If you and I made a list of things that make a radio station ordinary we’d probably come up with the same list.

That’s the thing about ordinary. There is no surprise. There is no delight.

Consistency is good.

Predictability is not.

I was driving down the freeway this weekend, and I saw a car with a sticker in the window that read “Proud parent of a U.S. Marine.”

Being the patriotic sort, I gave the driver a thumbs up as I passed to show my support! She glanced my way, then just as quickly turned away assuming, no doubt, that I was wacky in traffic nutbucket.

Suffice it to say that the “Proud parent of a U.S. Marine” sticker was on her car but it wasn’t on her mind. It makes sense, really. We’re busy.

Your radio station is like that.

I can sometimes predict how a Frost Advisory will land. Sometimes it can be soothing to the ear, like a gentle breeze on an autumn day. (Pardon the mixed metaphor). Other times it can create discomfort with a frantic e-mail forwarding from GM to PD to air staff to chief engineer to receptionist with an accompanying “What do you make of this #?@#& tomfoolery?”

Frost Advisory #838 will be the latter.

I was driving to see my mechanic when I heard the news on the radio about Dolly Parton. I sat in the lobby for an hour or so and everyone… everyone that came in the shop talked about Dolly.

Some observations:

It’s a curious thing. A few understand it, but most do not. In over 25 years in the format I’ve never been a part of an interview where a potential program director or air talent was even asked if they knew what the format was about.

Coming from a background in mainstream radio I didn’t really understand what our format was about either. I thought the format was about the music we play, the deejays, the promotions and doing radio stuff. After all, that’s radio, right? I had to undergo a process of learning that our format is about something much more important. I learned it from listening to our listeners.

Back to school time is everywhere. In the stores with sales. On the streets with school buses. There are even tax free days for Back to School. It’s not an official holiday like Christmas, Ground Hog Day, or Millard Fillmore’s birthday, but it is just as evident.

Back to school affects everyone’s schedule, even those that don’t go to school. (Can’t say that about ole’ Millard’s birthday.)

When the great artist and sculptor Michelangelo was asked how he created his famous 17-foot-tall statue of David he responded, “It was easy. I just took away everything that didn’t look like David.”

That profound simplicity could be a nifty way to approach fine tuning your radio station.

If people come to your station to be encouraged just take away the stuff that doesn’t do that.

It all started with a spam call. At least I thought it was.

“I’m reaching out because as a part of our brand promise we mentioned that we would contact you anytime we saw an opportunity to further improve on your overall finances…”

That one line helped change my perspective. It wasn’t a spam call at all. I realized that I had an existing relationship with this company, and they were attempting to fulfill a “brand promise” they had made to me.

Key points:

When we radio people talk about programming do you know what tends to come up? It’s the stuff. Clocks. New music. Rotations. Liners. Commercial breaks. Traffic reports. Stuff that fits ever so nicely on a spread sheet.

Well, I have news for you. Good news, in fact. Your station has a secret weapon. And it’s not any of that stuff.

It’s people.

It’s simple, really.*

In a short burst of clarity and creativity, I’ve come up with The World’s Simplest Checklist for a really swell radio station. (Believe me they only come to me in short bursts).

Grab your #2 pencil and count up your points!