CRS Announces New Agenda Leadership

4-6-15

iHeartMedia Alabama VP of Programming Tom Hanrahan will chair the Country Radio Seminar's 2015-16 leadership committee, which is responsible for planning the educational component for the annual February event in Nashville. Hanrahan is joined by Cumulus Corporate PD Greg Frey and CMG Houston D.O.S. Judy Lakin, who will be co-vice chairman of the committee.

CRS President Charlie Morgan said, "As we move to our new home in 2016 at the Nashville Omni, we are fortunate and grateful for the leadership of Tom, Greg and Judy guiding the committee of dedicated industry volunteers that create our agenda." Added incoming Chairman Tom Hanrahan: "I am looking forward to working with Greg and Judy and our other committee colleagues to develop a CRS 2016 agenda lineup that includes many of the issues that face the radio and record industries today."

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NAB to Present Digital Leadership Award

2-13-2015

The NAB announced the new NAB Digital Leadership Award will be presented at the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The award will be given to an individual at a broadcast station, group or network with a significant role in transforming a traditional broadcast business succeeding on digital media platforms.

The honoree will be recognized at the 2015 NAB Show Technology Luncheon in Las Vegas on April 15. Nominations for the first NAB Digital Leadership Award can be submitted through March 5. For more information is available here.

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NAB Launches Online Leadership Academy

5-29-14

This new Leadership Academy includes a free summer webcast series for NAB members and you'll have access to an archive of the series through the end of the year. The nine-part series begins June 11 and will include webcast from Radio Ink writers Matt Sunshine and Lauri Kahn. GO HERE to take a look at the all topics to be covered in the series. Register for the webcast series HERE

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New Sales Leadership In Philly At Greater Media

4-7-14

Dave Scopinich (pictured) has been named GSM at WMGK-FM. Scopinich began his career as an AE at WMGK-FM back in 2003. He most recently spent the past decade at CBS Radio, ending up as GSM WOGL and WPHT in Philadelphia. In addition, Chris Kirchner has been named sales manager at 97.5 WPEN-FM/The Fanatic. Kirchner has been with Greater Media Philadelphia for 20 years. He previously served as the GSM at WMGK-FM.

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NABEF Honors GM With Corporate Leadership Award

2/19/14

The NAB Education Foundation is set to present its Corporate Leadership Award to General Motors during the 16th annual Celebration of Service to America Awards. The award is given each year to a non-broadcast business that "exemplifies an extraordinary focus on community service and corporate social responsibility."

NABEF President Marcellus Alexander said, "Through strong, ongoing support of education, health, community development, and environmental initiatives, General Motors and the General Motors Foundation have made a positive impact on American society."

The GM Foundation has granted more than $265 million in support of various nonprofits since it was founded in 1976.

GM SVP/Global Public Policy and Communications and GM Foundation Chair Selim Bingol said, "The GM Foundation is dedicated to making life better for communities across the U.S., and for the people who live there. We thank NABEF for this special recognition and promise to continue trying to make a difference in the lives of Americans."

The Celebration of Service to America Awards will be held June 17 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

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2013 Radio Ink Lifetime Leadership Award Winner -- James B. Thompson

7-17-13

(By Ed Ryan)
Jim Thompson, also known as ?The Mayor,? has had an outstanding broadcast career, one that continues to this day. Thompson, currently president of the Broadcasters Foundation of America, started his broadcasting run in television in 1971, as an AE at WJZ-TV. His TV career would include GSM, NSM, and VP and GM posts at KYW in Philadelphia. Thompson made the jump to radio in 1989 when he took the job as president and CEO of Group W Radio, which at the time was the largest non-network station group and the second-largest radio company in the United States. Group W had all-News radio stations in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles, as well as AOR, Country, and AC formats in major markets. After spending three years as president of Westinghouse Radio, Thompson and partner Mike Craven launched Liberty Broadcasting. That company started with one station, heritage Long Island Rocker WBAB, but within a few short years, it had grown to 19 stations. Liberty was purchased by Bob Sillerman?s SFX in 1996.

Craven says his close friend Jim Thompson is as genuine as they get. ?He?s honest, and he?s very loyal to those he considers friends. His job at the Broadcasters Foundation is made much easier by the fact that he relates to people. And the environment he?s operating in is successful because Jim Thompson is there doing it. People are willing to listen to him, and they contribute because of his character and his honesty. The Broadcasters Foundation is much better off today because Jim Thompson is there.? When Thompson was knee-deep in radio, he says the industry was taking in $20 billion a year of real money. And, while he says he would definitely be willing to get back into radio ownership, his primary focus now is on helping broadcasters through the Broadcasters Foundation.

Greater Media Chairman/CEO Peter Smyth says, ?Jim Thompson is truly a class act. His commitment to the women and men of the radio industry is unparalleled. He is radio?s true ambassador ? a kind, caring, and dedicated leader. I cannot think of a more appropriate person to receive the Lifetime Leadership Award than Jim. Our industry is better because of people like Jim Thompson.?

