“You can do anything… once”

I often heard those words from my dad’s booming voice. In part an acknowledgment of an adolescent’s likely choices; another part about the consequences facing that pimpled-faced teenager.

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 looking in the rear view mirror. It won’t get you anywhere but where you’ve already been.

Recently a popular local barbecue restaurant opened its usually closed doors on Sunday to raise money for victims of a local tragedy. Well, guess what?

They’d never done that before.

You can imagine the conversation among the staff.

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. It’s counter-intuitive; the more they adapted to a new situation the more they revealed their vision.

Resisting a new idea because “it doesn’t sound like my station” is the cry of the rear view mirror driver and of a radio station that can’t adapt and grow.

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

It’s called innovation, and there’s a good chance it will make your radio station better!