Tag Archives: radio

Living In A Bubble

January 30, 2017 Alan Mason Leave a comment

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
~Abraham Lincoln

protective_bubble

I realized recently how success… or failure… can change your perspective. But especially when you’re successful, you can begin living in a bubble. Suddenly everything is seen through the lens of your success, which tends to lead you to see anything and everything in a way that reinforces that last success. No need to examine alternatives or a wider perspective on the world, just where you are and where you’ve been. It’s one of those “if I close my eyes no one can see me” strategies.

It’s calm inside the bubble because there’s never anything bigger to wrestle with. You’re the most successful person in the bubble, but it’s such a small part of the world around you. The bubble keeps you from growing and expanding, and you don’t realize how small you seem to those outside of it. Until one day the bubble bursts, and you feel the full force of reality.

How do you know if you’re in a bubble? Ask yourself these questions:

Am I pretty much doing the same thing over and over, enjoying the celebration around me?
Are you doing those things with essentially the same people who, being inside the bubble with you, are the only ones who have your trust?
Do you fight new ideas that are nearby, but outside your sphere of influence?
Do you spend more time on managing to keep things outside the bubble from breaking in than you do scanning the horizon for new ideas?

Here’s a thought from the Crosby Retreat I attended in New York recently: Somewhere someone’s planning something that will disrupt your success. Or maybe burst your bubble.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #190 – Tying a Neat Bow Around It

January 25, 2017 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

There’s this virus floating around – you get to the end of a break, and instead of just getting out, you try to “tie a neat bow around it” at the end.

Don’t, please. These “summations” sort of treat the listener like he or she is an idiot. Always assume that the Listener is AT LEAST as smart as we are.

We’re not doing Aesop’s Fables here. When you resort to “The moral of the story is…” that just sounds preachy; even smug. While “Preachy & Smug” might be a great name for a morning team on a Sports station, it’s certainly NOT how a station in any other format should want to be perceived. : -)

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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2017 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Mason Morning Minute

Beyond Just The Games

January 23, 2017 Alan Mason 2 Comments

“Unless you are prepared to give up something valuable you will never be able to truly change at all, because you’ll be forever in the control of things you can’t give up.”
~Andy Law

Pandora-Xbox-One-WC-640x479

Pandora now has an app for the Microsoft XBOX system.

Not really earth shaking… or is it?

Gaming is huge, which draws people to XBOX, and then XBOX provides them an entrée into movies, the web, and music.

Pandora uses Kinect to allow people to listen, vote, and change songs with just a gesture. So Pandora has now integrated themselves into yet another popular distribution channel. Have you heard the old story about finding a parade getting in front of it?

But both may soon be rendered obsolete as Virtual Reality achieves broad acceptance over the next five years. Change is a fact of life.

My point here is to show how unimaginative and lame most of our radio apps are. Radio will not continue to succeed by being “good enough,” at a time when the life cycle of an app becomes shorter and shorter. Let’s do something different that really intrigues the listener/consumer, and be prepared to understand that change is faster and more constant than ever.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #189 – Short, Longer, Longest

January 18, 2017 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

You should be able to do three versions of anything you need to promote: Short, longer, and longest.

Examples:

[5 seconds]
“KBUT 94.9 window stickers are free at any Tom Thumb grocery store…”

[10 seconds]
“KBUT 94.9 stickers on your window or bumper look great, tell people what kind of music you like, and can win you cash! Pick yours up today FREE at any Tom Thumb store.”

[20 seconds]
“KBUT 94.9 bumper stickers look great and they’re free – and just like duct tape, if you put enough of them on your car, you can actually cover up a broken window or a big dent. And the number on each one is what we use to give out cash and prizes – like maybe even a NEW car! So get your sticker today at any Tom Thumb grocery store, then listen for your number to be called out on the air.”

Now you probably already know that the shortest version is the hardest one to do. But at any length, CLARITY is the key. You can always add more word pictures, if more length will work. But if you can’t do the super-short versions, you’re not great yet.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2017 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Mason Morning Minute

A Gift From Pearl Harbor

January 16, 2017 Alan Mason Leave a comment

“The true price of leadership is the willingness to place the needs of others above your own. Great leaders truly care about those they are privileged to lead and understand that the true cost of the leadership privilege comes at the expense of self-interest.”
~Simon Sinek

Every year on December 7th we hear about the attack on Pearl Harbor, “A date that will live in infamy.” Our lives changed in that day… yes, each and every one of us, irrespective of age. For that is the moment that drove us to superpower status.

Before December 7, 1941, the United States had the 14th largest military in the world and was a country going through a time of isolationism. The war produced “the greatest generation,” and they, in turn, produced the next generations.

But that’s not the end of the gifts. On CBS Sunday Morning, in an interview with some of the remaining survivors of Pearl Harbor, one of them said something we’ve heard many times before, but rarely pay much attention to.

“I live every day as if it were my last.”

That concept doesn’t get much long term traction because the activities of life take over, and we think of it from our own perspective. But what if, as leaders, we looked at today as our last day through the lens of how our leadership looks to the people around us? Would others see us as the leader Sinek talked about?

