I’m clearing out some e-mail this morning and came across an e-mail from Eric Rhoads. I thought it was well worth sharing…
Being a radio manager is like being a piece of wood in a vice: pressure from two sides, and you’re the one getting squeezed.
The company is cutting your resources, providing fewer tools and demanding that you hit impossible budgets. The client wants results and accountability. You also feel pressure from employees who need your support and demand more money, more resources and more time to hit budgets. You are over-stretched, under-compensated, over-worked and under-appreciated by clients, employees and the company. You’re ready to explode. And don’t forget the pressure to spend more time at home with the family.
Are you ready to scream yet? You’ve been holding it in too long. Do it. Go ahead. Close the door right now and let out a big, giant, primal, guttural scream: ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!
There, that feels better.
Ok, lets be realistic. Are things getting better? Are things getting less stressful? Is there an end in sight, or is the end the day you have a stroke from the pressure?
Einstein Was No Dummy
We’ve all heard Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing things over and over the same way and expecting different results. If this doesn’t describe radio, what does? Your company expects better performance from you and your team, yet most stations have fewer resources and fewer tricks in their bag. Does anyone have any earth-shattering ideas that offer renewed hope?
Outta Touch With Reality, Eric?
You probably think of me as an idealist, a magazine publisher with “out-there” ideas that don’t work in the real world. Yet, I have been a successful station manager and owner. I know reality. I also know that it’s human nature to cling to the past – even when it is not working – and resist new ideas. It’s just easier. When I was in the consulting business, every client in every market said, “Sure, your ideas worked there, but they won’t work here.” But, in spite of their resistance, the new ideas did work in their towns. I have to fight my own resistance try new things, to leap into the future. It’s frightening, it’s risky. I could fail. I have to force myself to stand on the ledge, because failure is a better option than staying stuck.
Did I Say Stuck?
Radio is stuck. Because I love it, I spend most of my time trying to get it unstuck. I got an e-mail today from a buddy referring to my Roy Williams conference. “Eric, the majority of radio managers fear what Roy teaches. It would be one thing if he advocated doing radio better, but Roy is a rebel, and his position challenges radio’s greed-infested culture.” The e-mail continued, “[Roy] teaches people to be better marketers, but he also preachers that they do the right thing. Sadly, doing the right thing takes a back seat to hitting the budget. It’s no longer about the local client; it’s about shareholders and reaching unrealistic budgets, at any cost. Roy is right for our time, but radio managers fear his message. Following Roy would result in a revolution. Radio doesn’t have the stomach for that. The revolution will come when clients possess the power to make radio do the right thing.”
A Secret Discussion With A Group Head
If I reveal the source of this, I’m out of business. “Eric, my biggest frustration is that leadership is non-existent in my company at the local level. No one wants to try anything new, no one wants to buck the company systems, everyone fears that it’s the company way or the highway. Maybe, if I had some rebels in the company, we could reinvent the way things are done in a few local markets, and pave an entirely new way for the company. It’s so *@$%* frustrating! The culture says innovation is a bad thing, but it’s what I crave. I wish just one manager, somewhere, would have the guts to buck the system.”
Are You A Follower Or Leader? Be Honest!
A follower would say, “I’m a company man (or woman). What they say goes. Right or wrong, I’m going to do what they say.” A leader would say, “We’re on a dead-end street. Somebody has to try something new – it might as well be me. I’m going to get fired anyway because, eventually, I won’t be good enough. I might as well go down in flames for trying something.” Revolution is required! Are you going to be the one to create a revolution in your market? Are you the person your boss is secretly hoping will originate ideas to reinvent the company? Are you really a follower?
Screaming Competitive Advantage
In a few weeks, Radio Ink will present one of the most amazing life-lesson teachers in the world of advertising. Roy H. Williams is not only a brilliant teacher; he is a brilliant strategist, a remarkable thinker and a very giving person. Every five years or so, Roy blows up his own theories and forces himself to find new, more relevant answers. In Dallas, you will be the first in radio, the first among advertisers and clients, to hear Roy’s newest theories. This is not what you heard at previous Radio Ink Roy Williams conferences; this is not what you have read in his best-selling books, this is not what he tells to the world’s top advertisers. This new, bleeding-edge information explains why traditional advertising models are dead, and outlines exactly how to survive – and thrive – in the world of advertising. Roy is not a radio guy or a radio trainer, but he spends tens of millions on radio – and the way he does it is about to change. You will know those secrets. This is not sales training, and this is not pro-radio hype. Roy will reveal how to open the floodgates of ad dollars in your local market. Advertisers will embrace you as the only person in town who understands their business and fills their stores with customers, while your competitors are still doing radio the old way. It will be like watching everyone else drive model Ts after you have driven a Formula racecar.
I’m About to Shut Up
For the past few Fridays, I’ve sent you an e-mail about this conference. When this conference sells out, I’ll fade away from your mailbox. My goal has been to sell 125 seats, to find 125 people who will be the leaders in their markets, who are bold, rebellious and a little crazy. So far I have found 105. Will 20 more reveal themselves in the next two weeks? Are you one of them? If you are expecting your company to send you, they probably won’t. Roy Williams is a threat to the status quo. If they do send you, they are indeed visionary. This is a career investment.
Change
Change is uncomfortable, but it will set you free from the bondage of mediocrity and the insanity of sameness. Twenty seats for 20 rebels. Isn’t it time you pulled your head out of the vice?
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