The Answer Is Simple

Tired of reading all about New Year’s resolutions? I know I am! I don’t do them – never have, never will. Do I set goals? Sure – everyday. One of my ongoing goals is to become more valuable. More valuable to my family, more valuable to my friends and more valuable to you.

The Broadcast business is loaded with a sense of entitlement. Our self-talk includes “If I follow the rules I will get a raise every year. If I make so many calls a week and show effort I should get a higher base pay. If I give up vacation days it shows I’m dedicated and I should be rewarded for that. If I accept furloughs without whining I should be rewarded. If I not only complete a story for a newscast but also post it on our website I should get a raise. If I’ve been with the station forever I should dodge the layoff.” 

When viewers only had 4-6 stations to choose from we couldn’t get out of the way of ratings and the money.  Those days are gone. Broadcast is now a business based on innovation and revenue. Time to change your self talk!

To remain relevant lets become more valuable and that has nothing to do with following rules, quantity of calls, giving up vacation days or posting stories to a website. In this business it has everything to do with:

1. Hunger
2. Innovation
3. Results
4. Quality
5. Initiative
6. Learning
7. Testing
8. Failing (if you don’t fail you’re not testing or learning)
9. Resilience
10. What would you add to this list?

Here’s a video you may want to watch. Jim Rohn remains one of my favorites (he passed away December 5, 2009) and an inspiration. His quotes include:

“Don’t wish it were easier, wish you were better”

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune”

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”

Let’s make our ongoing commitment to become more valuable together.