Garth was in town and there was no room at the inn.

My hotel reservation vaporized and it appeared as though I didn’t even have friends in low places. My pal Brian and I trudged along from city to city in our hotel treasure hunt until we uncovered the last room available.

Entering my room to unpack my case I noticed a desk for my computer and quickly realized there was no electric outlet to plug into. On hands and knees I discovered an outlet behind the dresser next to the desk. The only way for me to plug in my computer was to move the furniture.

The very reason the desk was there – to be a work station for my computer – was rendered useless because of the way the room had been designed.

Shameless!

Before we chide hotel management for their tomfoolery, maybe we should look at the log in our own eye.

Why do people tune to your radio station? If you don’t know, ask them. Then… do that. Do that over and over and over again. Do that every day; do that every hour; do that RIGHT NOW!

In a recent meeting at a very well-known station the new GM asked, “Why is this on the air?” The pause was deafening. No one knew. It was “furniture” in the way of meeting listener expectations.

Your station only matters to the degree it intersects in a meaningful way with your listeners’ lives and meets their needs.

“There’s singing at people,
There’s singing to people,
There’s singing about how you feel…
Then, there’s singing about how THEY feel”

Tim McGraw

Thanks to my friend Brian Yeager for the gift of hospitality and the opportunity to learn something positive from things that don’t go as planned.