Masters of Scale

Number of episodes 339

Overview More than just business interviews, original podcast series Masters of Scale hosted by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is all about thinking boldly and differently. In each episode, Reid introduces a different theory on how successful businesses scale and then goes on to test and turn the validity of each theory via interviews with legendary business leaders about their path to scale with cameo appearances from other leaders and voices. One episode features former President Barack Obama discussing ‘the right moment to act’ with a cameo appearance from the Black Eyed Peas. This concept results in an original format that demonstrates just how companies can grow from zero to infinite and shows how big concepts and simple hacks can change everything. Other big minds Hoffman has picked include Mary Barra , CEO of GM, on the company’s pandemic pivot; executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, on how acquisitions become an ecosystem; and Melanie Perkins, CEO of Canva on the secret power of onboarding. Among recent interviews: Cisco’s John Chambers reveals his tried-and-tested playbooks to success; while Mercedes-Benz’s CEO Ola Kallenius discusses reinventing the brand for an all-electric future.

Must-listen episode

Do things that don’t scale – Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky says that if you want your company to truly scale, you first have to do things that don’t scale. Here, he shares Airbnb’s route to crafting what he calls an ’11-star experience’.

The Diary of a CEO

Number of episodes 305

Overview Hosted by straight-talking charismatic entrepreneur Steven Bartlett of Dragon’s Den TV fame, The Diary of a CEO has a simple mission – to deliver unfiltered success and “give you the knowledge you need to create the life you want”. Host Steven did it (from university dropout to millionaire by age 23) and so can you – that’s the message behind this podcast, which has quickly attracted a cult following and is now one of Europe’s biggest podcasts. Steven sits down with some of the world’s most influential people, experts and thinkers and draws out their remarkable and oft emotional stories and journeys to the top –discovering untold truths, learned lessons and key insights. Both informative and uplifting, and often emotional, Steven’s guests are diverse, with previous interviews including with Virgin founder Richard Branson, who discusses his own journey from dyslexic drop-out to building a billion-dollar empire; and with the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who reveals the real reason for wanting to be the boss.

Must-listen episode

Mo Gawdat , 30-year tech veteran, former Chief Business Officer at Google X, and entrepreneur (co-founded over 20 businesses) shares his journey to find the ‘happiness equation’ following the death of his son.