It's a new job.
Perhaps a new role you've recently been promoted to. Beaming with optimism, laptop under one arm, new bag (you deserve) slung over the shoulder, you stride into your first meeting with the leadership team.
It runs smoothly. Some faces are familiar, and you know your section of the agenda backwards and forwards. Now, for the AOB (Any other business). I find this section is the true test of how efficiently a meeting is run and often where the heaviest lift is hiding.
The boss shuffles some manilla folders, glances at her computer, and puts her hand on a packet labelled "Podcast?" You ask yourself, "Is this a going concern? Are we starting a podcast?" The boss tilts her head toward you and says, with the same ease one might ask to hold the elevator, "Can you look into this? The CEO is a big fan of podcasts."
You gulp. It’s always been hard to say “no”. All eyes are on you, and suddenly it feels like your first day. With a shrug and feigned enthusiasm, you say, "Sure!?"
She slides the folder across the conference table, and is almost happy to see it go.
We've heard this before
Over a decade of producing podcasts for brands, we have heard this story a thousand times, with no exaggeration. We’ve become experts at helping executives in your position work through that folder.
OK, now what? You might naturally think the first steps are procuring equipment, maybe watching how-to videos, or attending a podcast conference or webinar. After asking colleagues on LinkedIn who they know, scrolling through shady listicles and inscrutable pages of production companies littered with jargon, free reports, and marketing promises, you may end up on the other end of a call with Podfly.
Hi, nice to meet you. 🙂
Our job then, and always, is to listen. Collaborating effectively on any project means fully hearing what you need and reflecting back what you said. My life partner is teaching me this. And at 49 years old, I'm still very much working on this skill.
What we're hearing.
For the past few years, I've been dabbling in Zen Buddhism. I didn’t know it, but my therapist knew for me. There's a lesson: rather than eliminating suffering, one can coexist with it peacefully. I like that. It's practical.
So, you have the folder. It is your ‘job’ to make it a success. I propose this: Let's make it 'our' job. Let’s coexist with the folder.
Sometimes, the podcast is treated as an afterthought in a brand's media strategy. We propose making a product so compelling, engaging, and inspiring that it becomes the darling of the media mix. Let’s simplify the nebulous project and name it.
First, a healthy unloading.
"This podcast isn't really my job." "I have my actual work to do." I've heard, "Corey, this is likely the first and last time you'll speak with me." (For what it’s worth, it wasn't. Three years later, we still connect on the podcast folder, and how her career is going.)
I'm hearing, "I want to get this podcast on rails so I can focus on my actual job." I agree. While doing that, let’s make a podcast that turns some heads at the office. I promise we know how.
The podcast is an agenda item.
Three months in, I expect to hear you have been sent a new meeting agenda. Only this time, there's a new item titled "Podcast Update"
You’re not scared. You’re prepared.
We have released the show on all platforms (Apple, Spotify, and dozens more). The content team has been getting promo clips for the social media channels. The marketing team wants to write a feature in the following newsletter based on the latest guest appearance. Best of all, the VP was overheard listening to episode 2 in her office last week.
It's the first piece of content the company has done in years that’s getting noticed, and you’re the quiet hero.
Everyone at the meeting asked how you did this. Business units are requesting budgets for a show of their own. The CEO asked when she could be a guest!
You’re holding a folder labelled "Podcast" (no question mark). It contains download statistics, listener metrics, episode topics, guest bookings, a project Gantt, and even a few pitches for season 2 in the works. You kindly hand it across the conference table with a proud smile.
You should be proud. Take credit. Sure, we prepped that folder together, but you did the heaviest lift.
For more like this, find our team’s thinking over at podfly.net/insights