The beginning of a new year seems to me to be a good time to consider how we internalize the values in our organizations.

Andy Stanley suggests, “Just start celebrating what you value. People will value what you celebrate, and they will celebrate what you value.”

I’ve recently been reading, “Breakfast with Fred,” the conversations and ideas of Fred Smith, Sr, a mentor for many leaders such as Zig Ziglar, Philip Yancey, John Maxwell and my friend Steve Brown.

“When Fred was in his early twenties, he visited a cemetery and asked himself what he would want the epitaph on his tombstone to read. It was at that moment he chose the phrase that would set his life direction: ‘He stretched others.'”

Have you ever met anyone that has their own statue? Interesting thought, isn’t it?

I’ve had the privilege of meeting several. I met Ronald Reagan when he was running for president in the ’70s. In my baseball life I’ve met Stan Musial, Jack Buck, Mike Schmidt, Lou Brock, and Ozzie Smith.

What makes someone so special that they are worthy of a statue?

Is it talent? Or personality? Maybe just right place at the right time?

Every Christmas for the last several years I’ve thrown a few coins into the Salvation Army bucket down the street at the H-E-B. But not this year. Nope. They’ve changed their bell ringer. The guy standing outside the store ringing the bell is different this season, and I’m upset about it.

Ludicrous, isn’t it? Obviously no one would stop donating to the Salvation Army because Bert replaced Barry at the bucket.

“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.”

Simon Sinek

Is there a connection between Christmas and your station’s strategy? No, I didn’t say Christmas MUSIC. I said Christmas.

They say there are more “religious” radio stations in the United States than any other format category. They also say that those religious stations have fewer listeners than any other. Ouch!

Many Christian radio stations could best be described as “a bunch of stuff all on one station,” consisting of a little of this and a little of that with little connection to the WHY.

So, I’m driving down the road minding my own business and I decide to punch the radio button to listen to a mainstream AC playing Christmas music.

E-gad! I didn’t know Alvin and the Chipmunks had so many Christmas songs.

And then I heard the announcement that said something like, “We’ll be playing Christmas music until Christmas (right then I realized I should be taking notes) and then after Christmas we’ll go right back and play the best variety of the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and zeros.”

It wasn’t even December yet and they were already promoting the thing after the thing.

The further away something is the less relevant it will seem.

“Christmas isn’t going away, and we’re going to have this discussion every year.”

Two decades ago I remember saying those words to my talented friends Jim Hoge and Dean O’Neal at Z88.3 in Orlando. I remember saying that because we DO have that discussion every year. With every station.

Their situation was unique in that “The Z” was on a fast growth curve, and it was rare for a Christian station to abandon its regular format and play nothing but Christmas tunes. Besides, there was already a mainstream AC doing all Christmas and they were #1 in the market. (That AC program director was also a tall, skinny kid from west Texas with an ever so manly radio voice).

In the most recent research not ONE of the Z88.3 fans indicated they listened to the Mainstream AC for Christmas music. Quite a transformation, I’d say.

Obviously, Christmas music wasn’t the only reason for The Z’s remarkable growth, but clearly Jim and Dean seized an opportunity to transform the format’s biggest competitive disadvantage (playing generally unfamiliar music) into a competitive advantage.

This week’s Frost Advisory includes an interview about Christmas music programming I did a while back with Andrew Curran, President and COO of DMR/Interactive.

This week’s Frost Advisory is a departure from my regular thoughts on how to make your radio station really nifty. Instead I’d like to take this moment during Thanksgiving week to encourage you in the important work you’re doing at your station.

I’m told that the word ‘encouragement’ literally means to pour courage into. This word appears over 100 times in the New Testament. In fact, one of the descriptors for the Holy Spirit is Encourager (Acts 9:31).

“Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

William Arthur Ward

The freeways in my town have electronic messages on signs that direct drivers to all kinds of things. The number of miles to a destination or intersection. Road hazards or accidents along the way. Amber alerts with car description and license plate number. (Good luck remembering that without writing it down).

Are you buckled up?

We work in a format that is inherently significant. And yet many stations sound more like a commodity, with little meaningful branding, content and personalities that help them stand out from the competition along the dial.

“Commodity is something that can be replaced, removed, exchanged for, or even ignored… for something that is better, faster, or cheaper. But community, that’s an entirely difference animal. A community is a sense of belonging. We all need it. We all need it now more than ever.”

Sangram Vajre

A couple of ideas on building community…

It’s baseball’s biggest stage. These games mean it all. The dream of every kid who’s ever hit a baseball in his back yard. And yet, at this penultimate moment in a millionaire player’s career they are willing to stop the game. And hold a cheap handwritten cardboard sign.

What in the name of Abner Doubleday is going on here?

“Major League Baseball, Stand Up To Cancer and MasterCard conducted a special in-game moment, with players, umpires, coaches and fans all pausing to hold up placards with the names of loved ones affected by cancer.”

MLB.com