100 Lectures Every Leader Should Listen To

History has been empowered by triumph scarred by tyranny; both great leaders and tragic dictators alike have shaped the way we look at the world and the way future generations will feel about their generations. Whether you aspire to be student body president or president of the United States of America; whether you dream of being a school principal or a school teacher, it is vital you find within yourself the best, most merciful and just, leader you can possibly be. These lectures, videos, and even songs, will help you on your journey toward greatness so that you, too, can help change history for the better.

College Courses for Leadership

It’s always a great idea to start with the basics, and these courses have what you need. From defining "leadership" to showing common tactics and techniques, these links will serve as a drawing board for the game plan that works best for you.

1. Special Seminar in Communications: Leadership and Personal Effectiveness Coaching: This course gives students many opportunities to fine-tune their communication skills through several in-class activities. [MIT]
2. Practical Leadership: This course is an interactive seminar where students get individualized feedback on their leadership techniques from the instructor. [MIT]
3. Leadership Lab: This interactive workshop looks at how leaders should promote social responsibility and generate fiscal success. [MIT]
4. Dynamic Leadership: Using Improvisation in Business: The first part of this course serves as an overview of performing improvisation. [MIT]
5. Leadership Development: This course’s readings and assignments emphasize the characteristics of great leadership. [MIT]
6. Cross-Cultural Leadership: This course is a collaborative environment that examines what constitutes "effective" leadership across cultures. [MIT]
7. Leadership Tools and Teams: In this class, you will be helping students at Sloan develop leadership tools. [MIT]
8. People and Organizations: This course examines the historical context of civilization and organization. [MIT]
9. Managing Innovation and Entrepreneurship: This course discusses the basics every manager to be successful entrepreneurial and established firms. [MIT]
10. Managing and Volunteering In the Non-Profit Sector: This is a course that gives students an overview of the management challenges of the non-profit sector. [MIT]
11. Managerial Psychology: This course introduces you to behavioral science you will encounter in your work as a leader. [MIT]
12. Law for the Entrepreneur and Manager: The goal of this course is to enhance the judgment students will need in their responsibilities as entrepreneurs. [MIT]
13. The Nuts and Bolts of Business Plans: Anyone who has ever thought about opening his or her own business will appreciate this leadership class. [MIT]
14. Communication Skills for Academics: Whether you want to be a researcher, a professor, or a technical writer, you’ll love this leadership course for academics. [MIT]
15. Power and Negotiation: This course will provide you with a competitive advantage in the negotiation aspect of management. [MIT]
16. Negotiation and Conflict Management: Negotiation and Conflict Management looks at negotiation theory within an employment context. [MIT]
17. Operations Management: Our objective in this course is to introduce you to concepts and techniques related to service operations. [MIT]
18. Ethical Practice: Professionalism, Social Responsibility, and the Purpose of the Corporation: This special seminar in management is designed as an introduction to ethics and business, with a focus on business management. [MIT]
19. Advanced Corporate Risk Management: This is a course on how corporations make use of the insights and tools of risk management. [MIT]
20. Strategic Management I: This course focuses on some of the important current issues in management. [MIT]

Inspirational Stories

These speakers can be an inspiration to everyone, leaders and followers alike.

21. W. Mitchell: After a motorcycle accident that burned almost all of his body to a plane crash that paralyzed him, W. Mitchell shares his sad story and its happy ending.
22. The Desiderata: This reading will transform your life and remind you that to be a leader, you first must respect yourself.
23. Randy Pausch: Last Lecture: In this lecture, Randy Pausch offers his insights into achieving your dreams and what it takes to be a good person. He passed away in July 2008 from pancreatic cancer, but his love of life even when he was ailing lives on in this lecture.
24. Autistic Basketball Star: Jason is usually just a team assistant, but when the coach allowed him to play, he lived a night he would never forget.
25. Patrick Henry Hughes: This young man was born without eyes and with several crippling deformities. Yet, despite his physical impediments, you’ll see in this video how he’s never let it hold him back and now plays in the U of Louisville marching band.
26. Jim Valvano’s ESPY Speech: During the 1993 ESPY awards, Jim Valvano gave this inspiring speech. He died a few months later from cancer.
27. Eye to Eye: Dustin Carter: A young wrestler without arms or legs shows how nothing is an obstacle if you’re truly determined to win.
28. Desmond Tutu on Leadership: This Nobel Peace Prize winner shares what it means to be a great leader.
29. Great Quotes from Great Leaders Movie: Here is a collection of quotes from the truly great leaders throughout history.
30. Carly Zalenski: Think a 14-year-old change the way the world works? Think again after you watch this great video about a young girl who shows you size and age don’t matter if you have the heart to do good.

Career and Work

If being a leader in your career or workplace is important to you, these videos on success and entrepreneurship will show you how to reach your goals.