Broadcasters, like every other segment of society, experience hard times. A lost job. An illness that requires expensive medical care. An unexpected life tragedy. Thompson?s job is to find those broadcasters and help them. He?s set a goal of giving out $1 million in one year to those in need. In order to do that, he?ll need to spend a lot of time raising money and expend a lot of effort finding those broadcasters who need help. Richard A. Foreman Associates President Richard Foreman says of his friend, ?If it?s true that in the end we?re all judged by the level we give back ? helping others ? then Jim Thompson has provided us all with a path to follow. His caring and dedication to the Broadcasters Foundation of America, and total commitment to those it serves, is exemplary.?

Congratulate Jim for being named the 2013 Radio Ink Lifetime Leadership Award Winner jim@thebfoa.org

You can read our full interview with Thompson in the July issue of Radio Ink Magazine which also features the 40 Most Powerful People in Radio. To subscribe to the Radio Ink digital editon, which you can download to your device immediately, GO HERE. To subscribe to the print edition GO HERE or call Sue at 561-655-8778.

(7/18/2013 11:13:50 PM)
I've known Jim for probably 30 years. Back to the Group W days. And I've been involved with him at the Foundation for a long time. Jim is one of the gems of our industry, and he deserves all the praise he's getting. He and Carl Butrum run a great organization, and I'm proud to count him as a friend. Bravo!
(7/18/2013 11:18:47 AM)
A great, well deserved and long overdue recognition of one of the icons of our business. For all who know him, there is no more genuine human being willing to offer help, advise, assistance and friendship than Jim.....Congrats

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Dickey to Appear on Radio Show Leadership Panel

6-27-2013

The NAB and the RAB says Cumulus CEO Lew Dickey will be part of the 2013 Radio Show Leadership Breakfast, titled "Opportunities in a Changing Economy." The Cumulus CEO will be joined on the panel by Mary Quass, CEO of NRG Media; Jeff Warshaw, CEO of Connoisseur Media; and Larry Wilson, CEO of Alpha Broadcasting and L&L Broadcasting. Both Wilson and Warshaw have had aggressive years and it will be interesting to hear their take on the market.

The event will be held Thursday, September 19, 7:15-9:00 a.m. at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in Orlando. The panel will be moderated by Lew Paper, a partner with Pillsbury. There will also be opening remarks from Marci Ryvicker, who monitors developments in broadcasting and other media industries as managing director and senior equity analyst for Wells Fargo Securities.

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Liberman Brothers Win Lifetime Leadership Award

The Radio Ink Medallas de Cortez award for Lifetime Leadership was given to three Hispanic radio pioneers, the Liberman brothers: Elias, Jose and Julio. Accepting the award on their behalf last night at the Radio Ink Hispanic Radio conference was Entravision COO Jeff Liberman, pictured here with Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads and
President of McGavren Guild Media, Lisa Sirotka-Sonnenklar.

The Liberman brothers got into the radio industry in the 1960's after finding themselves buying so much radio time to move products from their pharmaceutical company that they decided to make radio their career. They initially purchased XEGM in Tijuana and in 1974 purchased KLVE in L.A. for $2 million. They flipped that station?s format to make it the first Spanish-language FM in the city and the second in the United States. The company added KTNQ-AM a few years later. Today, Elias and Julio are retired. Jose and his son Lenard started and continue to operate Liberman Broadcasting. Julio's son, Jeffery Liberman, also followed his father's footsteps and serves as the COO of Entravision Communications.

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Stevie Wonder To Receive Leadership Award

4-17-13

Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder will receive the 2013 Service to America Leadership Award from the NAB Education Foundation for his work as an "activist, messenger of peace, and his dedication to helping people with disabilities, and children and families in need." Wonder will receive the award at NABEF's Celebration of Service to America Gala on June 3.

"Stevie Wonder has touched millions of lives worldwide through his musical genius and through his tireless contributions as a humanitarian,"said NABEF President Marcellus Alexander. "It is for his extraordinary efforts on behalf of those in need that we proudly honor him with this prestigious award."

The Service to America Leadership Award recognizes individuals and organizations responsible for improving the lives of others through extraordinary public service. Considered NABEF's highest individual honor, the award will be presented during the Celebration of Service to America Gala held Monday, June 3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.

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Foundation Announces Leadership Awards

3-7-13

The Broadcasters Foundation of America announced the recipients of the 2013 Ward L. Quaal Leadership Awards, to be presented at the Foundation?s annual breakfast on April 10 at the Wynn Hotel during the NAB Show in Las Vegas. Among those being honored include, former President/CEO, Susquehanna David Kennedy, Radio Executive, Managing Partner, Noepe Communications Skip Finley and Charles Osgood.
Others being recognized by the Broadcasters Foundation are:
Alan Frank - President/CEO, Post-Newsweek Stations, Retired
Mike McKinnon - President/CEO McKinnon Broadcasting
Bob Schmidt - President/CEO Eagle Communications, Retired

The Leadership Awards are given annually in recognition of career contributions to the broadcast industry and the community at large and are named in honor of iconic broadcaster Ward L. Quaal. The breakfast, which is complimentary to all, is sponsored by the National Association of Media Brokers (NAMB), Arbitron, Frank N. Magid Associates, the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), Marketron and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). 

