The thing that radio has the potential to do so well is the very thing we do so poorly.  Right here.  Right now.

Unless…

In the aftermath of the Dallas tragedy I heard several radio stations in Texas capture that immediate intimacy.

Jeff and Rebecca at KCBI in Dallas shared their grief about the events that happened literally four blocks from their studios.  I have stood in their studio and looked west out the very window that was their vantage point to a stunned city.

The remarkable Frank Reed at KLTY shared song lyrics that gave fresh context to the hope in the music we play.

The talented duos of Steve and Amy at Spirit 105.9 in Austin, and Carder and Rachelle at KSBJ in Houston opened their hearts and gave their listeners a way to be a good neighbor, the audio equivalent of carrying down a casserole and flowers across the street for a someone in need.

My talented friend Sterling Tarrant created a mosaic in sound of listeners and leaders, pastors and police with the lyrical epiphany, “When I look into the face of my enemy I see my brother.”

Immediate intimacy.

So, what’s my point?

It is admirable for our format to step to the plate in times of need.  Often remarkable, as cited above.  But we have the opportunity to have this kind of immediate intimacy every day, not just in reaction to a horrific event.

Too often we default to the routine ‘partly cloudy and 75’ stuff I saw on Facebook or something that sounds like a boring homework assignment with instructions to go to the station’s website.

The more immediate, the more intimate.

Your listener cares about…

…that ten mile back up on I-4 when she’s five miles into it and late for a big meeting…

…that hail storm coming in from the west when he’s trying to get home to put the cars in the garage…

…the rainout of the baseball game when the son has his hopes up and it’s his last season to play…

…their seat assignment, but only when boarding the plane.

The more immediate it is, the more intimate it becomes, because the more it matters.  Right here.  Right now.

If what you’re talking about is relevant, then it is just four blocks away… to somebody.

Maybe we should always sound like it.

The United States of America was born 240 years ago with a Declaration of Independence, and a subsequent Bill of Rights for all citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  But as Americans we know that with rights comes responsibility.

Yes, you have the right to play any song you want.  But you also have the responsibility of creating passionate fans beginning with a foundation of songs they know and love.

Yes, you have the right to talk about anything you want.  But you have the responsibility of connecting with common interests and values, and communicating the bigger idea!  That’s how groups become tribes, and tribes become movements.

Yes, you have the right to blabber on as long as you want.  But you have the responsibility of communicating effectively, which means being purposeful, prepared, and precise.

Yes, you have the right to be among the lowest rated stations in your market.  But you have the responsibility that goes with being the largest church in town.  To fulfill that responsibility your station needs a clear purpose, a team of people that are united around it, and the passion and determination to execute the programming and marketing elements that make that purpose a reality.

On this 4th of July weekend, let’s wave our flags, shoot off our fireworks, and sing our patriotic songs.

But let’s not forget our responsibilities!

How you answer this question can determine the success of your station.  Relevant… or interesting?

Choosing only content that is relevant to your listener forces the talent to put the listener ahead of themselves.  This profound realignment of priorities is a paradigm shift from what is interesting to the talent to what is relevant to the listener.

In other words, does your station serve your listeners or just serve your own interests?

Hearing irrelevant content on the air is the result of air talent first looking for things that are “interesting” and then trying to make them relevant.  That is how one ends up hearing things like Shirley Temple’s birthday, National Pickle Week, and what I did on my summer vacation.

Without an objective filter of relevance to the listener, the talent resorts to becoming sort of a content assembly line, paying little attention to whether what they say enhances the listener’s experience or fulfills their expectations of the station.

Ego rears its ugly head when we assume that the listener will care about anything we decide to talk about.  It’s not true in life and it’s certainly not true in radio.

As a budding 23-year-old disc jockey I was hired at my first “big” station where everyone on the air was better than me.  Frankly, they were all so much better that my insecurities had me convinced that they had actually hired me by mistake.

After the ink on my deal was securely dried, I got up the courage to ask my new PD, “Why in the world did you hire me?”  He smiled and responded, “It was one break you did on your audition tape.”  He had heard me give a phone number on a throwaway PSA followed by, “you might want to write that down on the dust on your dashboard.”

That one unassuming break told my soon to be programming mentor all he needed to know about this young air talent; those who put the listener first are those who are willing to learn.

Chris Rice echoed that idea years later in his song “The Other Side of the Radio.”

