STUDIO 60

I think I might have a new Favorite TV show.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

We’re only two weeks in, but really have enjoyed it so far.

Weird – I like looking at the behind the scenes stuff – since most of my work is behind the scenes in a “creative environment”, on a weekly show for radio.

::Unrelated – but related::

Last night, I spent way too much time watching tv – yet I felt I wanted to watch Heroes – I was kind of underwhelmed.

Cool thoughts from JWT

After reading a recent Fast Company Issue,

I was intrigued by J. Walter Thompson (JWT) – and what they do – so I went to look them up online

Here are some cool things that they have on their site:

• Stop interrupting what people are interested in and BE what people are interested in.

• Clients aren’t creative Kryptonite

• Always have a point of view. Its pointy.

• Great Ideas are Bouncy. They have to bounce around to get bigger and better – they do no good if you don’t let them fly off walls and gather momentum.

• Great ideas are sticky too. As they bounce, they are added too – and the more that sticks, the better the idea can become.

• Its not how many ideas you have had, but how many you have made happen. Anyone can have brilliant ideas, but can you make them happen?

• The ‘fun’ word. People have their best ideas when they are enjoying themselves.

• The People we love:

Are curious about everything
Beam positive energy
Stay hungry
Say what they think
Laugh out loud
Are fiercely competitive
“can do” anything
Champion ideas
Listen
Lean forward
Play hard
Move fast
Sweat the detail
Take risks
Love challenges
Perform miracles
Share the credit
Take the fall

COLOR

WHITE. A Blank Page or Canvas.

The Challenge: To bring order to the whole…

Thru Design…

Composition…

Balance…and

Harmony

• from “Sunday in the Park with George” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

I had that thought on my mind today as I was thinking about life.

I also remembered when I was programming a radio station. I had a mentor who came in and he talked about the radio station being the canvas – and as a programmer, you have control of the color, the paint, the feel, design of the listeners’ experience.

All done by music scheduling (the rotations of how many times a song plays), the day parting (some songs only play at night – or midday – or morning), promotions on the station (giveaways and events), and personalities (the air talent).

What are the colors I like?
How can this concept be taken even further into real life?
What is my “Color” or colors??
IS EVERYTHING I CREATE A MASTERPIECE?
How many layers of color are there in my life? In My work?

POTENTIAL

So, I have been thinking about POTENTIAL Lately.

I think my friends at work might start getting annoyed by it.

THOUGHT 1. I'm 31. I work for a guy who is turning 60. I look at his life and say - WOW! God has used him AMAZINGLY in his work and ministry.

He just recently hired back the man, and friend, he started on his journey with. They now are working together again, and having a blast.

THOUGHT 2. I am helping another friend launch a new 'JESUS MUSIC' show call Full Circle - that focuses on music that kick started the Contemporary Christian Music Scene, back in the 60's, 70's and early 80's.

I have started to think about the outpouring of God in the Jesus Movement. Lots of people were drawn back to God, and have had incredible ministries and lives because of this outpouring. Also, directly and indirectly, I have been blessed by the movement - Being a Vineyard guy.

Which leads to THOUGHT 3

POTENTIAL. Me and my friends. What are we going to be doing in 30 years that will inspire and leave a legacy to generations to come?

What are going to be doing that we love - that makes a difference for good and changes lives?

How much fun are we going to have getting to that point?

What does God have for Us, Me, New Friends, New Connections, New Possiblities, New Dreams and Visions that we can reach out for?

Sweet.

Fun Stuff

It's been a while since I posted last, and here's some stuff
that I have been checking into recently that I am enjoying…

:: A Leap Across a Chasm - The blog of Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin ::

999 Ideas

accidentalcreative

Killer Innovations

The new Servant Evangelism E-zine (from Steve Sjogren and Charlie Wear):
http://www.serve-others.com/index.cfm

A friend of mine has a new show on WWTN …called Empowering Your Health – Sundays from 9 to 11p

Verse of the Week: Luke 12:31

I have yet to see Ricky Bobby, but its on my list!

An Equation for Change

This is cool – stumbled on to Phil Gerbyshak’s Website - and then followed a link for 3 principles of Change.

Very cool stuff that I had not seen or thought of before.

The equation comes in different forms and fashions.

Dick Richards lists it like this

D x V x C x F > R.

The equation shows that change can only occur when the product of distress, D, vision, V, capacity for change, C, and achievable first steps, F, is greater than resistance to change, R. Notice that if any of the four variables on the left of the equation is zero, change is not possible.

Wikipedia has another formula – a bit simpler for Change

D x V x F > R

Distress
Vision
Capacity for Change
First Steps
Have to be greater than
Resistance to Change.

Cool Stuff to think about.