For more information and to register, please contact 212-373-8250 or send an email to info@thebfoa.org.  The Broadcasters Foundation has provided millions of dollars in aid to colleagues who lost their livelihood through a catastrophic event, debilitating disease, or unforeseen family tragedy. Individual membership is only $150 a year.  Donations also can be made to the Guardian Fund, and corporate contributions are accepted through the Angel Initiative. 

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(LEADERSHIP) Hit From Behind

2-15-2013

A few years ago I witnessed a general manager lose his job. I was watching this from a distance. The GM did not report to me, but another VP in a different region. I had always thought the guy was pretty good. His numbers weren?t award-winning, but they weren?t bad. I was curious as to why he didn?t make it.

A few months later, the company did another shuffling of market assignments and his market was assigned to me. As I made market visits and got to know the people there, I was amazed at the quality of the team he left behind. They were bright, hard-working, and starving for leadership. It was a dream team to me. So, where did he go wrong? What happened?

After some time, I began to see the answer. I saw the assassin that took him out and I realized that this was an enemy that could get any of us if we weren?t aware of its cunning presence. This GM was ?HIT FROM BEHIND?; hit from behind by his own people. When people are starving to grow, improve and learn more, as their leader you had better be teacher enough and coach enough to take them to the mountaintop they want to reach. If not, they could just figure out how to get there without you and, in time, your own people can run over you and you?ll be hit from behind.

There is little in management and leadership more important than growing your team and the only way to grow your team is to grow yourself! I?ve spent decades, an entire career, reading and studying business and leadership. After 41 years in this business, I find I?m as hungry today to learn and improve as I?ve ever been. I remember there were several years I had managers in my region read a book I assigned every quarter. Then, we?d have conference calls to discuss what we?d learned and how we were going to apply it. Having an atmosphere of continual growth is critical for any successful organization. But if the leader isn?t growing, then they can?t grow the team. Sometimes, if the team is hungry enough for improvement, they?ll figure out a way to get the job done without the leader and then the leader can suddenly be ?HIT FROM BEHIND.?

As a leader of people, you had better be growing yourself all the time. You should be a voracious reader. You should conduct regular training on subjects that make your people better; not just better sellers, but better business people. Nothing is more sad than to see a manager hit from behind. Be certain this downfall doesn?t happen to you.

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

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(LEADERSHIP) Are We URGENT?

2-7-2013

One of my dream dinners would be an evening with John Kotter and Patrick Lencioni, two of my favorite business authors. Four years ago, I read John Kotter?s book titled "A Sense of Urgency." It should be mandatory reading for all of us in management. You should buy it and read it twice!

Long before I read John?s book, I remember wondering more than once, ?Is anyone around here urgent about anything?? Then John helped me learn to lead urgently. Creating a sense of urgency from as large a group of people as possible is no easy task, but when accomplished, it escalates productivity like nothing else can. The key is to try to accomplish something really important every day. We must focus on the critical issues, not our over-stuffed agendas.

Urgency is a deep determination to win. It?s the opposite from anxiety over losing. Urgent behavior is fast-moving, always eliminating irrelevant activities. Urgency is a powerful asset all the time. Urgent people act now! Urgent leaders never let complacency exist in their organizations. You must understand that complacency is your enemy. I?m not talking about frantic activity. That?s not urgency. Bosses who scream, ?Execute!? build nothing and can actually destroy much. Urgency eliminates the ?blame game.?

Truly urgent people don?t spend time trying to protect themselves. People who don?t feel we really have a problem, people who don?t see a need for a change in action, people who are comfortable with the status quo, people who don?t look for new opportunities, don?t initiate and don?t lead are the problem!

Interestingly, most complacency and arrogance can be traced to past successes. Success can easily cause people to deny new problems exist. Urgent people deal with problems now! Urgent leaders never allow a meeting to take place without decisions being made. Urgent people are constantly launching new activities and urgent leaders don?t allow non-believers to be on their team. Urgent leaders focus on execution, are visibly urgent, and they match their words with their deeds. Ask yourself, ?Is there a sense of urgency in my organization??

Thank you, John Kotter, for opening my eyes to the importance of leading urgency.

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

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(SALES) Leadership Lessons From a Great One

12-10-2012

During my travels in Europe, I often took note of the influence of Alexander the Great who is a favorite leader of mine. Almost 2400 years after his death, his presence is still felt in modern-day Europe and Asia. In the past few years, a resurgence of interest in Alexander has arisen with the likes of the movie of the same name with Colin Farrell and numerous books. Alexander is an interesting study in the art of leadership. Today?s world leaders could take a few lessons from him.

I offer three of Alexander?s numerous leadership lessons that can serve to educate current sales and general managers.

