“Thank you mighty much” were the words Ed shouted as folks left his tiny country grocery store.  Ed appreciated his customers, and everyone walked away with something free.

For the grown ups, it was the Coke machine that wouldn’t take their money.  For the kiddos it was “don’t forget your surprise” as they reached their tiny arms into the large jar of bubble gum.

“It’s tough for the seeds of depression to take root in a grateful heart.”  Andy Andrews

Gratitude leads to a sense of value, which leads to a sense of responsibility.

My talented friend Brian Yeager spent some time away for the holiday and returned with a fresh sense of gratitude, value, and responsibility.   He shared these thoughts with his team:

“It just reminded me how much what we do is INCREDIBLY important. Every time that mic is opened, that we are connecting, giving people an experience. We inspire and entertain. We share life. We are their friend when they have none. We are the love of Jesus. And just filling up breaks with meaningless words is simply CRAP. Don’t do it. Don’t do it ever.

While I was gone I got to see old college friends I haven’t seen in a decade. Two friends personify our approach and “their” approach. “Bob” was great to see. He has done a lot of things I’m excited about. But, I left the time hanging out feeling a little like the conversation was empty. He never asked about me. We talked about him.

My next friend, “John” was a lot of fun to talk about. His life is very interesting. He’s done some amazing things. His wife has done some great youth ministry. He also asked me about what I do. We had a real conversation. It was fun. I learned about him. He learned about me.  I felt validated and valued as a person.

“Bob” is like a LOT of radio stations – like the one I listened to. It’s crap.

“John” is what we want to do. Let’s talk about them. Let’s love on them. Let’s bring their life to the forefront.

Let’s not waste a moment we open up the microphone.”

Brian the radio guy and Ed the grocer have something in common.  Each has a sense of gratitude and responsibility.

For Ed the grocer that sense of responsibility showed up in delivering groceries free of charge to the elderly and shut-ins in his small west Texas town.  Watching Ed Sargent was a life lesson for me, that 13-year-old stock boy who got to ride along on those grocery deliveries, including to my very own grandmother.

Thank you mighty much!

And Happy Thanksgiving!

Every Christmas for the last several years I’ve thrown a few coins into the Salvation Army bucket down the street at the Piggly Wiggly. But not this year. Nope. They’ve changed their bell ringer. The guy standing outside the store ringing the bell is going to be different this season, so I’ve decided not to give.

Ludicrous, isn’t it? Obviously no one would stop donating to the Salvation Army because Bernie replaced Barry at the bucket.

Then why is it that our radio stations hear this type of complaint fairly regularly?

You’ve change programs!

You’ve changed the disc jockeys!

You cancelled Adventures in Odyssey!

You did this ONE thing that I don’t like… so I’m not going to donate to your station anymore!

They are basically saying “you’ve change the bell ringer.”

I know what the Salvation Army stands for. I believe in their cause of helping those who can’t help themselves. My understanding of the vision and purpose of their ministry is far more important to me than who stands outside Winn-Dixie ringing a bell.

Just this week I overheard a listener tell my friend Tyler McKenzie , “I got a mammogram because of you.” Tyler and her friend Ellis are the #1 morning show in their town, and not because they play 5 in a row or they hit the spotsets at the quarter hours.* It’s because they are meaningful, and may have even saved someone’s life.

No one will refuse to go to New York Yankees’ games because Derek Jeter has retired. I reckon no one stopped going to Starbucks because they quit serving the Captain Crunch Frappuccino.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, you’ll likely hear complaints about the bell ringer because the bigger story isn’t being told.

*There is nothing wrong with tactics that potentially minimize tune out or aid additional listening occasions, but they should not be confused with creating compelling reasons to love your station.

We don’t have enough money! We don’t have enough marketing and research! We don’t have enough people!

Surprise! In more than forty years of being inside tall stations and short stations, successful stations and gonna-be successful stations, I’ve never heard anyone say they had enough stuff!

Every station needs more something! But every station has the same amount of something, too!

Time.

Rather than focusing on what we don’t have perhaps we should consider focusing on making the most of what we do have.

I’ve seen some program directors spend so much time on the on-line forums and Facebook during their workday that I wonder when they have time to actually program their stations. (Answer: They don’t). I’ve seen organizations spend so much time in meetings that they no longer have time to get anything done.

While obviously some meetings are important, Robert Pozen, productivity expert and contributor to the Wall Street Journal, recently wrote that meetings are “the bane of corporate life.” He insists that companies are scheduling far too many of them, failing to maximize that wasted time and – in effect – ignoring the “real” work of getting things done.

In short, meetings are an excellent way to showcase how busy you are, but are a horrific way to let actual productivity slide.

My talented friends at NGEN share their creativity on wasting time!

Here’s a suggestion on how to make better use of your time, from Jack Kinder in “Breakfast with Ted”:

“At the end of each day, …sit down and identify the many things to be done the following day. On a second piece of paper, …list in the order of their priority.”

The next day start at the top of your list and scratch out tasks completed. Moving from top to bottom, you’ll seldom mark out all of them. However, you will form the habit of focusing on the highest priorities!

“Don’t get so busy dribbling that you forget we’re supposed to score.” Phil Jackson