Thinkers360
Interested in getting your own thought leader profile? Get Started Today.

John Spence

Managing Partner at John Spence, LLC

Gainesville, United States

There's an important question that every business should ask their best customers. "Why, specifically, do you do business with us? What are the top three or four reasons?" As you begin to collect the answers, a pattern will emerge. This pattern is your brand. It is the reason that these customers give you their money. These are your key differentiators and form your unique selling proposition. When I ask my clients this question, the pattern is very clear. Here's what they tell me.

Research. It would be hard to find anybody who does more reading and research than you do John (I have read a minimum of 100 business books yearly since 1989). Your depth and breadth of knowledge are unparalleled.

Real life. You have been the owner or CEO of several companies and have worked with businesses worldwide. You have an incredible amount of hands-on experience.

Passion. It is obvious that you love what you do. Your energy and enthusiasm are contagious. We can tell that you are genuinely committed to helping us improve.

ROI. Because of the first three items, we get a strong return on investment from the work you do with us. You are constantly driving to make things simple and actionable. We always walk away with ideas and tools that help our organization be more successful.

I am honored that my clients think of me in these terms. I believe it is a reflection of the focus and dedication I bring to my work. I understand and take very seriously the trust my customers place in me to deliver lasting positive results for their organization.

I feel grateful that over my nearly 30-year career, I've had the opportunity to assist hundreds of companies, from small and medium-sized businesses to more than 30 of the Fortune 100. I support my clients through training, consulting, coaching, and keynote speeches. My focus areas include organizational culture, leadership, teamwork, accountability, and strategy. Because of my expertise, I have been recognized by several organizations as one of the world's top business and leadership experts.

Today I am more passionate than ever to help great businesses become even better and people to achieve higher levels of happiness and success. I would love to help you too.

Available For: Consulting, Speaking
Travels From: Gainesville, FL
Speaking Topics: The Future of Leadership, Achieving Business Excellence, Extreme Customer Focus

John Spence Points
Academic 0
Author 360
Influencer 118
Speaker 11
Entrepreneur 20
Total 509

Points based upon Thinkers360 patent-pending algorithm.

Thought Leader Profile

Portfolio Mix

Company Information

Company Type: Service Provider
Theatre: Global
Last Media Interview: 03/22/2019

Areas of Expertise

Business Strategy 39.71
Culture 37.54
Customer Loyalty
Entrepreneurship 37.13
Leadership 40.30
Management 33.07
Change Management 32.29
Coaching 30.44

Industry Experience

Aerospace & Defense
Agriculture & Mining
Automotive
Chemicals
Consumer Products
Engineering & Construction
Federal & Public Sector
Financial Services & Banking
Healthcare
High Tech & Electronics
Higher Education & Research
Hospitality
Insurance
Manufacturing
Media
Pharmaceuticals
Retail
Telecommunications
Utilities

Publications

6 Books
Excellence By Design: Leadership - The Six Key Characterics of Outstanding Leaders
Flycaster & Company
January 01, 2023
A straightforward, practical, and actionable guide designed to teach the essential steps necessary for becoming an extraordinary leader. Solid advice, powerful tools and timeless wisdom on how you can dramatically improve your leadership effectiveness. Lays out the six key characteristics of outstanding leaders.

See publication

Tags: Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship

Letters To A CEO
Flycaster & Company
January 01, 2023
For nearly two decades, John Spence has served as a trusted advisor and coach to senior executives at top companies around the globe. They turn to him because of his wealth of experience working with big corporations – to hundreds of small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurial start-ups. Because his clients know that he has read a minimum of 120 business books a year since 1989, they will often ask him to summarize the key points of what he has learned on a specific topic into a “letter” that will help them learn a new skill or make a major business decision.

Letters to a CEO is a compilation of the actual letters that John has sent to his clients in the last few years. It covers such critical business topics such as how to make good decisions, increasing accountability throughout the organization, strategic thinking, high-performance teams and much more.

Each letter is only a few pages long but every one is packed with John’s best ideas, insights and lessons learned as the CEO of ten companies. Add the knowledge he gained in reading nearly 3,000 business books in his quest to learn as much as he possibly could on what it takes to build, grow and sustain a highly successful organization and you have Letters to a CEO. Reading this book is like having a top Fortune 500 executive coach standing by to give you great advice whenever you need it.

See publication

Tags: Business Strategy, Change Management, Leadership

Awesomely Simple - Essential Business Strategies For Turning Ideas Into Action
Jossey-Bass
September 08, 2009
The six core strategies to elevate any business-and how to implement them-made simple

What do the world's most successful companies and organization have in common? And what can you actually take away and use from their examples? Distilling the best fundamental business strategies, trusted advisor and strategist John Spence helps you take a hard look at your business and together develop specific plans and action steps that will allow you to dramatically improve the success of your company.

Delivered in Spence's approachable and straightforward manner, Awesomely Simple reveals the six key strategies that create a foundation for achieving business excellence: Vivid Vision, Best People, A Performance-Oriented Culture, Robust Communication, A Sense of Urgency, and Extreme Customer Focus.

Filled with case studies and clear action items, includes easy-to-follow guidelines for implementing the strategies in any organization no matter its mission or size
After concisely breaking down each strategy, Spence gives specific examples, tips, tools, discussion questions and exercises for how to execute them successfully
A perfect resource for business leaders, Awesomely Simple will help you turn ideas into positive action and achieve lasting business success.

