My passion for collaborating came very early on in my career when I realized how much I love to ask the following questions: ‘What if we do this…’ and ‘Imagine if…’ I began to see massive talent in people working at companies and saw mankind evolve tech since the .com days in ways which were unimaginable before. I also became alarmed with how employees in big companies felt un-empowered to push their great ideas forward and how they felt they were not heard. Brilliant minds being hired to conform and not to disrupt and innovate - seemed illogical!

This was the main impetus in writing ProVoke - to help individuals in any role and in any size company to be armed with the capability to truly push their ideas forward (as long as the idea has merit of course). Over the years, ProVoke has become the go-to book for those wishing to learn how to disrupt, to not give up on their ideas, and to succeed without boundaries.

ProVoke, my first book, and The Inversion Factor, my second book, have taken me in front of tens of thousands of minds and souls across continents. I’ve had the honor and privilege to drive disruption, innovation, and ‘what-if’ conversations to hundreds of companies, and I continue to connect with and speak to more each month, each year. This is a journey which I love, a journey where I learn as much as I impart.

‘Crazy’ is fantastic. Has there ever been anything worth something if not considered ‘Crazy’ by the masses at the start? I am proud to have my ideas called ‘Crazy.’ I remember in 2001-2005, building the first ever official Internet of Things (IoT) company, and being asked to leave many meetings. On a daily basis I heard comments like: “Linda: What makes you think banking will go on the Internet?” “People connecting their doorbells and alarms to the internet? Crazy.” “Retail on the internet replacing brick and mortar? Never.” “Digital banking instead of retail banking? Insane.” And on and on. Any great idea, at the start, is considered crazy. The key is not to give up and not to abandon a great idea if your instinct says you are right. Today I am the founder of a company adapting music to video games via AI. We’re disrupting the video gaming and music world, and again I hear the term, “Crazy” all the time. So, to my outstanding readers, please cherish the terms: ‘Crazy,’ ‘insane,’ ‘impossible,’ ‘will never happen,’ and much more. Remember, as ProVoke states - resistance, doubt, and skepticism are the first line of defense for those resisting change. Never let that stop you! ‘Crazy’ is sublime!

I owe a lot of my sense of adventure to two things. First, being the daughter of a 3-star Airforce General, who from a very young age taught me that hard work, discipline, and that performing versus expecting will yield great results. He also taught me to respect everyone at all times, to be a free thinker, and to make every effort to make change happen and not be afraid of obstacles or failure. I learned to replace fear with focus. For that I owe my dad a mountain of gratitude.

Second, my unique opportunity to work at BBN (Bolt Beranek and Newman in Cambridge Mass) immediately out of graduate school at UCLA. My work had been focused on applied mathematics, statistics, and data. My passion always has been and always will be to harness information from data and to improve processes. BBN was one of the world’s leading thinktank/research centers, and my first formative professional career was spent here with thousands of the most brilliant minds in the world. We were paid to think, find solutions, and solve complex technology problems across all disciplines. BBN is where ‘internet’ came from, after a military project called ARPANET. The first of many of the pillars of today’s technology came from BBN, a place where you were able to imagine boundlessly, build fearlessly, and experiment constantly. At the time, I thought every company was like BBN. It was later when I learned that while companies thrive to be innovative, they often are too afraid of change and afraid of losing revenue and customers.

From that journey, my career in technology disruption and innovation began. That was the genesis of my tagline, Disrupt | Innovate | Lead, which has been the foundation of everything I have done in my career:

• As a serial tech entrepreneur, I constantly imagine, disrupt, and build, so I practice what I preach at all times.
• As a serial executive in various industries, I have learned how large companies operate and how to disrupt when disruption almost seems impossible.
• As a tech investor, I have learned to identify game-changing tech anywhere the
• As a consultant working with large corporations and boards of directors, I am able to influence leadership to focus on open innovation and a culture of innovation and disruption.
• As a serial tech author, I focus on unraveling the complexities of disruption and innovation and how to imagine change when it seems impossible.
• As a speaker at the largest conferences in the world, I am able to reach the hearts, minds, and souls of the thousands whom I meet and hopefully inspire them that they are where innovation, change, and progress comes from and that they can be fearless, crazy, and never give up!
• As an innovator, I have learned how to embrace fear and separate the failure of an idea, from my Learning to work with fear, risk, and failure, versus wanting instant success has taken many years, and the journey continues. As CEO of my first start-up, I remember many sleepless nights wondering if I had done the wrong thing, where the next payroll would come from, and what if we failed. This was so tough. Now I’m very happy that I did not give up, but boy, there were times that doubt and fear would creep in…

Perhaps my biggest joy comes from seeing people after my talks, and hearing them say that I helped them light their inner fire and that they have become unstoppable. THIS is my focus. We have millions of talented and outstanding people working across many industries of all sizes. Imagine a world where everyone was inspired to innovate, change, and express their thoughts. Change comes from people. Progress is enabled by people. People are my key passion and in all I do, and I hope to help inspire many more across the world.

I would be remiss to not mention that as a female high-tech entrepreneur, executive, and gamechanger, being a female in this field is not an easy journey. Less than 1% of global venture funding goes to women-founded companies. While women top the charts in science, math, and computer science in academia and industry, we are not seeing as many women leaders as we should. The journey of being a woman founder of a disruptive tech company is painful and not easy. There is a lot of skepticism and doubt. All aspects of our humanity are questioned and analyzed. What makes women outstanding as leaders - our empathy and ability - becomes an element of doubt of whether we can be ‘tough enough.’ There is a section in ProVoke dedicated to women and disruption. I have been co-founder, board member, strategist, funder, mentor, ally, and everything-else-possible for the last two decades to help promote women in tech. The journey continues. Small baby steps at times. Not an easy journey, but absolutely possible. I just ask all women to not hold back, be fearless, not look for approval, and trust their instincts.

That is where true change comes from. That IS how we can become fearless leaders and change the world. As women, let’s help each other to excel and not feel that we are competing for the same piece of pie!

My journey and my story continue. I practice every element of what I share with my audiences and readers every day. I hope I see you at one of my talks and please share your thoughts and your journey with me. I am sure it is a wonderful one.

Thank you for being part of my ProVoke journey with me. Connect with me on LI and let’s talk… Let’s Disrupt | Innovate | Lead together