpose at work and social innovation. He is the author of three books including The Purpose Economy, which redefines how we think about work and the economy. He is the CEO of Imperative, the new career development platform for professionals seeking purpose at work. Previously, Aaron founded the Taproot Foundation where he was the catalyst and lead architect of the $15 billion pro bono services market.Aaron has been an advisor and consultant to leading global brands like LinkedIn, Elance, Etsy, Deloitte and Twitter. He speaks regularly at companies like Google, Citi and BMW and at the campuses of leading business schools around the world.He is the recipient of the LS&A Humanitarian Award, the highest distinction bestowed on alumni of the University of Michigan. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

Do you find yourself stretched too thin? Do you feel simultaneously overworked and underutilized? Are you often busy, but not productive?Is your to-do list longer at the end of the day than it was when you started? Do you ever feel like your time is being hijacked by other people’s agendas? If you answered yes to any of these, the way out is the way of the Essentialist. Please join us for a presentation and Q&A with Greg McKeown, author of the forthcoming ESSENTIALISM: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, which teaches how we can do less -- but better-- in every area of our lives. By challenging the assumption of “we can have it all” and “I have to do everything,” and replacing it with “the right thing, in the right way, at the right time,” (does this sound familiar? :) ) we can regain control of our choices about where to spend our precious time and energies so we can make our highest point of contribution towards the things that really matter.INTERESTING FACT ABOUT GREG!Greg happens to be one of LinkedIn’s most successful Influencers. Did you know that he has the third most page views per post (behind Bill Gates and Richard Branson)? Very impressive.MORE ABOUT GREGGreg McKeown is the author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and speaks around the world on the importance of living and leading as an Essentialist. He has spoken at companies including Apple, Facebook, Gilead, Google, Salesforce.com, and Twitter and is among the most popular bloggers for the Harvard Business Review and LinkedIn’s Influencers. He is the co-creator of the popular course, “Designing Life, Essentially” at Stanford University, and serves as a Young Global Leader for the World Economic Forum.

We were lucky to host Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief, of the Huffington Post Media Group where we had the opportunity to hear about her new definition of success.In her new book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, she makes an impassioned and compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today's world. Perhaps you will walk away inspired to look at your own life from this new lense!More About AriannaArianna Huffington is the chair, president, and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, a nationally syndicated columnist, and author of fourteen books. In May 2005, she launched The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that quickly became one of the most widely-read, linked to, and frequently-cited media brands on the Internet. In 2012, the site won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting. In 2013, she was named to the Forbes Most Powerful Women list. In 2006, and again in 2011, she was named to the Time 100, Time Magazine's list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Originally from Greece, she moved to England when she was 16 and graduated from Cambridge University with an M.A. in economics. At 21, she became president of the famed debating society, the Cambridge Union. She serves on several boards, including EL PAÍS, PRISA, the Center for Public Integrity, and the Committee to Protect Journalists.Her 14th book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder was published by Crown in March 2014.

Blogs - who hasn’t read one? Or maybe you’ve even written one. Chances are one of those blogs was built on WordPress - the world’s most popular blogging platform. Now, the mastermind behind WordPress and Automattic will be here to share some interesting and powerful insights. Join us for an enlightening and inspiring fireside chat with Reid Hoffman and Matt Mullenweg, co-founder, WordPress and founder and CEO, Automattic. Reid and Matt will discuss:- Lessons learned from WordPress and Automattic- Matt’s vision of how content will run on the Internet- The relationship between content and social networks- Distributed workforces and how that works for entrepreneurial projectsMore About MattMatt Mullenweg is the co-founder of the open-source blogging platform, WordPress, the most popular publishing platform on the web, and the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and Jetpack. Additionally, Matt is a principal and founder of Audrey Capital, an investment and research company.Matt got his start in technology working at CNET Networks as a senior product manager. He went on to found Global Multimedia Protocols Group, an experimental Metamemetics company, to develop open data formats. He has been recognized for his leadership and success by Forbes, BusinessWeek, INC., PC World, and Vanity Fair.Matt is originally from Houston, Texas, where he attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and studied jazz saxophone. In his spare time, Matt is an avid photographer. Matt splits time between Houston, New York, and San Francisco.

