Long before Star Wars and Star Trek, my Wonder Years generation grew up watching black and white sci-fi shows such as The Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, and movies about aliens landing in your very back yard (“The Day the Earth Stood Still“).

Klaatu barada nikto was a hashtag before there were hashtags!

One of my odd little favorites was a flick called “The Next Voice You Hear…” with James Whitmore and Nancy Davis, who later became the more famous First Lady Nancy Reagan.  The plot revolved what would happen if God’s voice spoke to us over the radio.  I reckon’ that’s the ultimate FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Are there things on your station for which listeners fear missing out?  Do they have eager anticipation that the next voice they hear may say something fascinating and worthy of talking about?

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In my travels I’ve found almost all discussions about programming revolve around things close to us; the music and deejays, the promotions and contests, the clocks and service elements.  While these elements are important to the station’s design, they are not transformative.

Why?

Because those things are all about us.  And the closer things are to us the more important they seem.  To us.

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So, let’s pretend you have a radio station.

And that radio station has a ratings challenge, a fundraising challenge, or a challenge in developing loyal listeners.

Where do you begin in solving your problem?  

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We’ve all thought it.  Sometimes we even laugh about it when we see an old photo.  The hair.  The clothes.  The car.  The things we thought were important.  Back then.

Consider what your perspective would be today if you had spent your career exclusively at your very first radio station.  You would not have the influences of the greatest mentors in your career, and you wouldn’t have the big picture perspective learned from seeing many different stations and perhaps many different formats.

Here’s something I know now that I didn’t know then;

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On last week’s finger lickin’ Frost Advisory I pontificated how it’s tempting to think that what we do defines who we are.  The carpenter is defined by his hammer; the accountant by his calculator, the radio station by its 40 minute music sweeps, and the semi-professional public address announcer by his ever so manly voice.

Simon Sinek suggests…

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it, and what you do serves as tangible proof of why you do it.”

Counter-intuitive perhaps, but let’s dig deeper.
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It’s tempting, isn’t it?

It’s tempting to think that what we do defines who we are. The carpenter is defined by his hammer; the accountant by his calculator, the radio station by its 40 minute music sweeps.

We’re eager to define ourselves by a hallway full of gold records and awards. I hate to break it to you, but your listeners don’t care.

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It’s not obvious to warn someone about the obvious.  But that’s the point.

“Don’t believe everything you think.”
~Andy Andrews

Successful principles of business, leadership, ministry, or even programming aren’t obvious.  They are the exception.  Otherwise, all businesses would be successful, there would be no leadership challenges, churches would be full every week, all radio stations would have high ratings and we’d all have dated the prettiest girl in town.

If we want to appeal to everyone we simply need to play everything.  What could be more obvious?

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It’s easy.

It’s easy to let grass grow and have weeds in your yard.   It’s easy to not practice and be a bad guitar player.  It’s easy to be the last player on the bench and not get into the game.

It’s easy to have a bad radio station.

Play anything you want.  Wing it with your content.  Talk as long as you like.

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We forget, don’t we?

We forget what real people go through every day.

We forget the messages they are bombarded with, the struggles they face, the negative influences on their kids.

Real people perceive your radio station within the context of their lives.  Often they tune in to get away from the negativity, to be affirmed for the good in people, and to be reminded of the hope we can have through our faith.

The recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida remind us with every event heroes emerge.  Yes, the front page is often filled with stories of villains, but our stations have other stories to tell.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.  To this day, especially in times of disaster, I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.”
~Fred Rogers

J.J. Watts used his football fame to raise more than $37 million for hurricane victims in Texas.  Houston icon Mattress Mack turned his 100,000 foot furniture showroom into a shelter for those left homeless.  Rusty and Jeff are not famous; just a couple of guys with a bass boat, but they are heroes to my friend Ty McFarland after rescuing his family from their flooded neighborhood.

Maybe it is easier for us to see the heroes in extraordinary times but maybe it is just as important to tell the stories when times are ordinary.

With every 9th caller to win a family four-pack of cardboard there is a hero.

With every mom or dad trying to surround their children with positive influences there is a hero.

With every routine traffic accident, with every mundane weather report, with every insignificant time check, someone is being a hero to someone.

But we forget, don’t we?

Oh, yeah!  That was the one with the hurricane!

I guess we’ll never forget Momentum 2017.

There were more Tweets and Facebook posts about hotel reservations, flight schedules and security lines than the speakers, artist performances, and social events.

People shared most about what they shared the most.  

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