“Cause it’s you and me singing the same song right now
And maybe this will bring us together somehow
And maybe there’s a million people all singing a long
Somebody started thinking about the third line
And maybe someone’s saying a prayer for the first time
And that’s enough reason to keep me singing my song,
Singing my songs, on the other side of the radio.”

“You can do anything… once”, boomed my dad’s voice to his mischievous adolescent son.

Those words served as a life lesson of accountability.  But, you know what?  Those words were also true.  I COULD do anything… once.

So can your station.

Making programming decisions based strictly upon what you’ve already done is like driving while looking in the rear view mirror.  It won’t get you anywhere but where you’ve already been.

As I write this a popular Orlando barbecue restaurant is opening its usually closed doors on Sunday to raise money for the shooting victims.  Well, guess what?  They’ve never done that before.  It’s interesting how even opposite behaviors – being closed on Sundays and opening this particular Sunday – are ways to demonstrate a core value of their business – giving back to the community.

In other words, the more they innovate the more they are able to fulfill their mission.

Resisting a new idea because “it doesn’t sound like my station” is the cry of the rear view mirror driver.  I also know those that innovated once but that innovation became their own “we’ve always done it this way”, and refused to innovate beyond it.

The programming lesson learned this Father’s Day is that you can do anything… once!  It’s called innovation!

“If you leave a white post alone it will soon be a black post.  If you particularly want it to be white you must be always painting it again; that is, you must be always having a revolution.  Briefly, if you want the old white post you must have a new white post.”
~G. K. Chesterton

Paul McCartney, Bernie Sanders, Tiger Woods, Justin Bieber, Russell Wilson, Jenny McCarthy.

I reckon’ there’s not much of a common thread through these famous names.  But within hours of hearing the news each tweeted out a tribute to Muhammad Ali.  I counted 729,699 tweets about the man self-identified as “The Greatest”.  My Google search stretched to almost eight million.  I overheard conversations about The Champ while walking through the Los Angeles airport.

Interesting the words people used.  Few even mentioned boxing.  Remarkable.  While the sport may have launched his fame, his persona made him bigger than boxing.  (Consequently making boxing bigger than ever before).

What words would people use to describe your radio station?  Would they simply describe the category which you are in by default: that Christian station?

Would they describe just the ordinary tools you use (mix of music, deejays, contests, traffic and weather together)?  Or would they describe your station as something special, more significant, and beyond the boundaries of the ordinary?

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

There was nothing ordinary about Muhammad Ali.  That, my friends… is why people are talking about him.

Memorial Day weekend is a time to remember those who have sacrificed for our freedom.  Maybe, just maybe, there is a greater lesson that applies to the legacy of your radio station.

How will your radio station be remembered?

Will it be remembered as the station that plays 25 minute music sweeps without any talk, or that it helped your community to be a better place to live and raise a family?

Will it be remembered for precisely hitting the spot sets within “bow tie” on the quarter hour, or one that helps worthy organizations in your community connect with volunteers that help others?

Will it be remembered as the station with the Joke of the Day, or one that honors moms and dads for the most important commitment they’ll ever make – raising their kids with values that make a difference in the world?

Now don’t get me wrong… there is nothing inherently wrong with a radio station having amusing little features that are appropriately targeted.

…but…

…it doesn’t matter what you do if what you do doesn’t matter.

In his book, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years“, Donald Miller asks if they made a movie about a man who wanted to buy a Volvo, it wouldn’t be a very interesting movie.  He goes on to point out that many of us live our lives that way.

Your station has a legacy.  You are writing another chapter in that legacy every day.

“You can learn a lot by just watching”, said the great philosopher Yogi Berra.

My talented friend Lisa Barry recently watched and learned from a lady who does sign language in church.

Lisa shares, “In order to ‘sign’ a song about Passover, she has to start with Jerusalem, so she signs that first even though it’s not in the song yet.  THEN, she signs Jesus, which is her index finger sweeping across in front of her.  So the song makes sense with Jesus walking into Jerusalem – even though in the song Jerusalem comes second.

The fascinating part was when she said, with sign language, you have to start with the ‘what’ because otherwise, there’s no context to what you’re about to say.  You start with the ‘what’ and then you can give them the ‘who’ and ‘what’s happening.”

Sherwood Schwartz, the creator of many of the popular TV shows in the 60’s and 70’s including “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch”, told a remarkable story of ‘what’.

