In the history of college baseball, only 2 coaches have won the college world series with 2 different teams. This past week Coach Andy Lopez from Arizona became the 2nd coach to do it! (His first with Pepperdine in 1992…I was rooting for the Gamecocks!).
Switching sports, you cannot deny that Peyton Manning is a stud QB. A Stud QB with one Super Bowl ring in 14 seasons (not counting last season since he didn’t play). As everyone knows, due to the media frenzy behind it, Peyton will start this season for a new football team-The Denver Broncos. What you may not know is that only 4 QBs in the history of professional football have won a Super Bowl with 2 different teams! (None of which were starters for one or both of those teams). Ring yes. Playing time? No.
Getting lightning to strike twice is a difficult thing. Sure, winning track records should account for something and sports analogies don’t always translate to business. You don’t have to make it to the “big game” to be considered successful. Translated to the radio world, does a candidate with “big market experience” have a better shot at landing a gig over someone who doesn’t?
They shouldn’t.
If someone has a major market programming pedigree, they are often exposed when they move down to a medium or small market (not always, but often). They don’t take the market seriously because they assume the gig is a cake walk compared to their days in the “majors”. Not always, but many had resources and talented people to help them succeed. The APD/MD was probably good enough to be a PD somewhere, the Promotions Director wasn’t a young kid promoted from the street team just last week and there is a good chance they had a healthy marketing/research/promotions budget. Not exactly a situation where the cards are stacked against you right?
“I like this guy because he has a major market pedigree”… Words I have heard from more than one employer in my career. That pedigree is the LAST thing you should consider when looking over resumes. Too often, employers get enamored by the glitz and glam of that person’s major market based resume. They hire them in a medium/small market and soon find out that this person, although probably still very talented, isn’t putting up the numbers they did in the large market. (See previous paragraph for reason). It’s not that they are not talented, but you have to consider the environment you are placing this person in. Even if you are hiring them in a comparable market, make sure that the employee can win in the system you are putting them in. You don’t ask a lights out closing pitcher to throw nothing but knuckleballs or have a pocket passer go all Michael Vick all of the sudden.
Take a look at the candidates and make sure their skill set matches the needs of the situation. Don’t discount the major market person-they are talented. Yet, don’t allow their pedigree to heavily influence the decision. Make sure they are the kind of person, with the right background, that can flourish in the situation they are being hired for.
Yes, I generalized a lot in this blog, but I hope you get what I’m trying to get across here. In short, hire the right person for the job and not someone who will just sell tickets and jerseys (Peyton Manning).
Often people sit back and steal cool pictures and cards from other Facebook pages or blogs. Sure, that’s easy. Sitting behind your computer screen, sipping on some caffeinated beverage, just waiting for the latest spoof, in viral card form, of the Carly Rae Jepsen song “Call me maybe”; isn’t going to create content that will truly endear you to the audience. You need to capture life. Stop waiting to catch cool and go out and create it.
Yesterday I was at a gas station and next to my car was a group of girls and moms in a SUV. It was all pimped out in 1 Direction decorations (1 Direction is a British boy band that was playing in Houston that night). Since one of the stations I program is a CHR and is considered the “1 Direction Station” in San Antonio, I snapped a picture. I just assumed they were listeners…I was right.
It appears that the random photo I took at the gas station was quickly seen by Hannah (the daughter of the woman who owned the SUV). She told everyone she knows that a picture of her mom’s car was posted on the station’s Facebook page. It had a bunch of likes and Hannah became a star to all her friends. I am confident that they will be talking about this post, as well as the concert, for a very long time. We just became a part of her awesome concert experience.
When we look to create content for your digital properties, don’t forget to capture the little things. When in doubt, snap the picture and post it. You might come across something special or better yet, become part of the experience. Real life events like this go much farther in creating loyal listeners than just another “Call me maybe” card.
This morning I was cut off in traffic by a guy driving a company truck for a pest control service. I won’t say who, because it’s not relevant and God forbid they, or someone they know, actually read my blog. He was driving like an idiot and I wasn’t the only person he cut off in the short time I watched him. I’m sure there wasn’t a big pest emergency that he had to get to (END OF DAYS! LOCUSTS!!). The guy drove like a jerk and one would assume he is a jerk in real life. Needless to say, I won’t be using that company for my pest control needs. Why? Because he represents that company and my first impression was terrible.
Radio is not a vocation-it’s a lifestyle. Embrace that you are always expected to be “on”. At the grocery store, little league games, eating out, etc. You represent your personal brand, the stations and the company. You also have a responsibility to everyone around you. Your actions are a direct reflection of everything we do as a group. This power is a blessing and a curse. None of us ever complain when our “star” helps to open doors and allows us to experience something that we would never normally experience on our own. It also means we can’t be an overly aggressive jerk to the waiter at the restaurant when we are given bad service. Waiters are consumers too.
Take pride in what you do. Show that pride and not your ass.
In short-don’t be a jerk. People don’t hire Jerks to kill their pests…nor would they listen to them on the air.
