The Business of Reporting on Business, with Diane Brady

The Sydcast

Episode Summary

Diane Brady is one of the top business journalists in the world, with writing and editing gigs at the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Business Week, and Forbes. And also an old friend. She’s wise (“nobody needs more content, they need more intelligence”) and she’s a pro (“the best interviews are about listening”). In this episode, Diane and Syd on curating content, the future of journalism, and Elizabeth Holmes.

Sydney Finkelstein

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the Global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life.

Diane Brady

Diane Brady has interviewed many of the world's leading business and political figures throughout her career. She is currently an assistant managing editor at Forbes, overseeing C-suite coverage and communities, as well as the editorial teams that run ForbesWomen, For(bes) the Culture, the 30 Under 30 franchise, and coverage of creators and startups. Prior to joining Forbes, she worked at McKinsey, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Wall Street Journal, and Maclean’s, along with running her own company. Her book, Fraternity, was named one of Amazon’s best books of the year.

Insights from this episode:

• Diane’s career in journalism
• The difference in the world of business journalism now and when she started
• Insights into the art of storytelling
• Diane’s book Fraternity and how it came about
• Insights into curating content
• The idea and concept behind 30 under 30
• Curating content in a world with so many competitors
• Diane’s favorite people she has interviewed
• Insights into what makes a great interview

Quotes from the show:

• “Every company can be a media company now, or thinks it can be a media company” -Diane Brady [1:11]
• “I think what has driven me my whole career is curiosity”-Diane Brady [3:06]
• “There is no better way to clear a room of men than to put the word women on the panel” -Diane Brady [10:20]
• “I have always brought a commercial instinct to journalism, I don’t wanna be on the business side but I love building new franchises” -Diane Brady [17:42]
• “I don’t mind ignorance as long as it goes with intelligence and as long as people know that I am a quick study and I am coming to you with the information” -Diane Brady [19:50]
• “I think one of the tragedies in school is that we learn math and not economics” -Diane Brady [20.32]
• “Nobody needs more content is my general philosophy in life, they need more intelligence, they need more synthesis perhaps, but not more content” -Diane Brady [27:33]
• “When you don’t have a newsroom of 2200 people, what matters is to be the curator of what matters; to be able to connect the dots” -Diane Brady [29:29]
• “The people who stand out don’t always stand out for the right reasons. Sometimes they stand out because there is such a disconnect between who they think they are and the way they run their companies or brands” -Diane Brady [55:42]
• “The best interviews are about listening” -Diane Brady [1:00:20]
• “One thing that I admire about entrepreneurs is the ability to fail and get back up” -Diane Brady [1:10:30]

Stay connected:

Sydney Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

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Diane Brady

LinkedIn: Diane Brady

Twitter: Diane Brady

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