Leaders Letter 195 - 5 Best Podcasts To Improve Your Leadership
Learn From Leadership From Execs At Netflix, Stripe, Amazon & Activision Blizzard
Dear leaders, you are invited to the Annual Leaders Letter Ask Me Anything.
» This week I am going to be answering this year’s AMA hit reply and ask me anything, whether that’s strategy related, culture related, what lessons can be taken away from recent business missteps, what I do in my coaching and consultancy or even how I write this weekly newsletter - ask me anything. If you prefer to think and then email me, email me directly → danny@dannydenhard.com
Into LL195, many of you reply to my leaders letters and ask for follow-up recommendations for books, documentaries and podcasts.
This week I am going to offer you 5 podcasts (in YouTube format for you visual learners) that will help you to improve your leadership, including leaders from Netflix, Stripe, Amazon and Activision Blizzard, with 5 reasons to listen.
Time For Your Podcast Club? In many businesses and leadership teams, I recommend you create a podcast club to improve and share knowledge. Podcast clubs go away, listen, take notes and then come together in 30-minute power sessions, compare notes, discuss what you can roll out internally and then share with the rest of the business to inspire action.
The Leadership Podcasts
» Tim Ferriss Interviews Ex-Stripe COO Claire Hughes Johnson
This podcast is great for COOs, People leaders and low-EQ CEOs
Why Listen?
Claire and Tim go deep into Claire's working principles from her brilliant book Scaling People: Tactics for Management and Company Building (UK Book Link -- US Book Link)
Why personality insights are either great guides or seen as horoscopes - insights discovery is probably the best and most accurate I have seen and if you roll it out internally it will become internally viral (shared colleague-to-colleague and then team to team)
Why many Managers & Department leads actually waste time on underperformers rather than high performers - and how you can move your department forward with leadership
How to set clear goals and keep on top of progress while not overburdening your team
Understand board responsibilities and your long-term commitment as a board member
» Elizabeth Stone Netflix CTO is interviewed with Lenny on Lenny's Podcast
This podcast is great for data driven leaders and CEOs looking to refresh their C-Suite with different approach to leadership.
Why Listen?
Understand why leaders' journeys are so varied and not as straightforward as you think (from data analyst and trader to CTO of Netflix is not)
Why data so closely linked to Netflix's success and why Netflix is in the pole position as the industry leader in streaming
Why being present is more than just being in a meeting and engaging in meetings and working sessions - just being there is not enough
How breaking the rules on sharing important information and updates is critical
Open slots in your calendar are vital in building the right internal management culture - think of why 'skip meetings' and cross-functional relationships are so important (tip: do more cross-functionally than other leaders, it pays back)
» Vinted CEO Thomas Plantenga & Investor Alex Taussig On 20VC
This podcast is great for GMs, CEOs looking to make a real impact and rethink their relationship with their board and investors.
Why Listen?
To understand marketplaces and marketplace dynamics properly. I can tell you from working across numerous marketplaces so many do not understand how two and three-sided marketplaces work and how to assign resources accordingly
Why cheap isn’t always a bad business - but challenging
Why going again and again was critical for Vinted (and will be for you too)
Why pricing changes were critical to survive and then thrive
Why localisation of product is critical and why many fail with localisation of their product
» LuLu Cheng Meservey On How I Write Podcast
This podcast is great for comms leads, CEOs with less PR and press support and Marketing leads wanting to improve Product releases.
Why Listen?
Learn how to write important updates and consider how to write for the right audiences
Why writing is much clearer than speaking (and why writing will be critical for leadership for years to come)
How the right updates (externally) make the real difference, rather than just BAU and noisy product feature releases
How the next crisis might not be as bad as you think with the right prep and right PR work system
Understand the tech you are promoting and be prepared to answer the difficult questions - you are front and centre
» Jeff Bezos On Lex Fridman Podcast
This podcast is great for founders, CEOs, CMOs and operators who are looking to step up and re-calibrate their company for long-term success.
Why Listen?
Jeff Bezos masterclass on metrics and why so many are looking backwards not forwards
How space is being rethought and why Blue Origin is about hope and having a big personal project for a good cause
Understanding principles and setting business principles so your leadership team and their departments can move the business forward
Why companies who ignore papercuts (small problems) lose - concentrating on the big problems with teams and ignoring papercuts is bad business and bad leadership
How enforcing day 1 thinking helps businesses to focus on the customer and not
This week’s action is to select the podcast that jumps out to you most and then listen and share insights and your notes with your fellow leadership team.
Thanks and have a great week improving as a leader.
Danny Denhard