This Olympic week “winning” is more top of mind than usual as talented athletes from around the world put their minds and bodies to the ultimate test.
The last two years we’ve all heard more than enough about “losing” in Radio and in business in general. Maybe it’s time to adopt an Olympic mentality and start thinking and talking about “winning.”
What is a “win” should be an easy question to answer, but it can be deceptively difficult.
You could be simplistic and say a win happens when you stop losing. In fact, that’s exactly what an owner from Texas said to me early in my consulting career when I asked him what his goal was. He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Son, I’ve only got one goal right now and that is to stop losing so much @#$% money on this @&^% place!”
In Radio, winning is usually measured by things like ROI, Arbitron ratings and cash flow. In fact, it should be measured by all three. After all, it is possible to win in Arbitron but not in the other two if it costs more than you make to get a higher share or ranking. It’s also possible to win financially but at the expense of your ratings and eventually your financial future. Unfortunately, there is a lot of this very thing going on right now in our business.
To really win, that is for today and your tomorrows, consider this:
- Start with a strategic plan. Be careful not to confuse this with tactics. Your strategy sets your course of action. Tactics are used in executing your strategy.
- Know what a win really is for your Radio station. Does it have to be number one to be successful? If you don’t know you better figure it out before you start. Without this you won’t be able to decide on your strategy or to draft a plan.
- Once you’ve decided on your goal, the one that brings success to the station, start working on the tactical design. What do you need to be famous for in the marketplace in order to achieve your goal? Who do you need to target? What kind of product do you need to produce? What should your marketing plan consist of?
Once the plan is complete, it’s time to execute. In the 20+ years that I’ve been a consultant this is where most plans that fail come up short. In most cases this is caused by the owner or manager thinking with the heart instead of the head in the planning meeting. They made decisions that were not realistic.
This message could go on for several pages on the topic of good execution and successful planning, but let’s leave it at this: plan with your head not your heart and once you are in the execution mode go all out, and be prepared to lose. That’s right, I said be prepared to lose. If you don’t, you won’t go all out and that will surely lead to failure.
Please forgive the shameless solicitation but strategic planning and assistance with the execution of the plan is one of our specialties. We begin every consulting relationship with this meeting. If you already have a plan in place we review it to insure it’s still valid and discover where the execution may need help. If you don’t have one, I urge you to call us or someone with the expertise to guide you in developing one for your station. It’s vital to your short and long term success.
Bob Glasco
480-488-0903
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