Posts Tagged ‘ Management ’

Jolly Good Company

May 20, 2013
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Jolly Good Company

Last month, we showcased the Greater Media Philadelphia cluster which was named as one of the best workplaces in town by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com for the second consecutive year. Not to be outdone, I heard from a reader across the pond who told me about UKRD Group Ltd., named by The Sunday Times as one of the 100 Best Companies to work for.  Except they’ve been listed as #1 for three consecutive years.  This honor comes from employee reviews, making it all that more impressive. So I...

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Acknowledgment 201

May 16, 2013
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Acknowledgment 201

Yesterday, we took a look at the importance of responding to consumers who visit radio’s social pages.  Far too often,  a cavalier attitude about listeners (“contest pigs”) has led to aloof, ambivalent, or even negligent policies in markets big and small. For all those request line calls that blinked away and went unanswered, for those letters and emails that waited for a response, and for brush-offs that occurred at station events by egotistical DJs, the chickens are coming home to roost.  On Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social networks where consumers are demanding...

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The Innovation Stations

May 14, 2013
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The Innovation Stations

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” – Steve Jobs Another Steve – Steve Case former head of AOL – sees the world of business as either attackers or defenders.  In his mind, it is essential for companies – especially smaller entrepreneurial businesses – to think proactively and innovatively: “…I realized the world of business really separates into these two groups.  The attackers are the entrepreneurs who are disrupting the status quo, trying to change the world, take the hill, anything is possible, and have nothing to lose...

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Roller Coasters

May 6, 2013
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Roller Coasters

Recently, Lori Lewis tweeted out a Huffington Post piece from Craig Kanalley that will get you thinking: “10 Smart Quotes from ‘Innovation Uncensored’ Conference” Sponsored by Fast Company, the conference took place in New York City and it included an impressive array of luminaries and contemporary businesspeople. Click on the link above to peruse all these words of wisdom, and perhaps select your favorite.  But without a doubt, here’s mine: For those of you who have started something – a new format, a new morning show, a new business, or a new career...

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Lose the Bow Tie

April 25, 2013
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Lose the Bow Tie

How often have you heard this comment in a focus group, a Listener Advisory Board panel, or simply from your neighbor, your spouse, or one of your kids: “Why do all the radio stations in town play their commercials at the same time?” Now back in the “Diary Days,” the reality is that this wasn’t always the case – usually.  OK, for some reason, everyone seemingly breaks around 50:00 after the hour.  But in diary markets, stopsets are typically all over the place.  And strategically, programmers often go to great lengths...

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What JC Penney Can Learn From Radio

April 19, 2013
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What JC Penney Can Learn From Radio

A recent MediaPost “Online Spin” commentary by Joseph Jaffe addressed one of the biggest corner office dismissals of the year (so far) in the retail world.  J.C. Penney’s innovative CEO, Ron Johnson, was shown the door last week.  And with his departure, Jaffe raised a myriad of questions about the implications of this big move. Here’s the backstory… J.C. Penney had been struggling, like a number of other department store chains not named Target.  So they went out and did the BIG HIRE.  They brought in the innovative Johnson...

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A Touch of Gray

April 11, 2013
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A Touch of Gray

On the heels of a recent post about interest in radio among high school and college students comes a New York Times article written by Tom Agan.  “Why Innovators Get Better With Age” speaks to a different perspective on youthful hires. As Agan points out, the move by companies to populate their cubicles with younger people has a lot of upside – less salary and health care expense lead the way. But as he also notes, “Less gray hair sharply reduces an organization’s innovation potential, which over the long...

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Working For A Living

April 4, 2013
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Working For A Living

In earlier blog posts this year, we talked about how companies like Costco, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks have set themselves apart by paying their employees more, providing better benefits, and creating a smiley-face workplace atmosphere. But does this matter?  Are happy employees more productive?  Do their companies make more money?  Or do these policies just drive up costs and make Wall Street crazy? Now a recent article in Fast Company shows that there may be empirical proof that companies that focus on happy at-work environments are better investments.  Back in...

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The Leaky Bucket

April 3, 2013
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The Leaky Bucket

When you’ve been doing anything for a long time, it often becomes a challenge to question some of the basic underpinnings of your profession.  That is especially true in radio where the fundamentals of consumer appeal and preference have been rocked by the Internet and disruptive technologies and platforms. In radio, we were all taught from the same textbooks – the rules of radio handed down by Bill Drake, Rick Sklar, and others.  In Rock Radio, many learned their craft from the Lee Abrams playbook. At the heart, it...

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Storytime 3

March 29, 2013
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Storytime 3

Our posts this week about telling great stories resonated with many of you.  Some mentioned Paul Harvey, while others talked about Jean Shepherd.  Then I got this response from Mary Beth Garber and I thought it was too good to just go as a comment.  Many of you know Mary Beth as Katz’s Executive VP for Radio Analysis.  But she also served as President of the Southern California Broadcasters Association, and has held positions at ad agencies, stations, marketing departments (including for the Walt Disney Company).  In today’s guest...

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