Now, It's All About The Connection.....Ummmm....Always Has Been!!!

40 years in this business and, of course, I've witnessed lots of changes. I'd say some of the biggest coming in this decade, so far, with the addition of PPM Ratings, social media and the ever-increasing world of technology. With PPM, programming philosophies and promotional plans have changed in some cases. With several years of the new ratings system under our belt, we are beginning to see what may breed success in such an arbitrary situation. All I've been hearing is that the connection to the listener is crucial, as if this were some new found method. Folks,connection to the listener has been the main reason for any radio station's success since the first signal was detected!! Think of some of the legendary personalities - Wolfman Jack, John Landecker, The Real Don Steele just to name several. They all had that connection and they all did it in short spurts. I grew up listening to two amazing top 40 radio stations - WFIL in Philadelphia and WABC in New York. I would put any of those personalities in a PPM world...in a diary world...heck, in a world where you etched your favotite on a stone tablet. No matter what the measurement, these stations would win. They connected. I don't think I ever heard George Michael or Cousin Brucie talk for more than 20 seconds any time but they connected. They knew what to say, how to say it and when to say it. They spoke the language of the listener. So what's changed????? NOTHING!! I suggest you find a way to listen to some of these legends (WFIL archives can be found at www.famous56.com). You'll hear what I'm talking about. The connection has ALWAYS been there!

Spelling Bee II - Who Was More Nervous?

The Saga of the Spelling Bee continued with Spelling Bee II - our girl competed this past weekend with 39 other middle school champions for the right to go to D.C. and be a part of the Scripps National Bee.
As I awoke the day of the spelling bee, my stomach had that churn that I used to have the morning of a game when I played football. Our girl was as relaxed as I've ever seen her. Sure, she was doing some last minute studying but just as cool as a cucumber. Dad? As we got closer to our departure time, I was getting closer to feeling like jello.
The event was a 3-hour extravaganza and our girl managed to make it into the 6th round as the 12th final contestant and then "spelled out" , as they say, on the word "cravat". She was the picture of calm and confidence everytime she stepped up to the mike. Meanwhile, back in the parents' room, Dad was a bundle of nerves until her last round.
Couldn't have been prouder of the girl. She did all she could and kept her cool throughout. What I discovered after this all ended was what was really important to me, day in and day out. There were some technical issues dogging our stations that same day but my mind was totally on the success of our girl. I really didn't give those station problems a thought once she hit the stage. I don't think any ratings success, soldout concert or big revenue month gave me as much exhiliaration as seeing that little girl giving everything she had in a very special competition.
I realized that, finally, I think the priorties are right. It took long enough!!!

Believe, Part 2!!!!!

This is a quick addendum to my last blog. Of course, we were excited the entire weekend about our daughter's spelling bee win but, lo and behold, we found out yesterday, it wasn't to be!!!! Yes, that's what I said. Seems that one of the classes (8th graders) were, inadvertently, omitted from receiving a word study sheet. Some of their parents complained about the lack of fairness and so our girl had to be informed yesterday that had not YET won, all of a sudden. She was to face the winner of the 8th grade spelling bee - she being of 7th grade stock.
The rug pulled out from under her, she got the tears out of her system early yesterday afternoon and went right back to work studying those spelling words. She knew there may have been something unfair about all of this but she rose above the issue and went to work for the face-off which was to occur this morning.
The kicker was how she ended her bedtime prayer last night asking God to do well. She NEVER prayed to win.
Fast forward to today and the call came again - She WON again!!!! She had to face a pretty decent friend to do but she did it graciously and confidently. She, not only, believed, but she showed all of us that the spirit of the competition was most important to her. Winning or losing was not the issue for her as much as a good performance.....and that it was!!!

Believe!

