It’s funny.  We do it every day in real conversations with real people, but we often forget it on our stations.

There are two critical milestones in the development of a successful radio station; when some one tunes to your station for the first time, and when they become a fan.

Simply stated, the distance between those two points determines how quickly your station will grow.

Common ground is the rocket fuel that drives that connection.

In a format where the biggest barrier for growth is unfamiliar songs by unknown artists creating familiarity is crucial.  Listen to your station for thirty minutes and count the number of times a new listener would hear common ground.

Common ground is the difference between sitting silently for hours on an airplane next to a stranger, and meeting a new friend who’s starting a medical company in the very field that is my wife’s life long dream.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The man who agrees with us that some important question, little regarded by others, is of great importance can be our Friend.  He need not agree with us about the answer.”

My brilliant friend Tommy Kramer wraps that idea in childlike innocence…

“You like bubble game?  I like bubble gum, too.   Can we be friends?”