Founder’s Note

Hey ho, what’s up. This is really the first edition of The Mic Drop with Max Conrad… well, with me! Before we start, I want extend a warm welcome to everyone who has signed up and thank you so much for your support right from the start. I am really excited to share my thoughts with you here. Ok, let’s get started.

March was a super busy month involving a lot of travel. From family member’s 50th and 90th birthdays in Nürnberg and Frankfurt to business trips to New York, Leipzig, and Düsseldorf. I really enjoy these trips because they are always inspiring and help me change my perspective and open up my mind again.

Especially New York had that effect on me. For the past three years, I have been going there to attend the annual corporate communication event by The Conference Board, one of the leading events for top-level executives in corporate comms. Let me share with you my two highlights from this year. First, Bea Perez, EVP and Chief Communications, Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships Officer at The Coca-Cola Company said that they started to communicate much more with their employees instead of the media, because the impact that employees have on their environment and communities is much bigger and more sustainable than any type of media coverage. I totally agree and see great potential in that for much more companies. And second, I became a bit of a fanboy of Xi’an Famous Foods and I highly recommend checking out one of their locations in the city. My favorite are the Spicy & Tingly Beef Muscle Hand-Ripped Noodles. Yummy!

Now let’s get to the big topic for this week.

The Big Topic

The hype around AI has reached such a peak that it's understandable if you're already tired of it. Every newsletter, blog post, and LinkedIn update insists on the transformative power of artificial intelligence. Yet, amid the noise, practical examples of AI's tangible impact often falls short. Beyond the buzzwords, AI truly holds the potential to reshape podcasting in significant, measurable ways.