This is part of an article I wrote a few years ago for FMQB. I recently read something on facebook that made me think of this paragraph:
We can’t continue to look at building radio "stars" the same way we once did. Traditionally, you interned, got a part time job in promotions or on the weekends, and then just waited for your big break. With budgets being scaled back and the traditional opportunities lessened, we as managers need to create and apply energy towards new ideas and outlets for the next generation. Create viral stars, intern bloggers, characters on shows, role players, etc. If you find an intern or a promotions person who has that special something, but they aren’t ready to be on the air, teach them how to create airchecks in the production room or how to create viral content for the station. You'd be amazed by the creative imaging you get if you ask a rookie radio employee to write a few sweepers for the first time. Give them the tools and the opportunities to become stars. Who knows, if they do it right, you just created the replacement for the jock that is leaving. In some cases, they might help your decision on keeping or letting go someone who is not doing all the things you need them to do (blogging, social networking, viral videos, etc.). For those who think in sports analogies, some guy named Steve Young used to back up Joe Montana.
Perhaps this might help you make a difficult decision with a stubborn employee who doesn't want to evolve or give an opportunity to someone who is hungry?
The expression "do me" means something different than when I was a kid. Nowadays rappers use those words to express their need to keep it real and be themselves. When I was a kid, it was a line from a Bel Biv Devoe song. (nobody wears a Swatch watch anymore by the way)
Often I am solicited for career advice from people who are looking for an angle that might help them impress a perspective employer. "How should I act" or "What kind of demo should I put together" are questions I am often asked. My advice is always-DO YOU!
You ever go to the soda fountain, fill your cup underneath the coke icon, take a drink and suddenly your taste buds are confused when the flavor of something else comes rushing past your tongue? That same type of shock occurs when an employer hires the person they interviewed, only to experience buyers remorse when you turn out to be someone entirely different.
Employers are casting for a particular part. They have a vision of what they will be expecting from this person. Don't assume that once you see an opportunity to be yourself, they will suddenly change their plans and adapt to your wonderful personality and skills. Chances are you won't last at that job and you certainly won't be happy (or the Jets could always make a deal to pick you up after your last employer was not wanting to change the team to adapt to you).
Be you...unless you are a jerk...then learn to do something else (like not be a jerk)
Things people have said to me over the years…
People remember movie quotes, something influential that they read from some passage of a book or a random tweet from some motivational speaker; resurrecting something that Mark Twain or Zig Ziglar once said. Great quotes stick. Sometimes it’s not the words, but the inflection of those words that make or break the quote.
I live in San Antonio and Spurs fever has taken over the town! I have to admit, I don’t usually watch basketball, but to be at the center of the hub of all this energy is pretty exciting. Coach Pop (The Spurs coach) told his team to “Get Nasty” during game one against OKC. Since then, the word “Nasty” has blown up! I hope to say something one day, with the proper inflection, that takes off like wildfire and possibly makes me rich in the process. So far, all I can come up with is “I like Cheese”…if you put that on a t-shirt or bumper sticker, please give me 20%.
There have been some things that have been said to me in my career that have stuck with me. Not all were meant in a positive way, but even when they were said in a negative fashion, I used them to motivate myself to do better.
Here are a few. In order to keep anonymity I will not give name credit to these quotes.
(When I was a baby DJ just getting started my boss said this to me) “Murphy, you’re a funny guy. Too bad you aren’t funny on the radio”. It was a breaking point for me at the time because I was trying to sound like everyone else, stiff and predictable, but that next day I took the gloves off and hit the mic as myself. The rest is history.
(After sitting down with a different boss for a critique session) “Chase, I want you to stop being funny on the radio and focus more on the music. People don’t want to laugh; they want to know about Britney Spears”. Soon after that I started looking for jobs that allowed me to run the station. I could no longer stand to work for someone who did not share my vision. He had his way of doing things and I had mine. In order to stay true to my vision, while remaining open minded, I had to move on. This statement helped to launch my programming career.
“I’m not sure you’re the guy for the job”? This was said to me by a VP of a company after I launched a radio station and slaughtered the competition; forcing them to change format. After winning for a solid 2 years, this guy said this to me! He soon started his own company and a few years later asked to be my consultant. Guess what I told him? Yep! “I’m not sure you’re the guy for the job”. (That felt pretty good). Perhaps he was trying to keep me motivated, but his tone and the words he used afterwards told me that he was trying to knock me down.
“Chase, you’re good, but you’re not yet great”. This was said to me by a VP of Programming (different guy from the previous quote). At the time, those words were like a punch to the mouth. I fumed for a good day or 2- wanting to stuff those words down his mouth. Yet, deep inside I knew what he was doing. He was using this to push me to work harder and to realize that there is always room for improvement and I had more to prove to myself and to him. He was right. I was good, but not yet great. A year after that statement, he came in for a market visit and told me that I was great and that he was proud of my growth. I didn’t need for him to say anything, but it certainly was a rewarding feeling. Keep this in mind when you are challenging someone in your life. Be prepared to make a follow up recognition statement or they may never understand the meaning of the original comment.
My advice to you-always look for ways to motivate yourself through these statements. Don’t let them derail you or cause you to lose focus. Channel the energy of these statements. Yes, there are people who mean to bring you harm with their words and sometimes they are meant to motivate. Only the people who delivered them know the true intention and they are probably not sure how the recipient “took” them. Be motivated and assume that they are saying these things to motivate you. Or take those words, better yourself and ram them back down their throats! (Just keep karma in mind).
Haters gonna hate…play on playa’…play on.
