Frost Advisory #566 – A Programming Lesson For Father’s Day

“You can do anything… once”

I often heard those words from my dad’s booming voice. In part an acknowledgment of an adolescent’s likely choices; another part about the consequences facing that pimpled-faced teenager.

Those words served as a life lesson of accountability. But, you know what? Those words were also true. I COULD do anything… once.

So can your station.

always-done-it

Making programming decisions based strictly upon what you’ve already done is like driving looking in the rear view mirror. It won’t get you anywhere but where you’ve already been.

Recently a popular local barbecue restaurant opened its usually closed doors on Sunday to raise money for victims of a local tragedy. Well, guess what?

They’d never done that before.

You can imagine the conversation among the staff.

It’s interesting how even opposite behaviors – being closed on Sundays and opening this particular Sunday – are ways to demonstrate a core value of their business: giving back to the community. In other words, the more they innovate the more they are able to fulfill their mission. It’s counter-intuitive; the more they adapted to a new situation the more they revealed their vision.

Resisting a new idea because “it doesn’t sound like my station” is the cry of the rear view mirror driver and of a radio station that can’t adapt and grow.

The programming lesson learned this Father’s Day is that you can do anything… once!

It’s called innovation, and there’s a good chance it will make your radio station better!

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