How would you lead differently if tomorrow were your last day? Would you be irritated as often? Would you talk about the people around you any differently? If you had only the one day, would you think about your legacy?

Conversely, would you be more honest with people if it were your last day? Would you still kick the “I have to talk with them about that challenge someday” can down the road once again, or deal with difficult issues when they come up? Would you be more grateful for the opportunity your team gives you?

We all have the gift of this kind of foresight available, and we all can sacrifice at least some self-interest if we choose to.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #188 – No “Hallmark Card” Content, Please

January 11, 2017 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

Even very bright talents will slip up once in a while and do “pap for the masses,” thinking that it works.

This is what I heard one jock say recently:
“I love this… ‘good moms let their kids lick the beaters; great moms remember to turn off the mixer first.’ Yeah, I’ve been there”

Really? This sounds like a Hallmark Card for Mother’s Day, or something Ann Landers or Erma Bombeck might have written – in 1981. And no, you haven’t “been there,” or we’d have noticed the Child Protective Services van outside that house. (Because, apparently at some point, that mixer was left ON.)

Let’s be clear: I’m certainly not against doing things that are heartwarming or encouraging. That’s fine, but NOT if it sounds insipid or obsequious.

If you don’t know what those words mean, just ask Siri. Because, contrary to what that air talent thought, it’s not 1981 anymore.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (iPhone)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2017 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer #187 – A Lesson from Bill Walsh

January 4, 2017 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

Great stations, like great football teams, have this buzz about them – a vibe that everyone is pumped about working there. Not-so-great stations feel like a widget factory, populated by people waiting for their shifts to end so they can go home.

NFL wizard Bill Walsh, who coached the San Francisco 49ers to multiple championships in the eighties, said “If you can get everyone to laugh together, you can get everyone to get serious together.”

I do think that’s true, and years ago, we used to do a lot of things as a unit, whether it was going to a concert, or just hanging out together.

That’s not always possible in the 21st century, but I believe you can turn Walsh’s lesson around, too: If you can get everyone to be serious together, then you can get everyone to laugh together.

No matter how bad the day has been – say there’s no coffee in the coffee maker, the computers are glitchy, or the candy machine ate your dollar bill and spat out a Zagnut with an expiration date of November 3rd, 1998 – take a moment to relax. Gather your thoughts, clear your mind, and get ready for your show. By being serious about your job, you play your part in being a team leader. And if enough people do this, something magical happens. The mood lightens when everyone is purposeful.

I know this sounds simplistic, but frankly, that’s what losing stations always think – and then pay the price for thinking that way. Do your part to make your station the one where everyone wants to work. You’ll find that there’s a lot of laughter that grows out of being really good together.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #186 – How Long Should An Interview Last?

December 28, 2016 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

If you wonder about how long interviews should last, the quick answer is “It should end before I want to kill the guest.”

Seriously, in practical terms, plan on ONE segment. Anything past that should earn its way onto the air by adding something new and compelling to the interview.

Remember, an interview’s purpose isn’t to drum up business for the guest. It’s to make the guest come across as interesting enough or entertaining enough for me (as a listener) to even CARE about what they’re pushing, whether it’s a new album, concert, movie, charity, etc.

And I’d recommend never having a guest on for more than an hour, no matter who it is.

No doubt you’ve heard “leave the listener wanting more,” but not all air talents have the discipline to really do it. The minute you find yourself checking the clock to see how soon this segment will be over, you should have already ended it.

Mason Morning Minute

This Side Toward Enemy

December 26, 2016 Alan Mason Leave a comment

“The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will follow.”
~General Colin Powell

setting-up-a-claymore-mine

When the team is together, everyone talks teamwork. When it’s public, we’re all aware that people are watching. But when in pairs, or by themselves, when they think no one is around, it’s sometimes different. They’re not leaders, I’m not even sure they’re managers, but I know they are toxic.

There’s a reason the military has “This side toward enemy” printed on the front of Claymore mines. They know that sometimes people are in a hurry, not paying attention, or just don’t understand the ramifications of which way it needs to go. I’m sure in the early days there were cases of those devices being planted in the wrong direction. But in the business world, a backfire is a glitch. People aren’t killed. Harmed maybe, but not killed.

The difference is you, and your leadership. When you’re complaining about your boss, or another leader, when you’re rolling your eyes at their comments, or when you try to create an alliance to ensure you win, you’re planting a leadership Claymore in the wrong direction.

Tommy Kramer Tip

Tommy Kramer Tip #185 – Intimacy, And How To Get It (A Team Show Tip)

December 21, 2016 Tommy Kramer Leave a comment

Intimacy is the most unique ingredient in a team show, because often what works against it is that a team’s individual roles get “assigned” – or at least defined – by the PD or Consultant. Sometimes, in trying to stick to those definitions, intimacy just drops off the radar screen.

In reality, the roles don’t matter when it comes to this particular quality.

Every great show has Intimacy – and the more THAT element stands out, the stronger the team will be as a whole.

Here’s the tricky part: The Strategy is to reveal. But the Tactic is to not compete with or impede that happening. If you don’t know how to prep, but still be largely spontaneous, you might want to get some help with that. As Pierce Brosnan said in ‘Mama Mia’, “It’s only the rest of your life.”