Are you ready to change your thinking about innovation and entrepreneurship? Inspired to learn new methodologies that foster innovation--especially in established companies?

Join us for an enlightening and inspiring fireside chat with Reid Hoffman and Eric Ries, entrepreneur and author of The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses. Eric created The Lean Startup methodology and his book is getting rave reviews:

"Every so often a business book comes along that changes how we think about innovation and entrepreneurship... The Lean Startup has the chops to join this exalted company."

-- Financial Times

"A must read for every serious entrepreneur-and every manager interested in innovation."

--Marc Andreessen, Co-Founder of Andreessen Horowitz, Opsware Inc. and Netscape

To learn more about Eric and his work, follow him on LinkedIn and check out his popular blog, Startup Lessons Learned.

And don't forget to bring your questions -- there will be an opportunity for Q&A with Eric as well!

More About Eric

Eric graduated in 2001 from Yale University with a B.S. in Computer Science. While an undergraduate, he co-founded Catalyst Recruiting. Ries continued his entrepreneurial career as a Senior Software Engineer at There.com, leading efforts in agile software development and user-generated content. He later co-founded and served as CTO of IMVU, his third startup.

In 2007, BusinessWeek named Ries one of the Best Young Entrepreneurs of Tech. In 2008 he served as a venture advisor at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers before moving on to advise startups independently. Today he serves on the board of directors for Code for America and on the advisory board of a number of technology startups and venture capital firms. In 2009, Ries was honored with a TechFellow award in the category of Engineering Leadership. In 2010, he was named entrepreneur-in-residence at Harvard Business School and is currently an IDEO Fellow.

The Lean Startup methodology has been written about in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Inc., Wired, Fast Company, and countless blogs.

He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Tara.

This LinkedIn Speakers Series guest aligned perfectly with our “wellness” inDay theme that month. After all, what says wellness more than improving your happiness, adopting positive habits, and breaking bad ones? We’re fortunate to host one of our top LinkedIn Influencers Gretchen Rubin, author of the blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, Happier at Home and The Happiness Project. Gretchen currently has over 310,000 followers on LinkedIn, and we’re delighted that she’s joining us live in Mountain View to give us a preview of her forthcoming book, Before and After. In the book, Gretchen shares a framework that she’s developed about the making and breaking of habits. This framework will help you understand yourself much better, how to motivate yourself -- and other people as well. To get a better sense of what to expect from Gretchen’s talk, check out her blog (www.happiness-project.com), where you can also sign up to receive a daily “Moment of Happiness” quote by email, her monthly newsletter, or her monthly Book Club recommendations. More About GretchenA graduate of Yale and Yale Law School, Gretchen started her career in law, and was clerking for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer. She has written several books, including three novels safely locked in a desk drawer. Her blockbuster New York Times bestsellers, Happier at Home and The Happiness Project, are accounts of her experiences test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. On her popular blog, she reports on her daily adventures in pursuit of happiness. Response to Gretchen’s practical approach to achieving happiness has been overwhelming. The Happiness Project is more than a book, it’s a movement—a way of life. Psychiatrists suggest it to their patients, professors assign it to their students, book groups read it, families pass it around, and groups have sprung up across the world where people do Happiness Projects together. She lives in New York City with her husband and two daughters.

Fred Kofman claims that most people don’t really know what their jobs are, and it’s hurting business. Join us for an insightful, provocative, and inspiring session where Fred will help us to discover our real jobs, how we can each succeed while doing best for the team, and what it takes for a winning company to stay competitive. By the end of the session, you should have new insights that will change the way you do your work, how you contribute to your team, and how you negotiate the challenges of our organizational structure. You will also understand why misalignment is the number one killer of organizations, and what you can do to keep LinkedIn at the top of our game as we grow in size and complexity.