Dentists have the highest suicide rate of any in the medical profession, I’m told. Reckon’ it’s because they seldom get to see a patient leave feeling better than when they came in. In other words, the dentist doesn’t get to directly witness the benefit of his work.
My friend Chris has been in the concert production business a long, long time. Recently he told me that those in his crew that are most likely to become dissatisfied with their work are those that never get to see the show.
Then he told me about the trouble seats; the ones held back in case someone has a problem. Maybe there is an obstructed view. Maybe there is a loud, obnoxious smoker (not that that would ever happen at a Christian music concert). These seats are deliberately left open so they can move people in case of trouble. When the time is right my friend Chris gives those unused trouble seats to his crew so they get to see the show.
When you don’t know why you’re doing what you’re doing, or… you never get to see the results of what you’re doing… you can lose perspective about your value to the overall mission.
If you have people on your team that never “get to see the show”, here are some ideas:
- Ask them to answer the phones during a pledge drive. They’ll hear stories of the impact of your station directly from your listeners.
- Reserve some “trouble seats” at your next concert and let your people experience the impact of the music that your listeners feel every day.
- Have them call listeners and ask how the station can help or pray for them. They’ll be astounded by what they hear.
- Suggest they spend an hour in the on-air studio so they can witness first hand the impact of your station’s programming.
*Inspired by a conversation with my friend Chris Farnsworth at KSBJ in Houston.