CFO Bookshelf loves The Soul of Enterprise Podcast hosted by Ed Kless and Ron Baker. In this episode, we take a look behind the scenes of this highly-popular radio show that airs live each Friday through the VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. While the audience has a strong following from those working in accounting and other professional services firms, our visit with Ed Kless is geared for business leaders in any industry.
Episode Highlights
Let’s Do a Podcast
- Mark calls it a podcast – but it’s radio show first
- Ron Baker always wanted to do a show, but he wanted a partner
- Approached by a talk radio network
- Connection made on LinkedIn
- Sage became a primary sponsor, Ed’s employer
- First show aired in 2014
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all value is subjective – the customer is the sole arbitor value … and that it’s price that determines cost, not the opposite.
Ed Kless on the first episode of The Soul of Enterprise podcast
Origin Story of the Show’s Name
- Horserace names – a starting point?
- Accidental?
- Influenced by Gilder?
The Ronald Reagan Excerpt in the Intro
- Ed’s idea
- Ron loves the quote
- Started with the just the theme from The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
- Guests continue to comment on it
- Josh Gilder is the author of that Reagan’s speech and has been on the show
Leadership Pillars of The Soul of Enterprise
- Anti-Taylorism
- The cult of efficiency (over effectiveness)
- The subjective nature of value
- Money is the result of discretionary time used to provide values to others
- Pricing – one of the least understood topics for entrepreneurs
- Bad customers driving out good customers
One More Time – After Action Reviews
- Best management tool ever devised
- AARs become part of the company culture
- The one thing
- No ranks
Measurement and Performance Management
- A Drucker quote
- What not to measure
- Annual performance reviews agony
A Few of Ed’s Favorite Guests
Other #TSOE Tidbits
- The content calendar
- How guests are chosen
- Prep work
The Ligthening Round
When time permits, we run our guests through a lightning round gauntlet where we mention a word or phrase and ask for a one- to two-minute response. Our topics included:
- Imagination vs knowledge
- Human capital vs structural capital
- Tacit knowledge
- High impact day
- Economics for busy people
- The Modified 7S Model
Some of Ed’s Favorite Books
- The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block
- A Failure of Nerve by Edwin Friedman
- Healing Leadership: A Survival Guide for the Enlightened Leader by Steven Geske and Howard Hansen
Some of Our Favorite Book Recommendations from The Soul of Enterprise Podcast
Other Shows With The Soul of Enterprise Hosts
- ERP Implementations with Ed Kless
- Ron Baker on the Value of Intellectual Property
- Ron Baker Discusses Pricing, NPS, Metrics, and Much More
Title Photo: Copyright by The Soul of Enterprise and used with permission.
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