I was intrigued by the old cowboy. He stood underneath the shade of a large oak tree on a sidewalk in the Fort Worth Stockyards willingly receiving five dollar bills from moms and dads, grandmas and granddads so that their kiddos could sit for a moment on the back of a long-retired longhorn steer. What followed was two minutes of smiles, laughter, waving and cameras clicking capturing the joy on the faces of these young ‘uns. A splendid time was had by all.

I did the math.

$5 every two minutes. That’s $150 an hour.

A remarkable moment in my favorite movie “Field of Dreams” is the soliloquy from the brilliant actor James Earl Jones:

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If only the words we use were compassionate words… and not distant newscaster words.

In our format, what if we only used the words of a friend, not those of a scolding teacher, or a detached observer.

I literally heard these words on a radio station this week:

“Extricated the lone occupant…”

…which, I guess, means that someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife was trapped in their car when heroes (someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife) came to their rescue, something those heroes do almost every day for someone’s daughter or son, or brother or sister, or husband or wife.

Instead of instructing and scolding, I wonder how many more people would listen if if our stations were known for the caring and loving people on the air.

What if the key to your station’s impact was contained in these simple words:

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” Romans 12:15

“My friend told me to call because you called out the name of my daughter. I’ve never listened to your station before!”

Stations that play the Family Name Game® understand the power of a name. A community of voices introducing traffic or weather, birthdays, anniversaries, can all be used effectively to create word-of-mouth. (They can also be used ineffectively adding clutter).

Coca-Cola’s new campaign invites you to #ShareaCoke with the someone whose name is on the label. This a ‘trigger’, something designed in that creates a reason to act.

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I couldn’t believe my eyes. The sign on the door said CLOSED. Our favorite Mexican food restaurant back home has closed its doors.

It would be easy to assume that the food went downhill, the service got worse, and the mariachis started singing “La Bamba” off key. But none of those things happened.

The restaurant stayed the same, but everything around them changed. Ironically, it was a victim of being in a neighborhood that was booming. Apartments and office buildings sprouted up all around hiding the restaurant from ravenous fajita-hunting motorists. Trendy new restaurants made what was hidden easily forgettable.

The same thing can happen to your radio station.

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Most people in your town have never heard of your radio station.

That’s hard for us to grasp because we’re involved with our station every day, and almost everyone we bump into knows where we work. But our world is not their world.

I’ve written in previous Frost Advisories about social proof, the grown-up term for peer pressure. Jonah Berger’s remarkable new book “Contagious: Why Things Catch On” discusses “The Power of Observability”; the easier something is to see, the more people talk about it.

Consider how the kind of car your neighbor drives is far more likely to affect your buying decision than does the toothpaste he uses. One is visible, the other is not.

It has always baffled me why Christian music stations seem content to be invisible. We have the greatest reason to reach people (see: The Great Commission), we have the most tribal format (our audience gathers without us even asking them to), and the format is about the things people care about most.

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Quick! Name a TV dad that is portrayed as a positive role model! How about in the movies?

Where have you gone, Cliff Huxtable?

It’s said that 85% of youths in prison grow up in fatherless homes. Role models can change the trajectory of a life.

With more and more successful Contemporary Christian music stations than ever before we have the opportunity to tell a better story to more people. I know stations that have created on-air features just so they can say, “You must be a great mom!” or “Atta boy, dad!”, affirming listeners for one of the most important roles in their lives.

I recently heard Amy Grant say, “Every once in a while it’s good to think about what is really important in your life, and then see what aspect of your life actually reflects that.”

“Sing something that matters”, her dad would often remind her. On this Father’s Day I think that’s good advice for our stations, as well.

Programming a successful radio station can often seem like jumping on a moving train. It’s challenging enough for a programmer to simply find time to listen to the station or meet with the air staff, much less actually plan the next event.

We’re often so busy with the urgent that we don’t take the time to think.

At Mark Ramsey’s recent Hivio conference I heard filmmaker Emma Coats share that the process of creating a great story often involves discounting the first thing that comes to mind. That’s because the first thing is seldom the unique thing.

The more you drill down, the closer you’ll get to the big idea.

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“It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts,” John Wooden often said.

Many of the happiest times in life are associated with learning. I remember my friend Dan Heidt teaching me how to fingerpick on my Taylor 310 guitar. It was great fun learning to fly during college in my friend Bob’s Cherokee Citation. My career took a new trajectory because of the remarkable mentoring in programming by the legendary Alan Mason.

Learning seldom happens alone. The exchange of ideas is often the basis of longtime friendships.

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