See publication

Tags: Customer Experience, Leadership, Culture

Awesomely Simple
Jossey-Bass
September 01, 2009
What do the world's most successful companies and organizations have in common? And what can you actually take away and use from their examples? Distilling the best fundamental business strategies, trusted advisor and strategist John Spence helps you take a hard look at your business and then to develop specific plans and action steps that will allow you to dramatically improve the success of your company.

See publication

Tags: Business Strategy, Customer Experience, Leadership

Awesomely Simple: Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas into Action
Jossey-Bass
August 01, 2009
The six core strategies to elevate any business - and how to implement them - made simple.

What do the world's most successful companies and organizations have in common? And what can you actually take away and use from their examples? Distilling the best fundamental business strategies, trusted advisor and strategist John Spence helps you take a hard look at your business and then to develop specific plans and action steps that will allow you to dramatically improve the success of your company.

Delivered in Spence's approachable and straightforward manner, Awesomely Simple reveals the six key strategies that create a foundation for achieving business excellence: Vivid Vision, Best People, A Performance-Oriented Culture, Robust Communication, A Sense of Urgency, and Extreme Customer Focus.

See publication

Tags: Business Strategy, Culture, Leadership

Excellence by Design – Leadership
Flycaster & Company
January 01, 2008
Straightforward, practical and actionable guide designed to teach the essential steps necessary for becoming an extraordinary leader. Solid advice, powerful tools and timeless wisdom on how you can dramatically improve your leadership effectiveness. Lays out the six key characteristics of outstanding leaders.

See publication

Tags: Business Strategy, Culture, Leadership

1 Founder
Flycaster & Company
Flycaster & Co.
October 16, 2009
Boutique advertising and marketing company specializing in the marine industry.

See publication

Tags: Entrepreneurship

6 Influencer Awards
Power List of the Top 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2022
LeadersHum
February 01, 2023
Other people who receive this award include Gary Vaynerchuk, Marshall Goldsmith, Adam Grant, Simon Sinek, and Dorie Clark

See publication

Tags: Leadership, Coaching

Top 50 Leaders to Watch in America
American Management Association
February 01, 2023
Other recipients of this recognition include Serge Brin and Larry Page of Google and Jeff Bezos of Amazon.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

Thinkers50: 2017 Distinguished Achievement Awards Shortlist - Top 8
Thinkers50
September 01, 2017
Breakthrough Idea Award
The Thinkers50 Breakthrough Idea Award celebrates a Eureka moment in management. It is given for a radical idea, which has the potential to forever change the way we think about business. From Taylorism to the Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, new ideas have challenged what we know about the world. This award is dedicated to the legacy of CK Prahalad, who proved there is nothing so practical as a great idea.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

Top 500 Leadership Development Experts in the World
HR.com
April 10, 2015
John Spence is recognized as one of the top 500 leadership development experts in the world.

Prestigious Leadership Awards salute top leadership practitioners and highlight their roles in the industry.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

Top 5 Small Business Experts America
Small Business Trends
September 19, 2014
Voted as one of the top 5 Small Business Experts in America by small business owners across the United States

See publication

Tags: Entrepreneurship

Top 100 Thought Leader in Trustworthy Business Behavior: Global List
Trust Across America
February 01, 2013
Recipients hail from around the globe and include leaders from the public and private sectors as well as authors, consultants, researchers and academics. Other 2013 recipients include: Richard Branson -Virgin Group, Tony Hsieh – Zappos, Ram Charan - top global business consultant, Thomas Freidman – author, Rosabeth M. Kanter - The Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, Patrick Lencioni – author, Tom Peters – author, Howard Schultz - CEO of Starbucks.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

1 Speaker Award
100 great leadership speakers for your next conference
Inc. Magazine
December 16, 2014
Presented by Inc. Magazine. Others on the list included Sir Richard Branson, Ken Blanchard, Bob Berg, Dori Clark, Marshall Goldsmith, John Kotter, Gary Hamel, and John Maxwell.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

2 Trainings
Securities Industry Institute – Wharton School of Business
Securities and Financial Management Association (SIFMA)
March 12, 2001
The Securities Industry Institute is recognized worldwide as the premier development program for securities industry professionals. Now in its 60th year, the Securities Industry Institute focuses on helping participants broaden their perspectives, increase job effectiveness and strengthen management skills.

SII utilizes a variety of class formats from general sessions to individual electives, panel discussions to small workshops; many supplemented with pre-course work and case studies. The curriculum embraces a combination of practical information, theory, and broad issues. Participants who complete this intensive three-year program receive a certificate of completion that is recognized among the leading firms in the industry.

During my more than two decades as an instructor, the programs I have delivered at the Institute include leadership, strategic thinking/strategic planning, organizational culture, high-performance teams, the future of business, accountability and business excellence.

See publication

Tags: Business Strategy

Global Leadership Development Program – Senior Instructor
Merrill Lynch
April 01, 1997
Serving as a consultant, I delivered highly customized training programs and executive coaching to employees at all levels across the organization, from financial managers to the C-Suite. I also served as a senior instructor for the Global Leadership and Development Program for high-potentials. Areas that I focused on for this client included leadership, strategic thinking, high-performance teams, conflict resolution, presentation skills, communication effectiveness, and negotiations.

See publication

Tags: Leadership

Thinkers360 Credentials

7 Badges

Blog

Opportunities

Contact John Spence

Book John Spence for Speaking

Book a Meeting

Media Kit

Share Profile

Contact Info

  Profile

John Spence