Masters of Scale | Podcast on Podbay

Masters of Scale

WaitWhat

Award-winning business advice from Silicon Valley and beyond. Iconic CEOs, from Nike to Netflix, Starbucks to Slack, share the strategies that helped them grow from startups into global brands — and to weather crisis when it strikes. Our two formats help tell the complete story of how a business grows, survives and thrives, and the mindsets of growth that keep leaders in the game.On each episode of our classic format, host Reid Hoffman — LinkedIn cofounder, Greylock partner and legendary Silicon Valley investor — proves an unconventional theory about how businesses scale, asking his guests to share their stories of entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy, management, fundraising. You’ll hear the human journey too — failures, setbacks, learnings. From our Rapid Response format, you can expect real-time wisdom from business leaders in fast-changing situations. Hosted by Bob Safian, past editor in chief of Fast Company, these episodes tackle crisis response, rebuilding, diversity & inclusion, leadership change and much more. 

ALL-STAR EP: Spotify’s Daniel Ek — How to build trust fast

Normally, trust = consistency + time. But when you're scaling fast, you have to find shortcuts to trust, with your partners and your users. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek knows a thing or two about this. When he founded Spotify, he did what few disruptors ever do: He worked with the industry he was trying to reinvent. How did Ek build a relationship with a music industry wary of piracy? He found shortcuts to trust. And not just with the music industry, but users to. With cameo appearances from Gustav Söderström (Spotify's Chief Research & Development Officer) and Miles Daisher (Red Bull Air Force). Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mar 28

37 min

Rapid Response: Live with urgency, w/Bozoma Saint John, former Netflix CMO

Being authentic defines strong leadership. Bozoma Saint John has continually challenged expectations, moving purposefully across multiple roles, from Uber’s chief brand officer to Netflix’s CMO, from Pepsico to Apple, from working for celebrated director Spike Lee to working for iconic Hollywood talent agent Ari Emmanuel. The wall between the personal and professional is artificial, Boz argues, and a barrier to leading what she calls The Urgent Life in a new book. The best leaders tap into their emotions and listen to their instincts, she says, which helps to drive a team and a business forward. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mar 16

28 min

62. The 4 core principles of crisis management, w/Ellen Kullman (DuPont, Carbon)

To survive a crisis, you have to double down on who you already are as a company. This is something Ellen Kullman knows, having led DuPont through the 2008-2009 financial crisis, and taken the CEO role at 3D-printing unicorn Carbon only weeks before Covid hit. Through her years as a leader, Ellen has developed four crisis principles that allowed her to lead teams and thrive through pandemic, economic meltdown, and beyond. The key? Practicing the principles in calmer times, before crisis hits. Because as Reid says: there's no such thing as a crisis playbook. There's just your playbook. Cameos: Amy Shira Teitel (spaceflight historian), Jonah Peretti (BuzzFeed), Brian Chesky (Airbnb), Neil Blumenthal (Warby Parker), Stacy Brown-Philpot (TaskRabbit). Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mar 14

36 min

Rapid Response: Compassion in the face of crisis, w/Mercy Corps CEO Tjada McKenna

How do you stay focused and committed to putting out a fire while new fires ignite elsewhere? Mercy Corps CEO, Tjada D’Oyen McKenna returns to Rapid Response to discuss the expansive relief effort in Turkey and Syria since the earthquake, leading a grieving team, and how the org’s support strategy in Ukraine must pivot as the country enters its second year of war. Tjada also shares insights about the greater role businesses can play in societal improvement, and why altruism doesn’t mean sacrificing scale. Support Mercy Corps’ relief effort in Syria: https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/catastrophic-earthquake-strikes-syria Support families in Ukraine: https://www.mercycorps.org/donate/support-families-ukraine-and-40-countries-worldwide Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mar 9

21 min

Rapid Response: Embrace tension, w/former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Hard challenges demand that we embrace tension. Former CEO of IBM Ginni Rometty argues that, right now, business has a responsibility to deploy what her new book calls Good Power — from putting skills first in hiring, as a way to close systemic opportunity gaps, to thoughtfully erecting guardrails around new technology. As an early pioneer in the AI space with IBM’s Watson, Ginni acknowledges the risk that disruptive technology can have on society. She offers her insider perspective on balancing what she calls “the teeter-totter” of marketplace demands with positive long-term impact. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mar 2

25 min

127. Dare to make unexpected moves, w/David Droga of Droga5 and Accenture Song

What drove the meteoric rise of David Droga’s trailblazing agency Droga5? A series of daring, unexpected leaps — tactics he’s now applying at mega-scale as head of Accenture Song. Conventional wisdom tells you to ‘climb the ladder’ of success linearly — as an individual or a company. But David’s unexpected moves — leaning into creative partnerships and controversial programs — accelerated his path to scale. David tells us: “I’m more scared of repetition than I am of failure.” Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/swing-on-the-jungle-gym-david-droga/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feb 28

40 min

Rapid Response: Finding windows of opportunity, w/Delta CEO Ed Bastian

With deserted airports, vaccine and mask mandates, and pandemic-prompted staff departures behind it, Delta Air Lines is once again soaring, recently sharing $563 million in profits with its employees. CEO Ed Bastian, in his third appearance on Rapid Response, talks about capitalizing on the big decisions made amid Covid darkness — from airport renovations to investing in free Wifi — and the opportunities and challenges of adding 25,000 new employees over the past year. Sharing insights on managing tumultuous shifts, as well as his evolving perspective on topics from wellness to business travel, Ed reveals the secrets to first class leadership, including the importance of a good night’s sleep. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feb 23

27 min

46. Make it epic, w/will.i.am

What can entrepreneurs learn from a genre-crossing, multi-platinum musician? How to take a big opportunity — and leverage it into something epic. From his earliest days as a founding member of the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am learned from mentors how to not only identify big opportunities but compound them. From the Super Bowl to the first iTunes commercial; from the founding of Beats and his tech company i.am+ to a song beamed back from Mars, his ability to bring stakeholders together to leverage partnerships and compound possibilities will inspire founders at any stage of scale. Cameo appearance: Jeremy Siegel (urban designer, Bjarke Ingels Group). Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/william-make-it-epic/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feb 21

42 min

Rapid Response: Kickstart your users from passive to passionate, w/Kickstarter’s Everette Taylor

To breathe fresh life into an established platform, Kickstarter’s new 33-year-old CEO Everette Taylor is shaking things up – and he’s unapologetic if it makes people uncomfortable. From bold new product lines to bold statements, Taylor is working to kickstart Kickstarter’s existing community while aggressively pursuing new users. Marketing is product and product is marketing, he says. “I want to build a juggernaut.” Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feb 16

25 min

Need to Know: ChatGPT and AI’s inflection point, w/Reid & Bob

Reid Hoffman and Bob Safian sit down once more to discuss how today’s hot-button stories are impacting business. And right now, there's no hotter topic than ChatGPT and the race to bring transformative AI tools into the mainstream. So in this special AI deep-dive, Reid and Bob discuss how ChatGPT has reignited the search engine wars, how we can expect AI to transform our work and leisure, ways to see through the hype, and how business leaders should get the jump on the AI inflection point. Read a transcript of this episode: https://mastersofscale.com/ Subscribe to the Masters of Scale weekly newsletter at http://eepurl.com/dlirtX See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Feb 14

32 min