That’s Why They Call It Work

We “Radio Rats” are lucky, even the worst day at work can be fun infused.  It’s show biz baby!  Very seldom (if ever) do you wake up and not want to go to work.   But the reality is it is work.  Now more than ever you have to have an excellent work ethic to survive.  Economic woes, consolidation and technological advances have created the perfect storm.   Everyone is over worked and overwhelmed; many are underpaid.  The survivors are the people with a positive mental attitude who roll up their sleeves and just DO IT.

Don’t let the volume paralyze you.  Take the opportunity to create great radio by using the amazing tools we have at our finger tips.    Yes, you have more jobs than ever before, but parts of that job are made easier by slicker production tools, software programs to help you find the answers and powerful engagement tools to bring you closer to your audience.  Embrace those advantages and put them to work for you.

Here are few reminders to help you tackle your daily work load:

1.      Make a list so you can see exactly what needs to be done.

2.      Color code or rank the items by importance.  Some will be Urgent, some important, some “If time permits”.

3.      Always tackle the toughest item first.  Doing the thing you dread the most first will free your mind to finish the other items and your dread will be gone.  In fact many times you’ll think “that wasn’t so bad.”

4.      Check off each item as you get it done.  That visual representation of your accomplishments will actually increase your productivity.

5.     If an item is on the list for more than two days then ask yourself, “Is this really necessary?”  If you determine that it must be done, get it done on day three.

6.     For e-mail and paperwork, it is best to practice the “touch it once” philosophy.  As often as possible you want to deal with it and file it away or delete it. The reality is you will never get back to it no matter how good your intentions. 

Remember what American Inventor Thomas Edison said, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."   Overalls are pretty damn comfortable to wear and extremely easy to work in.   Strap them on and get to work!!

Welcome To The 140 Character World

If your message isn’t clear in 140 characters, it is TOO LONG!  Brevity is a necessity in the new world order!  Make every word matter.

Role Models & Path Pavers

                       


The passing of Kitty Wells has me contemplating the power one person has to affect change and influence others.   Miss Kitty is one of those pioneer women who paved the way for females in every industry.  She is the original Queen of Country Music.  Her 1952 hit “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” was banned from radio airplay by NBC.  The Grand Ole Opry asked her not to perform it.   In spite of all that, the song climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard country chart.  It was the first No. 1 country song ever recorded by a female artist.  Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn and even Taylor Swift can thank Kitty for being the first. 

Barbara Walters fought her way to the top in a TV world where many believed that no one would take a woman seriously reporting hard news.   In 1976 she became the first female co-anchor of network evening news, working with Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News.  She went on to win many daytime and primetime Emmy’s, lifetime achievement awards and has a long list of accolades covering many decades.

In October, Erica Farber will be honored by the Library of American Broadcasters as one of their “Giants Of Broadcasting”.   Erica is credited with being the first woman to become general manager of a major-market radio station (RKO’s WOR-FM Boston in 1976) and has had a long and successful career in broadcasting & publishing.  She is the only female on the list of honorees.  

These three accomplished women have inspired generations of females in music, television and radio to strive for the top.   The climb is getting easier but it is still a hike.  Yes, “we’ve come a long way baby” but we are far from there. 

I have been asked in many interviews “Why aren’t there more women in radio programming?”  My answer is always, “most women are too smart!”   They want to have a life.  Radio programming is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week job.   You have to be willing to battle to break the glass ceiling, put up with the good ol’ boys club and have such a great passion for it that you don’t mind what you are giving up to get there.  Now I’m thinking that maybe those women just needed a good mentor to show them the way. 

Take time today to seek out a young woman in our industry who is just starting out.  Be a mentor and help her see the possibilities.   Never underestimate the power you have to help transform another person’s life.   A huge THANK YOU to Kitty, Barbara and Erica for your drive, determination and dedication to paving a path for the rest of us.

Mass Relevance: Illusive but Powerful

No matter what your product or service, if you can achieve “mass relevance” you are bound to be more successful.  It is particularly important for businesses that rely on advertising revenue to survive.  You have to aggregate a mass audience in order to have something to sell.  

Let’s break it down.  Mass: a body of coherent matter and often of considerable size.   Relevant: bearing upon or connected with the matter in hand; pertinent.  Put those together in reference to content creation and you have topics that appeal to the masses.  In an age when information is plentiful and communication happens in so many new forms, it is even more critical for content creators to look for subjects that are relevant to the masses.   

Roy Williams’s principle about advertising in 2012 can be directly applied to on-air and on-line content creation:   “I hear a voice whispering in the night:  Relevance and credibility, ad writer, are the words you must engrave on your heart if you will write ads that move the needle.  The customer is asking, ‘Does this matter to me?’ They are looking for relevance. And their second question is, ‘Do I believe what they’re telling me?’ They are looking for credibility.   The public is no longer looking for a perfect icon to worship. Most of them are looking for an equally-flawed friend with whom they can connect.”

Increase your mass relevance by watching and listening for the topics that people are talking about.   Here are a few sites that can help: http://www.trendingtopics.org/, http://www.reddit.com/, http://www.buzzfeed.com/,https://twitter.com/WhatsTrending/

Look for topics that are common to all of us:    

Relationships: (couples, families, friends, workplace)
Pop Culture: (entertainment news, celebrities…)
Personal Growth: (self-improvement, fulfillment at home and job, spiritualism, etc.)
Health and Beauty (Dieting, exercising, makeovers, anti-aging, pampering, etc.)
Shopping-Consumerism: (Example: “Bargain of the Week” )
Style: (trends, fashion, cars, home, personal space, etc…)

Keep in mind that the internet is not the only source for great content.   Google estimates that 129,864,880 different books exist in the world, and it claims to have digitized 15 million of them—or about 12 percent.  Just think of all of the information that has not made its way to the internet.  It gives a whole new meaning to the words “think outside the box”.