Frost Advisory #390 – Maybe We’re Asking The Wrong Question

“What’s going to change in the next 10 years?”

Jeff Bezos is one of the world’s richest men, having founded Amazon.com in his Seattle garage two decades ago.

He says people ask him that question a lot.

I almost never get the question: ‘What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?’

And I submit to you that that second question is actually the more important of the two – because you can build a business strategy around the things that are stable in time. … [I]n our retail business, we know that customers want low prices, and I know that’s going to be true 10 years from now.  They want fast delivery; they want vast selection.


It’s impossible to imagine a future 10 years from now where a customer comes up and says, ‘Jeff, I love Amazon; I just wish the prices were a little higher.’  ‘I love Amazon; I just wish you’d deliver a little more slowly.’  Impossible.

And so the effort we put into those things, spinning those things up, we know the energy we put into it today will still be paying off dividends for our customers 10 years from now.

So, let’s talk about your radio station.   What’s not going to change in the next 10 years?

People will want to be entertained.  They’ll want to listen to music they love; music that enhances a certain mood (happy, romantic, introspective, worshipful, relaxing, adventuresome, nostalgic).

People will want to be with others that share their desires, beliefs and values.  We are attracted to reflections of ourselves.

People will want to be loved.  They will want to know that their lives matter.

“When you have something that you know is true, even over the long term, you can afford to put a lot of energy into it.”
~Jeff Bezos

Thanks to my Misfit pal Brant Hansen for the inspiration.  His latest book is available …  on Amazon.com.


John Frost

John has been a successful major market DJ and Program Director for such companies as CBS, Gannett, Cap Cities, Westinghouse, Multimedia, and Sandusky and publishes the Frost Advisory.

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