THE ENERGY BUS

I got this from one of my on air personalities. It's from the book, "The Energy Bus", by Jon Gordon and has some great points.

The day you die, you will still have 30 or 40 emails in your in-box that will not be answered. You’ll never get it all done, so you might as well relax and enjoy the ride.

The best legacy you could leave is not some building that is named after you or a piece of jewelry, but rather a world that has been impacted and touched by your presence, your joy, and your positive actions.

Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone’s and everyone’s negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone’s doubt.

When you are enthusiastic, you project an energy that convinces people to get on and stay on your bus.

People are always buying you and your energy.

When you use the signs to find the right path and make a decision to follow it, God will move heaven and earth to support you.

The higher you get in an organization, the more it is your duty to serve the people below you rather than having the people below serve you.

This is a re-post of something I did last year. I think it's worth seeing again.

Thanksgiving is this week and I thought it would be good to reflect on some things we should be thankful for working in radio. Now before you roll your eyes, I realize the last couple of years have been really tough with downsizing, cut backs, programming options forced down our throats and more. This is not just something radio is dealing with, it's everywhere. All businesses and industries are suffering. Radio is still a great gig and here are a few things to be thankful for:

• We work in radio. We play music and connect with people for a living. Pretty cool.

• We get to go to concerts for free and many times meet the artists backstage.

• We don't have to get up at 5am in the pouring rain to collect people’s trash.

• We get to talk to thousands of people each day that think of us as a friend. We have thousands of friends!

• We get to create magic (or at least you should be creating magic).

• We get to listen to music and get paid for it.

• Many of the biggest stars in country music know us by name.

• The chicks (Just kidding. Seeing if you are still paying attention).

• Our office environment is unlike any other place on the planet. Try working for a lawyer or CPA. Their offices are boring and stale. I've never worked in a radio station where someone didn't have a guitar in their office and played it often.

• Most of us are doing what we've wanted to do since we were kids. I bet most of your non radio friends can't say that.

• Over 90% of all Americans listen to radio each week. That's an impressive number. Very few media outlets connect with that many people each week.

• Each day we get to make people laugh, cry and think.

• Every day is different. Perfect for radio people that have ADD...which is most of us.

• We get free tickets to nearly everything.

• Competition makes us all better and radio has a lot of it.

Stay positive and take this weekend to think about all the great things that come with working in radio. There are many.

WHAT BUGS ME

With the passing of Andy Rooney, I thought it was time for me to do "Ya Know What Bugs Me (in my best Andy Rooney voice)?"

So here goes. These are a few of the things that I hear on the radio that bug me.

1) SAYING "WWW"
If someone doesn't know that websites start with "WWW", then they aren't online and don't care about the website you are giving out.

2) CLICHES
There are a ton of them. "Hump Day", "Comin' Atcha", "Around the Corner", "Let's Go To The Phones", "Happy (day of the week) to you", and many more. Why do people on the radio feel the need to talk different than a regular person when they are on the air?

3) SELF SERVING JOCKS AND STATIONS
Jocks that run phoners from listeners saying how great they are, or how much they love listening to them. Edit that out.

Also, there are very few real "Legendary" or "World Famous" stations in the country. Those descriptions should be reserved for the true ones. There may have been more legendary stations 40 or 50 years ago, but not today. Listeners don't care. It's hype.

4) HEARING MORNING SHOW PROMOS ON FRIDAY
It's the start of my weekend. The last thing I want to think about is Monday morning. Have your morning show promo start on Saturday, not Friday afternoon.

5) RADIO THAT ISN'T ONE ON ONE
The best radio is one on one. Just YOU and ONE listener. Talk to just one person. Use "you" and "I", not "everybody", "folks", "our listeners" or "all you people."

6) JOCKS THAT HAVE BEEN "PPM'd."
I hear this a lot. Jocks that talk so fast and sound so rushed (because they only have a few seconds before the listener turns them off) that it's fatiguing to listen to. Let your show breathe. There's no need to sound like you are in a hurry to finish the break.

7) JOCKS THAT MAKE EVERYTHING ABOUT FACEBOOK
I get that Facebook is important and we need to be where our listeners are, but I hear jocks that talk about nothing more than their Facebook page. I would bet your AQH is much higher than the number of people that would ever friend you or check out your Facebook page. Even for national shows. Play to the masses and the biggest common denominator. That's your listener, not your Facebook Fans.

OK, I'm stepping off my soap box now.

I miss Andy Rooney.