1) Strategic Planning: When Alexander left Macedonia to conquer Persia, surveyors, engineers, architects, scientists, court officials, and historians accompanied him. Once he left home, Alexander left nothing to chance. He did not have the luxury of waiting for the ?Army Corps of Engineers? to arrive a month later and build a bridge for him. He was prepared to take action when a situation arose. Throughout his travels on foot or horse of more than 21,000 miles, Alexander was only lost one time during his journey across Europe and Asia. An amazing fact considering he did not have a GPS in 334-323 BC. Leadership Lesson: Be prepared!

2) Policy of Assimilation: Some historians look at Alexander as the father of mergers and acquisitions. In less than 10 years, Alexander became ruler of half of the known world. He managed to hold his empire together less by force and more by an astute policy of assimilation. Newly acquired Persian territories were not told to ?fall into line.? Instead, they were encouraged to retain their local administrative structure and culture. Aristotle taught Alexander to think of the Greeks as the only free men and all others as slaves. Alexander disagreed. He admired the Persians? organizational skills. He chose not to rule over them but with them. He insisted that his leaders adopt local customs and respect local religious faiths. If those policies were applied to today?s media industry, a new sales or general manager would not fire a large part of the staff because they were not ?their people.? The manager would allow the acquired employees a chance to prove themselves. That practice can encourage more immediate productivity and less resentment from the ?conquered.? Leadership Lesson: Be empathetic.

 3) Lead From the Front: Alexander was admired by his troops. He rode and walked in front of them. He did not ride behind them in a golden carriage. Alexander ate the same rations and drank the same amount of water as his troops. Alexander knew exactly how far and fast his army could march. He knew their physical and emotional state before battle. Note to management: When was the last time you took a full day and rode with one of your sales reps? Have you ever worked a shift with the receptionist? Don?t forget that the receptionist is the first line of contact for the customers. Leadership Lesson: Be one with the troops.

After his last battle, Alexander gave the following speech which appears on a plaque at the airport in Thessaloniki, Greece. Our world leaders, especially those in the Middle East, could learn from Alexander?s leadership. However, the following oath is relevant for all leaders in any walk of life.

The Oath of Alexander

?It is my wish now that the wars are coming to an end, that you should all be happy in peace.

From now on, let all mortals live as one people, in fellowship, for the good of all. See the whole world as your homeland, with laws common to all, where the best will govern regardless of their race. Unlike the narrow-minded, I make no distinction between Greeks and Barbarians.

The origin of citizens, or the race into which they were born, is of no concern to me. I have only one criterion in which to distinguish them -- virtue. For me, any good foreigner is a Greek, and any bad Greek is worse than a Barbarian.

If disputes ever occur among you, you will not resort to weapons, but will solve them in peace. If need be, I shall arbitrate between you.

See God not as an autocratic despot, but as a common father to all, and thus your conduct will be like the lives of brothers within the same family.

I, on my part, see all of you as equal, whether you are white or dark-skinned. And I should like you not simply to be subjects of my commonwealth, but members of it, partners of it. To the best of my ability, I shall strive to do what I have promised. Keep as a symbol of love this oath, which we have taken tonight with our libations."

The final lesson is to do your best every day to be the kind of leader that inspires the troops that you lead.

Sean Luce is the Head International Instructor for the Luce Performance Group and can be reached at sean@luceperformancegroup.com

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(LEADERSHIP) Achieve Revenue Success In 2013

11-26-2012

2013 is a little more than a month away. By now, all budgets and expectations for next year are in place or will be shortly. Unless something in our industry has changed dramatically, everyone reading this will be asked to increase revenue productivity over 2012. Here are 10 tips to help you stay focused on achieving your numbers in the upcoming 12 months.

1. KNOW YOUR NUMBERS: Know exactly where every market, every station, and every seller ended 2012 in all revenue streams: spot, interactive, and NTR. If a market has four stations and delivered 100 percent of budget in 2012, but one or two of the stations under-performed, know exactly what the plan is to grow those stations.

2. ASSIGN SALES BUDGETS WISELY: Have a logical, variance-based budget, for every seller, in place by December 1. If your station has to deliver $100 next year, you must assign that station a minimum of $105 as a budget. By seller, station, market, or company, a minimum of a five percent cushion must be applied.

3. INCENTIVIZE: every GM and Sales Manager to insure making budget every month, quarter, and the year. Whatever the number is must be foremost in their mind all the time!

4. SPECS and GREAT CREATIVE: Be very certain every market has a great pool of copywriters and production people. If not out-source it to someone solid like Jinny Laderer at vCreative. You must be in the SPEC business and more confidently than ever before.

5. WHAT DO YOUR SELLERS REALLY WANT TO EARN? Be sure all GMs know the earnings goal of every one of their sellers. A seller could make budget and earn their $60,000, but they long to hit $75,000. GMs should know this number and show the seller what must be done to earn that amount. If you want to blow away the budget, build your sales department on hitting earnings goals!

6. RECRUITING NEW SALES TALENT: Be certain, as COO, you?re excited about every market's sales recruiting plan. What are the specific plans for building a bench of talent, weekly, monthly, and all year?

