How these Three Podcast Episodes Changed my Business Worldview (Part 1)

I love to learn and I love to connect the dots, so I consume high amounts of information. Over the last year and a half I have come across three podcast episodes that have deeply impacted the way I think, and has influenced how I approached my work. Anyone who has interacted with me has most probably heard me rave about these podcasts. I now make these recommended listening for all entrepreneurs I work with

The podcasts in no particular order are:

• The Tim Ferriss Show: A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath (Jim Collins)
• The Investors Podcast: The Power of Moments - W/ Dan Heath
• Masters of Scale by Reid Hoffman: Airbnb's Brian Chesky in Handcrafted

I will explain why each podcast made such a big impression, and how I am implementing the learnings in my day to day life, especially how I work with start-ups.

1) The Tim Ferriss Show: A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath (Jim Collins)

Jim Collins is known for his brilliant business books: Good to Great, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall (just to name a few).

This 2 hour podcast is a wealth of information on how this great man thinks and lives his life. There are so many powerful learnings and insights, and can be overwhelming, but a few stood out.

Who-Luck

Jim Collins uses the term "Who Luck" for the luck of having the right people intersect you in life at the right time. He argues that you can increase your "Who Luck" by thorough preparation. When he was in his early thirties, he had the opportunity to meet with Peter Drucker, who is considered the single most important thought leader in the world of management, and Jim spent 3 days preparing for the meeting. He hit it off with Peter Drucker, and eventually wrote the Reflections for the 50th Anniversary Edition of The Effective Executive. Jim Collins famously prepared for two weeks before he met with Jack Bogle (founder of Vanguard).

The lesson I learned is that taking small risks and proper preparation is key to improving your "Who Luck", and it has pushed me to step up my game, show up more and always make sure I am properly prepared for meetings, workshops and presentations. People appreciate it when you are well prepared. We have a big focus on professionalism when working with the start-ups. We them the value of showing up fully prepared, being on time, communicating well and managing expectations.

Other lessons I learned from the podcast:

• Increasing your "Luck surface area" (very similar to "Who Luck")
• Jim's extreme focus on identifying his hedgehog (term from Good to Great)
• Deep work: Jim Collins carries a stopwatch to track the type of work he does every day (logs his days), to make sure that he engages in enough creative work to move is research forward
• The beautiful relationship between Jim and his wife Joanna

For the iTunes link click here.

Let me know if you have any views on the podcast or Jim Collins, I would love to discuss.

And please share any other great podcasts!

Part 2 on the Power of Moments coming soon.