Love the podcost Lenny and you've completely changed my (professional) life for the better.
You asked for suggestions so here's mine:
I loved your failure corner. I think there's a lot of value in it for (starting) PM's. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Keep it as a fixed section in all your podcasts. I would have loved hearing from which experience(s) Marty Cagan has learned!
I'd love to hear a panel style pod with multiple guests. Though I know it's not your sweet spot, your network and guests is so powerful I'd love to hear a lively discussion around certain topics with different perspectives.
You asked for suggestions on making the podcast better.
I'm not sure I can suggest a better idea, but something that annoys me is the "very exciting lightning round".
The thing is, it's a predictable and move at your own pace questions round. So whilst the answers are somewhat interesting, the questions aren't exciting and changing, and you aren't forcing them to answer in 1min or less or something like that.
But I wouldn't want you to do that either.
You just need to label it something else that's more appropriate.
1. "The Insightful Recommendations Round": This emphasizes that the guests are providing valuable insights and recommendations during this segment.
2. "The Favorite Things Segment": A straightforward description that clearly conveys the content of the segment.
3. "The Personal Picks Portion": This alliterative name highlights that the guests are sharing their personal preferences.
4. "The Guest Favorites Spotlight": This name puts the focus on the guests and their favorite things.
5. "The Leisurely Recommendations Roundup": A playful twist on the "lightning round" idea, emphasizing that the guests have plenty of time to share their recommendations.
6. "The Thoughtful Suggestions Session": This name implies that the guests are putting careful consideration into their responses.
7. "The Curated Recommendations Corner": This name suggests that the guests' recommendations are carefully selected and of high quality.
8. "The Guest Favorites Showcase": Another variation that puts the spotlight on the guests and their preferred books, movies, and TV shows.
9. "The Personal Favorites Forum": This name creates the image of a space where guests can share their personal favorites with the audience.
10. "The Recommendation Reflection": This name implies that the guests are taking a moment to reflect on and share the books, movies, and shows that have impacted them.
Maybe these aren't the exact best option. But I do think the Insightful Recommendations Round is a better descriptor.
Maybe you can work on it for 10mins and see if you can find something you like enough to change the name?
I like that you are experimenting with formats e.g. compilations on specific issues, going deep on a particular topic e.g. mental health. They won't always pay off but what would life be without experiments...
One line of questioning you might want to pursue is "who has influenced you the most". Bill Campbell would have come up a lot for the CEOs of the 2000s but who comes up now for those in the trenches doing the work.
As a fellow Substack writer and YouTuber, this is the post I've been waiting for!
Lenny, thank you! I haven't figured out how to scale and repurpose my existing video content in an affordable way, and this post provided a clear pathway. So specific, and that link to OpusClip is pure gold. I couldn't find them myself through Google searching and asking Gemini, thank you for including it!
Great write up thanks Lenny! Quick Q, I tried Opus Pro in the past but kinda sucked at selecting the shorts. Do you use it too? Not sure, maybe they've improved the algo since.
Love this! Thanks for sharing. We have a Top 100 Business Mgmt according to Podkite but have so much to learn and must start commercializing. Appreciate you taking the time to share this quality info.
This was so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing. Alongside the time breakdown, it would be useful to have a breakdown of the costs of everything you mention - perhaps at different stages as you level up. Thanks again!
Love the podcost Lenny and you've completely changed my (professional) life for the better.
You asked for suggestions so here's mine:
I loved your failure corner. I think there's a lot of value in it for (starting) PM's. Sometimes it's there, sometimes it's not. Keep it as a fixed section in all your podcasts. I would have loved hearing from which experience(s) Marty Cagan has learned!
Lenny - Huge fan! I have but only 1 suggestion:
I'd love to hear a panel style pod with multiple guests. Though I know it's not your sweet spot, your network and guests is so powerful I'd love to hear a lively discussion around certain topics with different perspectives.
You asked for suggestions on making the podcast better.
I'm not sure I can suggest a better idea, but something that annoys me is the "very exciting lightning round".
The thing is, it's a predictable and move at your own pace questions round. So whilst the answers are somewhat interesting, the questions aren't exciting and changing, and you aren't forcing them to answer in 1min or less or something like that.
But I wouldn't want you to do that either.
You just need to label it something else that's more appropriate.
I just asked Claude.ai and it's suggesting:
1. "The Insightful Recommendations Round": This emphasizes that the guests are providing valuable insights and recommendations during this segment.
2. "The Favorite Things Segment": A straightforward description that clearly conveys the content of the segment.
3. "The Personal Picks Portion": This alliterative name highlights that the guests are sharing their personal preferences.
4. "The Guest Favorites Spotlight": This name puts the focus on the guests and their favorite things.
5. "The Leisurely Recommendations Roundup": A playful twist on the "lightning round" idea, emphasizing that the guests have plenty of time to share their recommendations.
6. "The Thoughtful Suggestions Session": This name implies that the guests are putting careful consideration into their responses.
7. "The Curated Recommendations Corner": This name suggests that the guests' recommendations are carefully selected and of high quality.
8. "The Guest Favorites Showcase": Another variation that puts the spotlight on the guests and their preferred books, movies, and TV shows.
9. "The Personal Favorites Forum": This name creates the image of a space where guests can share their personal favorites with the audience.
10. "The Recommendation Reflection": This name implies that the guests are taking a moment to reflect on and share the books, movies, and shows that have impacted them.
Maybe these aren't the exact best option. But I do think the Insightful Recommendations Round is a better descriptor.
Maybe you can work on it for 10mins and see if you can find something you like enough to change the name?
I like that you are experimenting with formats e.g. compilations on specific issues, going deep on a particular topic e.g. mental health. They won't always pay off but what would life be without experiments...
One line of questioning you might want to pursue is "who has influenced you the most". Bill Campbell would have come up a lot for the CEOs of the 2000s but who comes up now for those in the trenches doing the work.
Thanks Lenny for sharing. You are a true inspiration.
I love when you summarize what the guest just said during the interview creating a sort of index of hilights during the video, congrats
As a fellow Substack writer and YouTuber, this is the post I've been waiting for!
Lenny, thank you! I haven't figured out how to scale and repurpose my existing video content in an affordable way, and this post provided a clear pathway. So specific, and that link to OpusClip is pure gold. I couldn't find them myself through Google searching and asking Gemini, thank you for including it!
Thanks Lenny! This was so helpful! About to add audio to my Substack so this was just what I needed.
This is worth the read to just learn about Opus. Game freaking changer.
Great write up thanks Lenny! Quick Q, I tried Opus Pro in the past but kinda sucked at selecting the shorts. Do you use it too? Not sure, maybe they've improved the algo since.
Saving for whenever that day comes to start working on a podcast. Thank you for sharing, Lenny!
Congrats Lenny, such an impressive journey!
A must read for everyone looking to produce some content. Thanks Lenny!
Love this! Thanks for sharing. We have a Top 100 Business Mgmt according to Podkite but have so much to learn and must start commercializing. Appreciate you taking the time to share this quality info.
Absolutely fantastic post! Thank you for sharing all this.
Two questions -- before you had producers how long did you spend editing or working on each episode? Second, what microphone do you send to guests?
This was so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing. Alongside the time breakdown, it would be useful to have a breakdown of the costs of everything you mention - perhaps at different stages as you level up. Thanks again!