Are You "The Cup"?

From Kim George @ CoachingIntoGreatness.com:

People living in scarcity see the cup as half empty.
People who are positive thinkers see the cup as half full.
People living abundantly see the cup as overflowing.
But people Living into their Greatness ARE the cup.

What's keeping you from seeing yourself as "The Cup”?

The Two Reasons People Say No To Your Idea

According to marketing guru Seth Godin, two reasons people say no to your idea are:

1. "It's been done before"
2. "It's never been done before"

Seth's advice (and I agree): Even though neither one is truthful, accurate or useful, you need to be prepared for both.

More from Seth here.

How Listeners Will Fare In Merger

From the Wall Street Journal, Lee Gomes writes:

Business doesn't always look too kindly on a duopoly. True, there are the occasional twinned rivals that manage to sit happily atop an industry for decades -- Coke and Pepsi, say. But there are also many examples, like VHS and Beta, of pairs of competitors that battle it out in markets where, in the end, people want not a choice, but a single unambiguous winner.

Depending on antitrust regulators in Washington, the market for satellite radio may soon undergo a 2-for-1 deal of its own. In this case, the winner would involve a marriage of two incumbents, XM and Sirius, who have asked the Federal Communications Commission to be allowed to merge. A decision isn't expected for several months.

The request from the companies is, if nothing else, brash. XM and Sirius received permission to set up their satellite networks back in 1997, fully aware of an FCC rule specifically prohibiting the very sort of merger and resulting monopoly now being sought.

Click here for the complete article.

To Win, Radio Must Be...

“To win, brands must be relevant, responsible, honest, definable, and a welcome part of contemporary culture.” – Scott Bedbury, former Starbucks executive

The above quote from Scott Bedbury could easily be adapted into a framework for evaluating the competitiveness of your "radio brands."

Think about the programming and marketing of the stations in your cluster/company. Is each station relevant, responsible, honest, definable and a welcome part of contemporary culture in the community it serves? If not, get your team together to share, and quickly implement, ideas that will improve each station and enhance the experience listeners have when they tune-in.

Make sure listeners not only hear your stations, but FEEL them. Engage. Entertain. Differentiate. And most of all, make a difference.

60 Ideas In 60 Minutes

Great minds, great ideas…

At this year’s Canadian Music Week in Toronto, fellow programmers Tracy Johnson, Chris Kennedy, Mike McVay, and Steve Young shared “60 Ideas In 60 Minutes.” The panel discussion was facilitated Chris Byrnes. Here are a few ideas from the session to help to jumpstart your thinking.

• Have Talent Critique Themselves –Steve Young
  Allow your air talents to critique themselves during air check sessions. It will give you as a PD a sense of what they are thinking and what they see as the priorities to address in their air work.
• Target Marketing To Create Sampling –Tracy Johnson
  Target your marketing to create SAMPLING of your station, not merely imaging or positioning it. Be sure to include a specific call to action…that is easy for consumers to respond to, and don’t ask for too much. You can’t convert someone who doesn’t listen now to become their favorite station tomorrow. But you can create marketing that asks for a LITTLE sampling…at a specific time…and get them to try you out.
• Are You Blogging? –Chris Kennedy
  Are you blogging? Gives the station personalities a forum to be connected with the community and for listeners to comment and interact. Content can be anything from show bit discussions to appropriate content matching station style to community events, etc.

Get the complete list here.

Your Station Website Sucks - And Here's Why

When it comes to the internet, it's amazing how many stations still don't "get it."

Web 2.0 offers unique ways to further engage your audience, link them with other listeners, enrich their listening and online experiences, and make them feel more passionate about your radio brand.

For creative and management types alike, here's a video that explains Web 2.0 in just under 5 minutes. Watch carefully...

RCS – 2007 Daylight Savings Time (DST) Changes/Updates

In August of 2005, Congress passed an energy bill that included extending Daylight Saving Time beginning in 2007. The new DST will start on this Sunday, March 11th 2007 and end on the first Sunday in November of 2007.

Most versions of Selector® and Master Control were designed to take Daylight Saving Time directly from the Microsoft Windows™ Operating System. This means that as long as your copy of Windows is updated to recognize the new DST changes, Selector and Master Control will automatically follow these new dates. Read more here.

Email RCS Support Team here.

Microsoft Support:

Microsoft Article: 2007 Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time Update for Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931836

Microsoft Article: Adjusting Daylight Saving Time manually for Windows 2000 and XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914387

>> Note: For the new Windows Vista, changes are not needed as Vista will update automatically.

The Master Motivator

In 1995, New York Times best-selling authors, Mark Victor Hansen and Joe Batten, first shared their secrets of inspiring leadership in the book, “The Master Motivator.” When I discovered their book, at that time, I was serving as Program Director for the newly relaunched WKYS in Washington, DC. Mark and Joe’s leadership insights became invaluable to me. And I quickly adopted, and adapted, many of their tips and techniques to help me motivate my programming staff in new ways.

After blowing the dust off of this classic book again this past weekend, I believe that Mark and Joe’s insights are just as relevant today as they were years ago. For me, “The Master Motivator” helped to shape my coaching style for inspiring high-ego, high-energy talent in the office and behind the mic.

A Master Motivator…

1. [Sets] clear expectations (goals and motives) requested firmly with caring confidence and consistency.
2. Bases all requests (not orders) on known and suspected strengths and on the empathic awareness of needs, desires, and fears.
3. Insures that full training, mentoring, and support are scheduled at all times.
4. [Provides] continuous, confident, and caring feedback. When firmness is needed, mean what you say!
5. Expects the best, being firm and caring. Provides generous earned praise and an example of constant commitment to learning.

Are you successfully coaching and motivating your staff to achieve their personal and professional goals, including higher ratings and revenue for your station/cluster? Be honest with yourself and those who look to you for leadership. Maybe it’s time for you to make the transition from being a “task master” to becoming a “master motivator.”

To make “The Master Motivator” a part of your leadership library, order your copy at Amazon.com. And for more from the “Master of Mindset,” Mark Victor Hansen, visit here.