To stay on top of international business, marketing and technology, C-Level executives can be found gleaning information and insights from online resources, and books. While there is no replacement for keeping up with peers on reading for strategy and creative ideas in leadership and business, podcasts have simplified the process. An executive with little time to read, can subscribe to a collection of podcasts instead.
The hardest part of tapping into the learning value of podcasts, is finding a few that provide not only tips, but actionable advice. Highly rated podcasts involve frank discussions about management, fiscal or resource challenges, and offer strategies that can be tried, or expanded upon in the workplace. Since the best leaders are those that remain coachable, and constantly learning, the podcast becomes a habit that can support ongoing professional development, from the convenience of a smartphone.
Our recruiters chose five podcasts that they recommend for senior executives, entrepreneurs and start-up founders. To subscribe to any of the suggested podcasts, simply click on the link and sign up. Podcasts will either organize in a specialized folder (if you use an iPhone), or provide email notifications and a link, when a new episode has been published.
1. Business Story of the Day (NPR)
Measure the trajectory of your business against the creative or growth performance of other businesses, through the NPR podcast “Business Story of the Day”. This podcast offers a primary focus on American economics and news that impacts business, which can provide valuable insights for companies that are looking to expand into the United States.
2. Stanford Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Series
This weekly seminar series taps into innovative ideas, thinking and new business approaches. The podcast is co-sponsored by BASES, which is a successful student entrepreneurship group and program through the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in conjunction with the Department of Management Science and Engineering, at Stanford University.
The Entrepreneurial Thought Leader Series has interviewed executive leaders from organizations such as Facebook, Hewlett Packard, and venture capitalist experts like Sequoia Capital. Topics range from start-up strategy to entrepreneurial leadership, human resource and talent acquisition, to technology, providing a lot of take-away advice that senior managers can use.
3. EntreLeadership
Since leadership is a skill and muscle that requires ongoing work, the EntreLeadership podcast, hosted by Ken Coleman, is worth subscribing to. The number of entrepreneurial legends that appear on the podcast will impress any listener, including interviews with Daymond John (Fubu and Sharks Tank), Mark Cuban, Patrick Bet-Davis, Jay Baer, and many more.
4. Foundation
If there was a quintessential podcase for new entrepreneurs or start-up founders, it would be Foundation. The podcast is internationally recognized for providing actionable insights through host Kevin Rose (Google Ventures, and Digg), who invites some of the most impressive technology and creative thinkers to interview on his show. Elon Musk (Tesla), Jack Dorsey (Twitter and Square) and other high-profile celebrities have appeared on the must-listen podcast.
5. YouPreneur With Chris Drucker
Chris Drucker is an internationally recognized brand expert, author and business coach. The YouPreneur podcast provides an extraordinary line-up of industry leaders, but focuses heavily on cultivating personal brand. It is ideal for new founders and start-up executives who are starting from the bottom, in terms of building online reputation and networking.
If you are interested in podcasting as a trending communication medium, check out some additional information from the Pew Research Center. If you have personal podcast favorites that you would like to share, leave a comment below with a link to your recommended podcast site.
