Making decisions based strictly on data rarely works out.

Let’s take ratings, as an example. Making programming decisions based solely upon ratings is like driving with a GPS that shows only where you’ve been. It’s like driving your car while looking in the rear view mirror.

(Ratings can’t illuminate the three most important factors to making good programming decisions. See Frost Advisory #664)

Titles are funny. For some reason we assume if someone has a title that means that they know how to do the job.

I’ve known organizations that would be transformed if only one simple thing happened – that the one person with a particular expertise was the one person who made the decision in that particular area.

I’ve known far too many programmers that didn’t know how to program, managers that didn’t know how to manage, and engineers that didn’t know how to… whatever it is they do.

Jimmy Buffett wasn’t a one hit wonder, but almost.

Did you know that he never had a #1 hit on Billboard, and had only one song, “Margaritaville,” that even reached the top 10.

And yet the idea of “Margaritaville” inspired restaurants and resorts, a Broadway musical and retirement communities turning Buffett’s alleged desire for the simplicity of island life into a multimillion brand. He’s on the list of Forbes’ America’s Richest Celebrities with a net worth of one billion dollars.

What’s my point?

What do you see in this picture, taken half a century ago this month?

Some will just see four guys and a lady standing on the curb. Not a very compelling picture, wouldn’t you say, with most of the faces barely visible.

Others will recognize those four lads as the Beatles, but don’t realize the photo’s significance without context.

A few will see this picture for what it really is – a rare shot of The Beatles taken just moments before the photo that was to become one of the most famous album covers in history – Abbey Road, the last album the Beatles recorded.

Well now, how I am going to turn THIS into a Frost Advisory?

Sitting in a drive-thru will never feel the same to me again.

Did ya know that Chick-fil-A has an entire facility in Atlanta devoted to hatching innovation? In fact, it’s called The Hatch. (It’s terrific when names reflect the possibilities that can happen there. So much better than Building A or Building B, don’tcha think?)

The walls at the Hatch are covered with photos of some of Chick-fil-A’s best customers. What a contrast to a radio station with walls adorned with gold records and photos of artists.

I remember the feeling. I was actually happy to see a yellow school bus.

Despite the fact that my kids were well past the age of taking the school bus seeing one that day was no less meaningful to me.

We were coming out of the pandemic and the yellow school bus was a sign that life was returning to normal. Even with the obvious downside of being caught in slower traffic and my morning commute would be delayed there was a much bigger idea that I could embrace.

The bigger idea transcended the bus’s functional purpose.

It is said that Michelangelo is the greatest influence on western art in the last 500 years. Most of his sculptures, paintings, architecture works, and poetry were in service to the church. When asked how he was able to accomplish his most famous sculpture The Statue of David, he responded simply,

“I just took away everything that didn’t look like David.”

That’s a quote that I often refer to when coaching talent.

Michelangelo lived in a time where most of the art in the world was influenced by the Christian faith. Today, obviously, we live in a much different time. In fact, our faith is virtually absent from culture and the public square. That is, with one exception that perhaps you’ve not thought of.

I just want to warn you this Frost Advisory is going to be a little different. But that’s okay because that is the point.

The CCM format is known for many good things; inspiring hope, encouraging people in difficult times, and offering a more eternal perspective.

But let’s face it, our format is not particularly known for being creative. We can all name well-known radio stations that don’t sound much different than they did twenty years ago.

On this 54th anniversary of man on the moon I reckon’ it’s a good time to bring it up.

With the historic words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon, followed closely by the planting of the American flag to show that the USA was first in this historic achievement.

Radio stations whose foundation is “Beliefs and Values” have an opportunity to communicate that position by putting their flag in the ground.

I first loved baseball because my dad loved baseball. In fact, my first game ever was a really big deal – I got to see my baseball hero Mickey Mantle get the first hit in the very first indoor baseball game at the Astrodome in Houston.

My dad simply said, “You should see this.”