Podcasts are a great way to educate yourself on the go – whether you’re on a plane, a train or on in your car, you can make unproductive time productive.
They provide great value, and the best are beautifully produced, and are using entertainment to embed the learning.
With so many podcasts for entrepreneurs – and the number is growing daily – it is sometimes like being a child on Christmas Day, trying to decide which present to open first.
My current favourite is “Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman“.
Who is Reid Hoffman?
Before finding his podcast, I knew his name, but didn’t know all of his background. Although he isn’t a big self-promoter, he is behind some of the biggest online brands.
After working on early social networks for Apple and his own company, he became COO of PayPal. When PayPal was sold to eBay in 2002, Hoffman co-founded LinkedIn and became a successful angel investor. In 2010 he joined Greylock Partners which has backed Dropbox, Instagram, Facebook, Tumblr and many others.
Focus on scale
What particularly inspires me is that none of this happened by accident. Hoffman decided at an early age he wanted to have a big impact on the world and by being an entrepreneur, he could affect the world on a larger scale.
This focus on growth and scale defines Hoffman and the Masters of Scale podcast. It is full of useful tips with multiple learning points in each episode and the quality of the guests is exceptional.
Due to poor connectivity, I always make sure I have them downloaded on my phone so I can listen whenever I am commuting.
Top learning from the best names
Exceptionally well-produced, each week Hoffman extracts secrets from a stellar cast of internet entrepreneurs and leaders. With his reputation, he has access to giants – the people behind Facebook, Google, VMWare, Airbnb, Netflix and more. Major players like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Linda Rottenberg and Eric Schmidt make cameo appearances.
Each week there is a theme which is always related to growth and the podcasts are littered with pithy quotes. With social entrepreneurship a hot topic, one of my favourites is a bonus episode with Nancy Lublin, the founder and CEO of Crisis Text Line, a US based charity which provides free crisis intervention via text. I like how she used her business skills to solve a meaningful problem that affects society,
What do you think of Masters of Scale with Reid Hoffman?
Which is your favourite episode? Have you applied something you learned in the podcast in your business?
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