31. Steve Jobs Commencement Speech: With advice like "stay hungry, stay foolish," Steve Jobs provided Stanford’s class of 2005 with advice about real perseverence.
32. Failure Nike Ad with Michael Jordan: Michael Jordan wasn’t always the athlete he was at the height of his career. This video ad shows how even the greats have struggled to get where they are.
33. Blind Painter: If blind painter like John Bramblitt can become successful, you know you can reach your goals, too.
34. JK Rowling Biography: Rowling is one of the wealthiest people in the world, but wasn’t always so successful. See how she followed her dream to the fantasy that created a culture.
35. Elements of Greatness: Whether you’re an employee or a manager, this video will teach you how to be great in any task.
36. Motivational Business Speaker: This video shows Andy Cohen at the World Innovation Forum, offering his advice on thinking outside the box to generate new business tactics.
37. Mindmovie for Success: Watch this short video to be totally inspired.
38. Teen Millionaires: These kids are already millionaires, and this video shows how entrepreneurs win the big bucks.
39. Entrepreneurs Can Change the World: This organization works to inspire entrepreneurs and show you how your ideas and innovations can change the world as we know it.
40. Conan O’Brien’s Harvard Commencement Speech: This funny speech is not only entertaining but shows viewers that the road to success isn’t an easy one to walk.

Changing and Challenging

Are you the person you want to be? In order to lead others you have to find confidence, perseverence and wisdom within yourself. These videos can help show the way.

41. Why Are We Happy?: Author Dan Gilbert counters common ideas that getting what you want is what makes you happy.
42. Living Luminaries: The Serious Business of Happiness: Find happiness by using these tried and true techniques.
43. Advice to Live By: This video speech by Baz Luhrman is truly inspiring. You’ll get tips on living life and enjoying it while you do.
44. Judy Pickett Breast Cancer Survivor: Learn how this woman picked herself up and got right back to living after fighting breast cancer. If she can do it and help lead others through the process as well, so can you.
45. Who I Am Makes a Difference: This video chronicles a project the focused on giving recognition for people who were inspiring or influential, even in small ways. You’ll gain some valuable insights into what you do as a person and as a leader that truly makes a difference.
46. Rules for Having and Extraordinary Life: Don’t accept being ordinary from yourself. These tips will help get you on the path to standing out and getting others to follow.
47. Why Aren’t We All Good Samaritans?: What makes one person stop and help while another simply walks past? This talk from Daniel Goleman examines the inner workings of good samaritanism.
48. Mindful Meditation: This Google talk by Jon Kabat-Zinn explores issues of inner peace, happiness and meditation.
49. Dare Change: This advertisement isn’t just about selling you a product but helping you gain the confidence to face all the little scary things in your life and be a more fearless leader.
50. Touching Them All: Would you help a hurt member of the opposite team round the bases even if it meant losing the game? This team did, and this video asks you to consider what matters most to you in your actions.
51. Think Different: This Apple commercial celebrates those who think outside of the box.
52. A Thousand Words: This short film asks viewers to make the most of all the opportunities that exist in everyday life. Who knows: one of those could lead to the success and change you were hoping for.

Changing the World

Is it really possible for one person to change the world? These videos will answer any questions you have about what you can do to make a difference.

53. Challenge Day: Challenge Day is a one-day program offered in hundreds of high schools and junior highs every year which opens students to seeing their common humanity and bringing them together. Learn more about the program here.
54. First Sight: Check out this video to redefine the way you are perceived by those around you.
55. Hans Rosling and The Best Stats You’ve Ever Seen: With this video, you’ll learn some interesting facts about the developing world and gain a better understanding of what in the world truly needs changing.
56. Steven Pinker and the Myth of Violence: Steven Pinker says that, in reality, we are living in one of the most peaceful eras of history.
57. Valentino Achak Deng Foundation: After being a victim of war and violence in Sudan, Valentino has returned to his home country to build schools, help communities and give young people a chance to find happiness.
58. Linus Torvalds on Linux: This video shows what it means to think outside of the box. As one of the leading open source softwares in the world, Linux has helped change the concept of operating systems and brought opportunities to those many around the world.
59. Marshall Rosenberg on Nonviolent Communication: This video by Marshall Rosenberg explores how to get what you want and need without violence or coercion.
60. Daniel Ellsberg: Authors@Google: Ellsberg is well known for being the force behind the release of the Pentagon Papers, detailing the decisions of the Vietnam War. His dedication to truth got him in trouble from all sides, but he stood up for what he believed to be right.
61. Ronald Reagan 1981 Inauguration: When Americans worried their grave had been dug, that their economic despair could not be remedied, this Californian cowboy came in, gave them real hope, created real jobs, set about real reform, and reminded Americans what it meant to be free.
62. Inspiring Speeches of the 20th Century: Check out this video to hear some quotes from the best and brightest thinkers, politicians and leaders from around the world who made the world what it is today.

Education

Teachers rarely get the respect they deserve, but they have more power than they could possibly fathom.