You know you've stopped growing when you've stopped learning and the key to that is recognizing the fact that you can learn from just about anyone - young, old, male, female,etc. I can say that, recently, I learned something very profound, yet simple, from a 13-year-old.....my 13-year-old daughter, to be exact.
For the past two weeks, my, now, not-so-little one was preparing for her school's spelling bee. She qualified by finishing second in her homeroom class so she was one of about 25 students participating in this middle school spelling bee. I watched as she studied those words. Her mom and I helped her but she had some trouble with a few of the words but she stayed the course and kept working. Last year, she made it to the second round but was eliminated rather unceremoniously. The eventual champion wound up good enough to win the regionals and make it to the National Spelling Bee in D.C. He was, once again, in this tournament so, from her parents' standpoint, we knew it would be a tough haul for her.
As the spelling bee got closer, she continued to study but also pronounced to us that she was going to win this spelling bee. Why? Her reasoning was that she really wanted a medal (Side note - she has always been impressed by the medal I received for running a half-marathon a few years ago so that has been on her radar since then.). She was determined to win. As far as her mom and I were concerned, we were proud of all of the preparation she was doing but we knew that she was up against some tough competition. We would be happy just for her particpation.
Unfortunately,for me, this spelling bee was scheduled the same time as my annual trip to St. Jude's Children's Research Center so I was going to miss being there in person. The day of the spelling bee I, honestly, expected to get a text from her mom, at some point, saying she was eliminated but gave a great effort. I was prepared for that. What I wasn't prepared for was the ecstatic phone call I received from my daughter telling me she had WON that spelling bee. She beat the most intelligent child in the class AND the defending champion. She was going to represent her school in the regional spelling bee which is one step away from the big one!!!! She put in the necessary preparation and she said she would win and she did.
On my way home from my trip, I thought about how determined she was to win this spelling bee. She believed in herself so much that she carried that confidence, and her hard work, to the top spot.
This has nothing to do with competition. As I thought long and hard about it, this had EVERYTHING to do with believing in yourself and your abilities. Follow that plan and you can accomplish just about anything. I learned that, again,.....this time from a very excited, proud 13-year old. BELIEVE!!!

Hats Off To This Coach

As most of us guys sit down to watch a weekend of NFL playoff football, we are glad to have everything we need nearby - food, drink, remote control.....the basics. I would like to note that one football team, playing this weekend, will be without one of the players it really needs to advance to the next round in these playoffs. That team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and that player is safety Ryan Clark. His Steelers are in Denver Sunday to play the Broncos. The last time Clark played a football game in Denver, he lost 30 pounds and needed his spleen and gall bladder removed. He was actually afraid he was going to die. That was 2007. The Steelers were there again in 2009 and head Coach Mike Tomlin held him out of that game (the last time, by the way, Clark was out of the lineup for a game). You see, Clark has a sickle cell trait where extreme physical exertion at a high altitude can attack a body's organs and, as most of us know, Denver is a mile above sea level.
The difference between the past two times the Steelers were in Denver is that Clark is now the team's leading tackler (100 tackles in the season......that averages to about 6 per game and that's alot!) AND this game is a PLAYOFF game. Well, Coach Tomlin (a native of Denbeigh and graduate of Denbeigh High School, by the way) is making the same decision he made in 2009. This time, though, he is holding out his best defender from his team's biggest game of the year...a game where a loss could cost an individual player in the thousands of dollars and a team alot more. Why would a coach with so much on the line keep his best defender out of the game? Why not take the chance? Without Ryan Clark, the Steelers may be at a decided defensive disadvantage.
Coach Tomlin said that this is way above "any football game" as he put it. He said he wouldn't play his own son under these conditions and, if he wouldn't do that, then he would do the same for any player, especially Ryan Clark.
Imagine that!! A football coach makes a "life" decision instead of a "game" decision. Mike Tomlin let everyone know his priorities, his team's and his player's. I was a Mike Tomlin admirer prior to this. Today, I became a Mike Tomlin fan. Coach, thanks for showing us what's really important.