This week’s Frost Advisory is a tip of the ball cap to my legendary friend Tommy Kramer who I first met in 1979 when his hair was down to his knees and brown. We really got to know each other eight years later when his best friend Randy Brown hired me to do afternoon drive at KISS-FM in Dallas. (“Why would you hire him? He’s a moron” or something to that effect.)
Fortunately for me, Randy did not take Tommy’s advice. A couple plates of nachos later Tommy figured out that he had me confused with another moron and perhaps I might not be so bad.
We spent several years together in Dallas laughing and guffawing and chasing the little white ball. It wasn’t until the mid 90s that we actually worked together when I hired him to assist me with programming a handful of radio stations in Orlando owned by the legendary Bud Paxson. With Alan Mason joining the company, the obvious became obvious and Tommy’s role blossomed into being the corporate talent coach and sitting on the floor. We’ve been connected at the hip ever since.
When Tommy shared that this would be his final coaching tip I suggested he offer his perspective and wisdom learned in his decades’ long on-air, programming, and coaching career. And just maybe how to determine if the new afternoon guy is a moron.
We’re better for knowing you, my friend. You’re one of a kind.
Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip #700: Perspective
I retired from active coaching at the end of last year, after 30 years of trying to help people get better. This will be my final coaching tip, and a conversation with my brilliant friend and mentor John Frost gave me the theme for it: Perspective.
Here’s my perspective…
(1) It starts with something that may sound corny to you: Being of service.
Your job with the Listener is to be informative, entertaining, and to hopefully help that person have a better day. Period. Many people, particularly in the Talk arena, forget that. The smart ones never do.
(2) The great radio stations, like great baseball teams or great bands, are almost always the ones that have staffs that like each other, root for each other’s success, and are each other’s biggest fans.
That’s what powered KNUS in Dallas in 1972. We knew we had something new, something special – an album rock station that had momentum like a great Top 40 station. We believed in it, and we believed in each other. (Thanks to Gordon McLendon, the owner, Bart McLendon, our GM, and the great Ken Dowe, who assembled a great staff and rooted for all of us.)
We became the first FM station to ever be #1.
(3) Great stations also share another factor, a creative one: There was always something going on. Our PD (Larry Ryan) would actually come into the Control Room, and just stand there and wait, with his arms folded, until you did something that would attract attention. Make this your mantra – DO SOMETHING. Don’t just sit there and fill the air with words, or just intro songs.
Final thought: Be yourself, and be it in style.
After coaching more than 300 stations in several different countries and over 1500 air talents, I’m convinced that it’s much easier to do things right than it is to do them wrong.
Have fun, my friends. I wish only the best for each of you.
Read more in the Tommy Kramer Coaching Tip Archives