63. Dave Eggers: Once Upon a School: With the success of his Valencia tutoring center, Dave Eggers has inspired many to embrace creative teaching techniques.
64. Music and Life: There are many faults with the education system today. Using music as a metaphor, this video encourages educators and leaders alike to think outside of the box.
65. Teachers Make a Difference: Learn how a teacher took small steps that made a huge difference in a child’s life.
66. Teachers Are Like Mirrors: Teachers do more than just provide students with lessons about reading, writing and math. They also teach children how to treat others and how to treat themselves.
67. What Teachers Make: This poem by Tyler Mali explores some of the many ways teachers can change the lives of their students.
68. You Never Gave Up On Me: Reading is something that many children and adults struggle with. This video tells the story of a teacher who stuck it out with a student trying to learn.
69. Thank You, Teacher: Teachers aren’t always recognized for the work that they do, and this video explores how much of a difference a simple "thank you" can make.
70. The Miracle Workers: This Tyler Mali poem was written to help boost morale and drive in teachers who sometimes have it tough.
71. Make a Difference: Here you’ll find a touching story of a young Teddy Stallard and the difference his teacher made in his life. It is fictional, but awe-inspiring.
72. Teachers Who Make a Difference: Here you can watch a series of videos that tell the stories of teachers from all over the nation who have truly made a difference in their students’ lives.
73. The Importance of Teachers Who Care: This spoken poetry leaves a powerful mark on the hearts of both students and teachers.

Staying Strong

Life and leadership are full of challenges. These videos will inspire you to take adversity head on, keep fighting and never give up until you achieve your goals.

74. Keys to Life: Running and Reading: Will Smith shares his two skeleton keys to the door of success: reading and running.
75. Baboon Escapes Death: It doesn’t seem likely that a young baboon would escape unwounded from the jaws of a crocodile, but that’s exactly what this video portrays.
76. One Red Paperclip: With just one red paperclip, MacDonald traded his way to a new home in this inspiring video, showing you how you, too, can make something out of nothing.
77. Famous Failures: Don’t let your missteps break your spirit. This video will show you some of the greatest leaders and thinkers who failed time and time again before succeeding.
78. Stroke of Insight: Jill Taylor may look healthy, but a stroke hit this neurologist and took her ability to talk, walk and do the work she spent her life doing.
79. Embracing Adversity: This lecture by Josh Hinds shows how to look at the sunny side of life, and how life’s greatest challenges can be its most rewarding times.
80. On Time: Created "on time" in a day, this video explores how making lemonade when life hands you lemons is truly inspiring.
81. Seeing with Sound: After losing his sight to cancer as a young boy, Ben Underwood didn’t give up. Instead, he learned to use echolocation.
82. Charlie Plumb: Captain Charlie Plumb spent more than 2,000 days in a Vietnamese POW camp. Here you can hear his story about what it took to survive.
83. Jamie’s Recovery: Jamie Gillentine dove head first into the ocean in 2007, unaware that just below the surface was a sandbar. This video documents his long and seemingly impossible recovery.

Movie Leaders

Inspiration for being a great leader can come from great cinematic experiences, even if Hollywood seems like an unlikely source. Check out these movie clips for great speeches, actions and ideas that will help inspire you to be a better leader and a stronger person.

84. Sean Astin in Rudy: With everything against him, this clip show how the young, undersized Rudy perseveres to success.
85. Sylvester Stallone in Rocky Balboa: Check out this inspirational encounter between father and son in this part of the Rocky series.
86. Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday: This clip shows the half time speech Al Pacino’s character gives to inspire this football team to persevere.
87. Mel Gibson in Braveheart: The men in this movie are facing impossible odds, but this speech inspires them to victory.
88. Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society: What does "sieze the day" really mean? This clip from the movie explores it through poetry.
89. Anthony Hopkins in the World’s Fastest Indian: An old man from New Zealand is the unlikely rider of one of the fastest streetbikes in the world. This clip is all about following your dreams and making them a reality, no matter who stands in your way.
90. Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness: If you haven’t seen this movie, you should. This preview will show you the trials of one homeless man who becomes one of the richest.
91. 40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes: This two-minute segment shows you 40 great inspirational speeches.

For Women

These success stories are from women, by women and for women. But men as well can learn from the gutsy, "never give up" attitude of these leading ladies.

92. Entrepreneurial Women: This series of lectures from Harvard will tell you about women who have made a difference in the world of business.
93. Definition of Entrepreneurship: Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the the Global Fund for Women, tells her audience about her ideas of entrepreneurship.
94. A Girl Among Geeks: There are still many more men than women in the business world, but this inspirational woman will show you why you shouldn’t let the odds hold you back.
95. A Member of the CEO Minority: One of the few female CEOs in the nation shares her unique story in this great video.
96. Women and Economic Development: This lecture series Harvard University sheds some light on the challenges faced by women in the workforce.
97. Joline Godfrey: Social Worker to Entrepreneur: Learn about how one woman changed her career and truly made a difference in the world.
98. Taran Swan: Business Development at Nickelodeon: Listen to the former vice president of Nickelodeon tell about how she climbed the corporate ladder and dissolved gender barriers.
99. Growing with Hewlett Packard: Kelly Dunn, an executive at Hewlett Packard, explains her history with the company and how it helped her learn both humility and confidence.
100. Robin Chase on Zipcar and Her Next Big Idea: Find out how a regular person turned a simple idea into a multi-million dollar company.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 8:36 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.