January Monthly Dinner Presenter - Spencer Horn

Spencer is the President of Altium Leadership. He has previously been CEO of leadership development company and Vice President of a NASDAQ company, which developed IMAX theaters in tourist destinations. There he worked with major organizations such as IMAX Corp., National Geographic Television, Radio City Productions, Disney Films and more. He has been speaking and presenting at PMI chapter development conferences since 2010 and has been a regular speaker at the PMI Leadership Institute Meeting (LIM) North America Conference, since 2014. He is consistently one of the highest rated speakers for the yearlong, PMI Leadership Institute Master Class (LIMC) since 2015.

He is a co-author of the "Speakers on Life" anthology "The Power of the Platform" along with Jack Canfield, Les Brown, Brian Tracy and more.

He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in economics from the University of Utah. He is a certified team coaching facilitator through Team Coaching International and a certified Professional Dynametric Programs trainer and administrator through PDP Global. Spencer has been married to his amazing wife, Jana, for more than 32 years. Together they have five beautiful children and five grandchildren.

 

Q&A with Spencer Horn

1. What is the achievement you are the proudest of in your career?

This is definitely about my family. I have been married to my wife Jana for over 32 years. I have received diplomas and honors, but nothing is more important to me than this relationship. It takes commitment, creativity, and a willingness to be agile to make important relationships work. It also takes time!

2. What’s one advice or tip would you tell your 20-year-old self?

Embrace the challenges of life. Do not wish for things to always be perfect and easy. You will be disappointed and unprepared for the challenges of life. Life has a way of providing the lessons you need. Learn them early so you can continue to learn new things. Learn resilience. When things don’t go your way, it will be okay. If you take personal responsibility for your failures as well as your successes, you will be happier and you will be able to grow personally and professionally.

3. How would you describe what you do in a single sentence to a stranger?

I help my clients improve personal and team performance.

4. Do you have any favorite quotes you would like to share?

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.” 
― Gordon B. Hinckley

5. What one book has inspired you or one that you have recommended most?

There are two I seem to refer to people a lot. One is geared to people in leadership positions called The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni. The other is extremely practical for project managers called The Four Disciplines of Execution. I was speaking with Jim Snyder one of the founding members of PMI. He was the opening keynote speaker and I the closing. We were talking about my topic called the Ownership Factor. He said that in his experience, most PM’s don’t suffer a lack of knowledge; they need help in execution, leadership and accountability. This book will help in the execution and accountability.

6. Can you think of any failure that later set you up for success?

Too many. Failure can be a great catalyst to success if you let it. I was the CEO of a leadership training and development company. I was the 4th CEO in 5 years. I started working at the company in March of 2008. In September of that year I made a goal to be CEO in five years. I did that in 5 years and one month. There were several challenges that I wanted to address. I had a vision and process to achieve success. Ultimately I had to leave the company after almost 2 years as CEO to implement my vision. I am so much happier for it. Now I am able to provide services in a way that I think makes the greatest impact. I learned a lot from that experience that has helped me be more successful.

 

Thank you, Spencer, for taking the time to answer our questions and allowing us to get to know you better! We are looking forward to your presentation and learning more about The Neuroscience of Effective Leadership.

For anyone that is interested in learning more about the event or to register please click below.