When he initially took the pilot for Gilligan’s Island to CBS it was rejected.  The execs told Sherwood that viewers would never understand why such an odd assortment of characters; a movie starlet in a long dress, an eccentric rich couple, a geeky scientist and a tomboy; were stranded on a desert island together. “I’ll show you”, Sherwood responded defiantly, and he went home and wrote the now famous theme song that explained the ‘what’ in only sixty seconds.

“Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…”

Even the best stations in the format have to fight the assumption that everyone knows the ‘what’.  What does your station stand for?  What is its purpose and its vision?  How does ‘what’ you’re doing connect to the most important things in their life?

“…If the journey begins with the assumption that everybody here knows what we are doing, you will eventually have an audience of people who already know what you are doing… Where you consistently begin and what you consistently assume determine who consistently shows up.  Why?  Because your assumptions create the common ground for the journey.”
~Andy Stanley, “Deep and Wide”

We see them but we hardly think about them.  The 4-way stop.

What’s their purpose?  To stop all traffic?  Silly question, I know.  That seems hardly the intent, but…

…that’s what happens.

Everything stops.  No traffic flow.  No one moves.

Hmmm.

Every radio station has things on the air that PREVENT it from delivering the very thing that people come there for in the first place.  Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?

Maybe it’s political – the boss has a radio show where he plays whatever music he wants.

Maybe it’s the teaching/preaching show that has always been on the air so no one brings it up.

Maybe it’s the kids’ show/the teen show/the rock show/the worship show/NASCAR/high school football that someone at some time decided to put on the air for reasons you’ll never know.

The problem with 4-way stops is that… inefficiency is designed IN. Traffic… all traffic… stops.

Flowers, candy, and cards.  Family time and reminiscing.  As we celebrate Mother’s Day, perhaps there are programming lessons we can learn from mom as well.

Be a good listener 

There is no shortage of subjective opinions about your station’s programming; from the boss, a listener or donor, the receptionist, the sales manager.  The opinions that are most valuable are the ones uncovered through objective research to understand the listeners’ needs and perspective.  Ask.  But you have to ask it the right way.

Live every moment

The most important programming element is the one that is on RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow, not next week.  “Be good now” is the best programming advice there is.  After all, the “nows” add up.

Be a good friend  

Friends make others feel welcome.  Friends don’t talk down to others.  Friends encourage.

Don’t be selfish 

The moment we think the station is all about us, we lose perspective.  Whether commercial or non-comm, your station ultimately exists to serve and bless others.

Flush 

Be vigilant about getting the bad stuff off your radio station and replacing it with good stuff.

Remember who you are

My mom used to say, “Remember who you are and what you represent.”  Your station’s brand – what your station stands for – is the primary reason people tune in.  The degree by which you elicit passion through your brand values will determine your success.

Thanks, Mom!

Dozens of decisions come your way every day.  Some are small and some are big, impacting the health and growth of your station.

Maybe there is wisdom to be found at the mall.  (There’s a sentence I thought I’d never say!)

The mall directory has some sections large enough to read the name of the stores: Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Bloomingdales.  These are the anchor stores.

Other areas are much smaller with names readable only if you’re standing on your head.  (And I wasn’t!)

The anchor stores serve as the primary reason people go to the mall.  The smaller stores tend to be boutique in nature and add options to the mall experience.  If Mom is shopping for a new outfit at Nordstrom, Dad can catch up on some computer work as he’s gulping down a Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato, Sugar-Free Syrup, Extra Shot, Light Ice, No Whip at Starbucks.

Your station is like that.

Your station’s “anchors” are its overarching brand values, the unique mix of music, compelling air personalities, and key listener benefits.  (see Frost Advisories #122 and 146).  Your smaller “stores” are everything else.

Here’s the problem!  Under-performing stations tend to focus not on the anchors, but on the everything else.  And that focus changes perspective.

“Where focus goes, energy flows.  And where energy flows, whatever you’re focusing on grows.”
~Tony Robbins

If your radio station is struggling you may want to check your own “mall directory”.  What’s most important?  Why do people come there in the first place?  Perhaps the small stuff has become the big stuff because that’s where your focus has been.

Now, off to the mall for a Venti Iced Skinny Hazelnut Macchiato, Sugar-Free Syrup, Extra Shot, Light Ice, No Whip at Starbucks!