Another good podcast for Managers: "What Great Bosses Know"

For those who read my blog or know me well, you know I love podcasts, especially great educational podcasts that are free-of-charge. Between podcasts and audiobooks, my commute has become very enjoyable and I don't mind getting stuck in traffic while listening to a great presentation or book.

I came across another great management how-to podcast. It's called "What Great Bosses Know" and can be freely downloaded from iTunes or listened to directly at the link http://poynter.podomatic.com/. Like my favorite podcast "ManagerTools", "What Great Bosses Know" gives advice that you can immediately implement. Unlike many so called informational seminars or training sessions that speak in generalities, this podcast gives concrete advice and tells you what to do to improve at work. You can listen to it during your morning commute and literally implement the advice when you get to work.

Each podcast is only 3 to 4 minutes long so it's great for short periods of listening time.

As always, let me know if you come across a podcast that you recommend. I'm always on the lookout for great advice. The key is to never stop learning.

"Building a Business" is a very good series of podcast seminars for entrepreneurs

I recommend the podcast series "Building a Business" for anyone interested in entrepreneurship and starting their own business. This is true regardless of what industry you're in and is definitely appropriate for someone interested in starting a biotech/med device company. This podcast series is freely available from iTunesU and is a set of recordings of entrepreneurship lectures from Oxford University.

The series provides 9 very nice overviews on key topic areas, including:
Writing a business plan
Intellectual property
Negotiation skills
Venture Capital deals

Each seminar has a different presenter, so they do vary in quality and clarity. Overall, they are all a good listen and very informative. I particularly enjoyed the podcasts entitled "Taking the First Steps", "Intellectual Property", "Negotiation Skills", and "Entrepreneurship and the Ideal Business Plan".

5 Best Podcasts for Business Managers

I have been attending a lot of management seminars lately for business development. The current trend seems to be less business development talks and discussions and a lot of job seeking advice and counseling. In this economic downturn, lots of people are out of work and looking for advice on how to get their next job.

I highly recommend polishing your interview and management skills to make sure that when that next job opportunity arises, you'll be ready for that elevator pitch, job interview, and next new job.

I strongly recommend listening to the many free podcasts that are available for business managers. My top 5 podcasts for business managers are listed below. They can all be downloaded from iTunes for free. If you don't have an MP3 player or iPOD, you can still listen to these by going directly to their websites.

1. ManagerTools Mike and Mark have been providing outstanding advice for several years now. They cover everything from how to give a strong handshake, how to run meetings, how to interview people and prepare for being interviewed, and how to manage people. This is a terrific podcast series and has won podcasts awards for the best business podcast.

2. The Cranky Middle Manager Wayne Turmel provides terrific interviews with management and business experts, authors, and gurus. He always provides terrific content mixed with his own humor and history lesson. Great show.

3. Project Management Podcast Cornelius Fichtner provides interviews, tips, and tools for project managers. Whether you’re a beginning project manager studying for the PMP exam or an experienced manager looking to extend your project management knowledge, this podcast provides a lot of valuable information.

4. PMLessonsLearned Henry Will set up this series of podcasts for project managers. They are divided into 3 types of podcasts each month: (i) project management education, (ii) PMP exam preparation, and (iii) project management job search podcasts.

5. StartupBizCast If you own or work for a small start up company, this podcast provides lots of excellent advice. It has a particular focus on small business marketing, with lots of good advice that any business manager can use.

Once you've listened to these (which can take a long time given the thousands of free podcasts available from these 5 alone) and you're ready for more: I recommend Negotiation Tip of the Week, The Public Speaker Quick and DIrty Tips, and Ethan Becker Speech Coach for more great tips to prepare you for getting and keeping your next job.

Good luck with your job searches. Let me know what websites, podcasts, books, and other tools you recommend.