7. SALES MEETINGS: Be certain each market has a specific plan for sales meetings in 2013. If you have a GM that thinks one per week is enough, you and they, are in trouble. What?s their plan? When are they training? Who?s teaching? How often are clients joining as guest speakers? Are sales meetings exciting?

8. ARE YOUR SELLERS ASKING FOR THE BUSINESS WELL? As COO, have every seller in your company send you a copy of what they believe was their best new-business presentation from this past quarter THAT SOLD? Then read them and respond to the seller.

9. NEW BUSINESS: Have every market send you a spreadsheet reporting new business for the quarter, by station, seller, account, and amount. Share these results on conference calls. A minimum of 10-15 percent of billing should be new business!

10. PREFORMANCE RECOGNITION: Does every market have a plan for recognizing great sales performance? Every market should have a ?Wall of Fame? ? first time to hit a $25K month, a $100K month, or whatever, based on your market size. I love ?The President?s Club? concept. Every seller who hits 100 percent of their annual budget joins ?The President?s Club? earning a one-percent bonus check, an award, and recognition at the President?s Club dinner in February.

We, all, could add 30 more to this list, but these 10 can be success insurance for the new year!

Rob Adair is the President of Pinnacle Solving. His company provides revenue growth solutions, branding and differentiation strategies to radio and other industries. Adair is a former radio industry COO and Sr. VP overseeing 25+ stations and multiple major markets. He can be reached at 405-641-0458 or by e-mail rob@pinnaclesolving.com

(11/26/2012 5:00:44 PM)
This column seems like something out of 1982. Point 7...Adair is advocating more sales meetings?! Seriously??!! Wow. Old school, pre-digital mentality like Adair DOESN'T GET IT ANYMORE. The key to driving more sales, and NEW sales, is NOT tying up more of salespeoples' valuable selling time with more "meetings"!! Who cares if you EVER see a salesperson, if they are OUT SELLING. And if you want to "know where someone is"...there is this new device called a CELL PHONE...
(11/26/2012 7:59:13 AM)
Only because of my own bias, I would make #4 - SPECS and GREAT CREATIVE - numbers 1., 2, and 3.
The facts include: Even if a station is number 18 in a market of 30, they still have only the creative to influence the audience they do enjoy.
How this simple reality passes the management by may always leave me befuddled.
However, if creative is agency-supplied or other-station supplied, the managers do have a handy and already-packaged excuse.

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The Responsibility Of Leadership

 8-1-2012

(Radio Ink Publisher Eric Rhoads) Each year, Radio Ink publishes a list of the Most Powerful People in Radio. We choose the people on the list by exacting criteria, including number of stations, billing, number of employees, involvement in the radio community, and overall influence on the industry. Our committee, made up of myself, CEO Jim Robinson, EVP/Radio Deborah Parenti, Editor-in-Chief Ed Ryan, and Managing Editor Brida Connolly, hold one another accountable so our relationships and other influences don't impact our decisions. We spend hours on research and discussions until we all feel we have it right, and we believe the list in this issue accurately reflects the state of radio in 2012.

Power, in our eyes, is the ability to make change that impacts the industry as a whole. A decision to cut out a position across one company may mean that position disappears across the industry -- just as an innovative move can turn us all into followers.

If you've ever been camping, you've probably heard someone say, "Leave it better than you found it. If you carry it in, carry it out, and if someone else left a mess, clean it up and carry it out too." What will you do to leave the industry better? Or will you leave a mess for others to clean up?

All take and no give is short-term thinking. What will you give back to this industry that has given so much to you? How will you lead your company to innovation so others will follow? You have a responsibility to your board to make sure your company is first with the advantage, but what if your advantage damages other radio companies? A strong radio company in an unhealthy industry can only be good in the short term. Like it or not, we are linked by the radio dial and the consumers and advertisers who share us. It's critical that you ask yourself about the effect of your decisions on the industry as a whole.

Radio is at a moment of great opportunity, but I feel as though it's an opportunity being ignored by too many. At our recent Convergence conference, we revealed statistics that show listening is trending down, and radio is in danger of ending up like newspapers. Meanwhile, online listening -- and not just to terrestrial radio streams -- is rising rapidly. That's not guesswork or conjecture, it's fact. Attacks by past devices and technologies haven't hurt us, so most in radio are still pretending we can't be hurt.

You may need to let Wall Street believe all is well, but the iceberg is dead ahead. You can't afford to wait any longer to invest more deeply in digital. Advertisers are demanding it and local advertisers are jumping ship to digital at record speed. But most in radio still operate as though this ship can blast through any iceberg.

Radio's "good old days" are never coming back. But good new days and a new golden age can be ahead. Every company on this list should be funding out-of-building initiatives to find ways to replace what we have today -- to put it out of business. With very few exceptions, new companies replace old giants when technology changes. The survivors have come from skunkworks funded specifically to deal with new competitors. We have to assume that what we do, and the ways we do it, will be replaced by others who do it differently, and better.

