For more than a decade, I have been a podcast junkie. Here are a few of the ones I listen to when I have a little downtime.
Dealership fiXit – Currently employed by Trader Interactive (parent company to Cycle Trader, ATV Trader, etc.), Brian Croft is an account executive who works with dealers across the country. Prior to that he was a territory manager for National Powersports Auction, a district manager for American Honda, and other industry related jobs. His podcasts primarily feature Powersports professionals discussing the industry from a multitude of angles.
How I Built This – Don’t think that knowledge about our industry can only come from insiders. Guy Raz interviews the people behind some of the last century’s most successful startups. His in-depth interviews don’t only focus on the successes, but also the failures that these entrepreneurs had to overcome.
Centerstand – Having spent most of his adult life in the motorcycle industry, Robert Pandya brings together a variety of folks from the industry to discuss where we are at, and the direction we are heading in. Not many people have devoted as much energy to furthering the powersports industry as Pandya, and for that we are all grateful.
A Powersports Reset (season 2, episode 3, February 2021) – Along with Derek Sanders, I was lucky enough to be featured in a recent episode. I dig in to my reasons for not being impressed by the growth powersports dealers saw during 2020, and how to differentiate between OEM Business Partners, and OEM Vendors.
This American Life – TAL isn’t a business podcast, but many of the stories they tell convey powerful messages. Ira Glass and his team of crack podcasters continue to amaze me with their incredible stories.
Ruining It For The Rest of Us (episode 370, December 2008) – One of my all time favorites is the first story they tell in this podcast, it’s called “One bad apple”. Over the years not only have I made the majority of my managers listen to this episode, but most of my 20 Groups as well. Part 1 takes about 15 minutes. Listen up.
129 Cars (episode 513, December 2013) – Many of the dealers that I work with often talk about how many decades behind the automotive industry we are. I often remind them that while there are some lessons to learn from auto dealers, there are also many of their processes that we don’t want to duplicate. The auto industry is designed to maximize shareholder value, it’s not designed to optimize the customer experience. This episode takes us through a month at a Jeep dealership.