The leaders of the newspaper industry didn't listen. You, as the leaders of radio, have been given a bit of a reprieve. But that doesn't mean we can avoid the unavoidable.

Radio still has a powerful relationship with its listeners. We can sell them something new. For some of you, it's TuneIn and iHeartRadio, and that's a great start; it puts you on the new aggregated dashboards. But our dominance in the automobile is over. The decisions you make about digital in the next 24 months will make or break this industry.

There are dozens of ways you, as the leaders in radio, can leave this industry better off: amplified training of our troops, embracing new forms of content, serving our local communities, deep generosity to our advertisers, and taking advantage of the brainpower of our experienced team members. But nothing will have a bigger impact than investing in our digital future and reinventing ourselves, today.

I'm honored to have each of you on this list. I know some of you are deepening your investment in digital (and some others are only pretending). The women and men of this fine industry are looking to you to make decisions that will give us a promising future. I encourage you to take that responsibility very seriously, and to keep in mind that every decision you make affects the industry as a whole.

P.S. This year is Radio Ink's 20th. I want to thank each of you, and the entire industry, for allowing us to serve you. We deeply appreciate your subscriptions and your advertising. We know that sometimes it seems it would be easier if we just went away because we work hard to challenge the status quo in our industry. But we do it because we believe in radio. We hope to see each of you at our reception for the "40 Most Powerful" at the Harvard Club in New York on November 28, after our Forecast conference. 

To order a copy of the 2012 Radio Ink issue of the 40 Most Powerful People in Radio call 561-655-8778
To subscribe to Radio Ink on your iPad for only $49.00 per year, GO HERE
Feedback directly ro ERIC or leave your comments below.

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(MANAGEMENT) 10 Essential Leadership Models

6-20-2012

By Dan McCarthy

While there have been thousands of books written about leadership, there are a handful of leadership models that have served me well as a leader and leadership development practitioner. These are the tried and true models that have shifted my thinking about leadership and helped me create teachable leadership moments for others. Mind you, I'm not a scholar, so the models I favor tend to be simple, practical, and I have to had see evidence that they are effective.

Here are 10 leadership models that I believe any leader or aspiring leader should be familiar with. (Kudos to Mind Tools for supplying many of the summaries in the links, and to Vou.):

1. Situation Leadership.
Developed by Ken Blanchard and Paul Hersey, it's a timeless classic. If I could only teach one model to a new manager, it might be this one. It's all about adapting your leadership style to the developmental needs, or "maturity level," of your employees. It's easy to understand and can be used on a daily basis. Your only dilemma will be which version to choose: Hersey or Blanchard? I say Blanchard, but that's because they follow @Great Leadership. (-:

2. Servant Leadership.
A philosophy and practice of leadership developed by Robert K. Greenleaf. The underlying premise here is that it's less about you as a leader and all about taking care of those around you. It's a noble and honorable way to lead and to conduct your life.

3. Blake and Mouton's Leadership Grid.
Okay, so it's really more of a management model, but it's another timeless classic. Explained by a nice, simple, 2x2 grid, it's all about balancing your concern for people and your concerns for getting things done (tasks). You gotta love those 4x4 grids!

4. Emotional Intelligence.
While Daniel Goleman's book popularized EQ, his HBR article "What Makes a Leader?" does a great job explaining why the "soft stuff" is so essential to being an effective leader.

5. Kouzes and Posner's Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
K&P do a nice job breaking leadership down into five practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. I've always liked the Leadership Practices Inventory 360-degree assessment that supports the model.

6. Jims Collins' Level Five Leadership.
First published in a 2001 Harvard Business Review article, and then in the book, "From Good to Great," Collins' leadership model describes kind of a hierarchy of leadership capabilities, with level five being a mix of humility and will.

7. The Diamond Model of Leadership.
Although not as widely known as Collins' Level Five model, my colleague Jim Clawson actually wrote the book "Level Three Leadership" two years earlier than the Collins' HBR article. Jim introduced the Diamond Model, which describes four elements of leadership: yourself, others, task, and organization.

8. Six Leadership Passages.
Charon, Drotter, and Noel did a nice job explaining six key developmental passages a leader can advance through in their book "The Leadership Pipeline," along with the skills required to be successful for each passage. I actually came up with my own six passages, in which I made a distinction between management and leadership.

9. Authentic Leadership.
I've only recently become a fan of Bill George's work ("True North"), and it's made a difference in how I think about leadership and leadership development. Instead of trying to find and copy the perfect set of leadership characteristics, George argues that you're better off figuring out who you are and what's important to you, and leading in a way that's true to yourself.

10. The GROW model.
Widely attributed to Sir John Whittmore (although it's not certain who really came up with it), GROW stands for goal, reality, obstacles, options, and way, will, or what's next, depending on which version you use. It's really more of a coaching model than a leadership model. However, it's an essential tool for leaders, and one of the easiest to understand and effective coaching models I've come across.

Dan McCarthy has been in the field of leadership development for over 20 years. He is currently the Director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics (WSBE).

Reach Dan by e-mail at daniel.mccarthy@unh.edu
Dan's website is www.greatleadershipbydan.com

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(LEADERSHIP) Executive Toughness: How to Get It!

2-14-2012

This week?s blog is a book review:  Executive Toughness: The Mental Training Program to Increase your Leadership Performance by Dr. Jason Selk published by McGraw Hill. Why am I blogging about this book? My objective in addressing sales leadership issues is to provide you ideas, tools and concepts to increase your professionalism.

I like to read a business book focused on some aspect of my profession, then I will switch to another form of book for personal fun. I believe your sales teams and you should have a personal development plan. You need to add this book to your library! 

After writing four books myself, I found ?Executive Toughness? a terrific read that a new manager or any experienced business leader can find something new or an aspect of their life to improve upon. As each page flew by, I found myself underlining sentences, circling ideas and folding over pages as concepts and tools were introduced.  Dr. Selk opens each new idea with a story of a person that defines his message, I liked the way he personalized the concepts that the reader could relate to.

His conversations and stories with the famed Coach John Madden were terrific.  Before I cover the topics, the one aspect of the book I really thought was a great concept was at the conclusion of each section where Dr. Self was making a point, he included tools where the reader could begin to build their own personal ?training? program.  This allowed the reader not only to read and understand the topic, but to put the information into their Personalized Action Plan!

The topics of the book that I really enjoyed were:
? Accountability: The Process of Achievement (readers of this blog know my feelings on ?accountability, discipline and control?.
? Self-Evaluation: Look into the mirror everyday
? Improving Execution and Consistency: in our sales leadership workshops I discuss that execution is the key element that in high performance sales organizations...
? The Mental Work: ?100 seconds a day keeps failure away.?  This section pays for the book!
? Optimism: Overcoming All Obstacles:   Becoming relentless and unremitting action.

And to make the book even better, the last 12 pages gives you the Handbook to move forward with your personalize program.  Dr. Selk hits the point, you must be personally in balance and know what you want and you must take action to achieve high performance.

Buy it, read it and take action, you will be a better person because of it.
Order the book at Amazon
Executive Toughness: The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership Performance

Ken Thoreson, President of Acumen Management. His latest book: ?Leading High Performance Sales Teams? provides 40 chapters for sales leaders. Reach him at Ken@AcumenMgmt.com 
Ken's website:  www.AcumenManagement.com
Ken's Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

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LEADERSHIP - King Demonstrated Leadership. Do You?

Dr. King, Demonstrated Leadership. Do You?

This week, as we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., many of us will remember his famous ?I Have a Dream? speech delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963.  This speech demonstrated two critical leadership principles: Vision and Effective Communication.

Vision and Effective Communication
As a leader, having a vision is critical to your leadership success.  It means declaring the state of your company?s future and what will be accomplished.  In the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, Collins uses the acronym BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to refer to a vision statement.  A vision must be clear, concise, and appeal to those who are being led.  It must also define what success looks like, so when success is attained everyone knows when to celebrate.

For Dr. King, his vision, as declared in his August 1963 speech, was powerful and clear: that all people are created equal: ?I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ?We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.??

Effective communication is another necessary factor leading to great leadership.  Without effective communication, a vision will never have a chance to become reality.  The ability to clearly communicate the future and how it can be achieved is essential to great leadership.  Effective communication must also provide consistent messages that are repeated multiple times.  People are more likely to remember ideas they consistently are made aware of over time.

What would have happened if Dr. King chose to sit at home thinking about his vision and not sharing it with others during his many passionate speeches and writings?  Would his vision have ever been reached?  I would still like to think so.  However, Dr. King would not be remembered as the great leader that he was.

Although Dr. King was clearly a great speaker and communicator, as a successful leader you don?t have to reach the level of oratory that Dr. King had during his life.  What you do need is to be committed and passionate when you communicate, so that those who are made aware of your message believe in your ideas and vision.  The questions below will help you rate both your vision and your communications effectiveness.

Rating Your Vision
Do you have a vision, or BHAG, that includes:
1) a clear picture of the future,
2) a definition of success, and
3) a rallying point for employees?

Can your employees convey your company?s vision from memory? And, do they know how the company will accomplish it? If you are unable to answer ?yes? to all the questions above, you may need to revisit your company?s vision statement, and/or create a communications plan for your vision.

Rating Your Communications Effectiveness
When communicating to employees, do you:
1) make the message relevant to the receiver (employee),
2) ask employee(s) for their understanding of the message,
3) communicate the same message multiple times, and
4) deliver the same message in multiple formats: verbally (phone, face-to- face), written (hard copy, electronic copy), and visually (pictures, graphs, charts, movies)?

If you are unable to answer ?yes? to all the questions above, then you need to develop a concise message and determine a communications timeline for delivering your message using each of the communications formats in #4 above.  Using multiple communications methods are important because different people have different learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinetic.  The more times people receive your message, the more likely they will remember it and the more they will believe in it.

On Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?s birthday, celebrate his life by implementing the leadership principles of vision and effective communication that he valued and utilized into your own daily leadership practices.

Beth Armknecht Miller is Founder and President of Executive Velocity, a leadership development advisory firm accelerating the success of senior executives and the companies they lead. Her career spans over 30 years and includes management positions in Fortune 500 companies as well as several entrepreneurial ventures, one of which was honored as an Inc 500 winner. Visit www.executive-velocity.com or http://executivevelocityblog.com

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5 Ways To Improve Your Leadership Skills

5 Ways To Improve Your Leadership Skills

by Dan McCarthy

Like it or not, ?presence? is an important competency for any leader. You know it when you see it ? a leader with presence exudes self-confidence, is self assured, can be passionate about their beliefs, commands attention, communicates well, and makes people around them feel better and more self-assured. Regardless of where you stand on the presidential candidates, it?s clear that Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan had it, while Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter did not. Presidential presence or lack of is often exposed in the harsh glare of televised debates, and as Richard Nixon found out in the 1960 presidential elections, it can make or break a candidate.

One of the reasons Reagan had such a strong stage presence was that he was trained as an actor. Leading executive development programs have long been incorporating acting lessons into their programs and/or follow-up coaching.  Don?t get me wrong ? leadership isn?t about being phony, or misrepresenting yourself. Authenticity is even more important, as people won?t follow someone they don?t believe. However, it?s a shame when a lack of stage presence gets in the way of a potential leader?s other strengths and ideas.

Given everyone may not want to take the time or spend the money to take acting lessons, here are five acting techniques you can begin to work on to improve your leadership presence:

1. Pay attention to your ?entrance?.
People form immediate and lasting impressions based on how you enter a room, your physical characteristics, and the first few words that come out of your mouth. Think about the impression you want to leave people with, and create a vision for your entrance. Will it leave the impression you want to create? Shaking hands (firmly) and introducing yourself to each person (with a smile) in the room is a great way to connect with people and create that instant, lasting impression.

2. Delivery of your ?lines?.
Pay attention to your verbals (volume, tone, speed, choice of words, articulation) as well as your non-verbals (gestures, posture, facial expressions, movements). Your delivery needs to support and align with your message, or people won?t hear what you have to say.

3. Know your lines.
Smooth, articulate delivery won?t help if you don?t know your subject matter. You need to be confident, knowledgeable, and really know what you?re talking about, or you?ll lose credibility. Don't ever let this happen to you!

4. Engage your audience.
Actors know how to connect and relate to their audience. You feel like inviting them into your living room to have a beer or a cup of coffee. Engaging your audience means inviting them to participate, asking questions, listening, and making them feel good about their involvement.

5. Exit, stage left.
Knowing how to leave is almost as importance as your entrance. Remembering people?s names, their questions or concerns, summarizing follow-up commitments, re-emphasizing your key messages, and your physical posture are all important components of a strong exit. You want to be seen riding off into the sunset, not slipping out of the room like you just committed a crime.

Dan McCarthy has been in the field of leadership development for over 20 years. He is currently the Director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire's Whittemore School of Business and Economics (WSBE).

Reach Dan by e-mail at daniel.mccarthy@unhy.edu
Dan's website is  www.greatleadershipbydan.com

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NAB Education Foundation Starts New Leadership Class.

The NAB Education Foundation has announced the new members of the 2012 Broadcast Leadership Training (BLT) program. Now in its twelfth year, the ten-month, MBA-style program is dedicated to teaching the fundamentals of purchasing, owning, and operating radio and television stations to senior level broadcast executives who aspire to advance as group executives or station owners. To encourage diversity in broadcasting, NABEF offers fellowship opportunities to women and people of color.

Currently, a number of BLT graduates are in varying stages of station acquisition. Of the 183 graduates, 30 currently own or have owned stations, and more than 60 have moved up to senior management or larger markets. A number of BLT graduates are in varying stages of station acquisition. This year's student roster includes:

Bonnie Alaimo
Vice President, Controller
Roundtable Broadcasting, LLC
Madison, MS

Paul J. Buckner
Station Manager
WYCC/PBS Chicago
Chicago, IL
Kirk Litton
Regional Sales Director
Radio One
Lanham, MD
E.R. "Bert" Medina
President and CEO
Cangas Communications LLC
Corel Gables, FL
Joey Crawford
Sales Marketing Manager
Cox MEdia Group/WSB Radio
Atlanta, GA
Sherry C. Nelson
Vice President/ General Manager
WABG/Delta Fox/WNBD Commonwealth Broadcasting Group
Greenville, MS
Mary Lee Fast Horse
General Manager
KINI-FM St. Francis Mission
St. Francis, SD
Luis Pati?o
Vice Preisdent and General Manager
Univision San Antonio/TeleFutura 17
San Antonio, TX
Teansie Garfield
Director National Sales
Communications Corp. of America
Dallas, TX

Victoria Regan
Senior Broadcast Executive
Pittsburgh, PA
Eddie Harrel, Jr.
Vice President/General Manager
Radio One
Columbus, OH

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