Out with the old, and a Lyric from the King

My favorite button I used to wear when I was a PD for a top 40 station in Savannah GA
(WOO HOO Give a shout to my peeps in SAV-TOWN)…was this:

BUT WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY (with the big red “Ghostbusters circle and slash” right thru it.)

The mentality in the building was ‘hey we can’t break the mold, this is always how it has been’.

But the deal was, I was hired because the old way STUNK.

TO HIGH HEAVEN.

Unfortunately, the person who always said to me “we’ve always done it this way” was the youngest on the staff – I think he was just trying to get over the fact that someone new was calling the shots.

Or not. Maybe he just didn’t want to change.

Maybe he was in love with the old boss. (not literally – just figuratively)

On a related note – AT LEAST IN MY MIND….

<Do I have a BIAS TOWARD ACTION?>

This is a question raised – once again by reading TOM PETERS stuff.

Man he makes me think. Thinking. Good.

“The King” had it right:

A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark....

2 More Questions...

After some reading this week, I have come up with two more questions to ask myself on the journey...


How Can I Make Something Happen?

Am I being RECKLESS, but not being THOUGHTLESS?

(gathered from Reading Some Tom Peters work)

Questions to ask late at night or early in the morning

Here are some questions that I am beginning to ask myself…

Gathered from various sources…to improve my outlook on life and the potential of my life…

• Are you doing the best you can possibly do?

• Are you doing better work today than you were yesterday?

• If your relationship with God better today than yesterday?

• Are you bettering yourself (Spiritually, Physically, Mentally)?

• How are you using the 168 hours God has given you this week?

• What is your legacy that you are going to leave TODAY?

• How can I have more ________________ in my life? (fill in the blank)

Do you have questions you ask that make you think about bettering yourself and your world?

Quotes on HOW WE SHOULD THINK

We become what we think about – Heard from Earl Nightengale’s “the Strangest Secret”

Act as if it’s impossible for you to fail – Dorothea Brande

Ultimate Freedom is man’s right to choose his attitude – Viktor Frankl



Pablo Picasso felt that the urge to create would conquer any attempts to suppress it, that even if locked in a prison he would still be an artist, “even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell,” he said.

Eagles and Turkeys

I am tired of the ho-hum-hum-drum.

I don’t want to go to any more dinners with freinds where all we do is Kvetch about what we don’t like about our work and our lives.

Why don’t we go to dinners and parties and talk about our potential?

Let’s get the 50,000 foot view.

The view that is at the top of the mountain.

The BIG PICTURE!!!!!

->VISION of what Life CAN BE

People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, make them.

• George Bernard Shaw

We have to make the circumstances we want.

If all we do is talk about, act like and be around the turkeys, we can never soar with the eagles.

Shouldn’t we act, and talk about, and be around the eagles? Model them, and try to be like them.

What are the eagles doing?

What makes them eagles?

How did they get to be eagles?

What does it take to be an eagle?

Lets talk bout this stuff – the HUGE POTENTIAL of our LIVES, instead of negative stuff that gets us down.

Reading right now....

The Pursuit of WOW - Tom Peters
The Brand You 50 - Tom Peters
Joshua - The Bible

Just finished...

Never Eat Alone - Keith Ferrazzi
How to Wake up and Live! - Brande and Carty
The Generosity Factor - Blanchard and Cathy
Purple Cow - Godin
The Gifts of the Jews - Cahill

:::EXPERIMENT:::

Experimenting with AudioBlogger - The link below is a liner I put together for a demo for my Voice work...just trying it out!

not bad actually. I just wish it wasnt' over a phone line!!!

IN SEARCH OF...

My...

...USP (unique selling proposition)

...Distinctives

...Unique Voice

...slant

...Schtick

...unique selling point

... voice

...take on the world, and how its different from everyone elses.

IN NEED OF A REPRIEVE...

The past couple weeks have been crazy around our household... during one of the three storms that dropped tons of hail on us, a tree was blown over onto both of our cars. (I'll have to post more pics of that)

It took us a week to get over it - we felt pressured to find cars, because we had no means of transportation, and felt like we were burdening folks by using their cars.

This week, we found a car to replace one vehicle, and were very happy with it. Today, we took it to our mechanic, and he said there were a couple things wrong with it, that make it not a great buy. We had to call the previous owner, and tell him the whole story - needless to say we are taking the car back to him.

Then when my wife made it home finally this afternoon, one of our cats was laying hard as a rock dead on the floor. That was pleasant I am sure. I didn't get to fully enjoy it until I came home. (she had decided to leave it there for me to clean up.)

Poor cat needed to be buried, so I did it...

Man, we are really looking for the end of this 'down' season to come around!!!

Breakfast with Fred

Been stumbling around the Breakfast with Fred Website – I found it a couple years ago, and have always enjoyed the weekly thought.

Here are some great quotes from Fred Smith about communication

• From the joy of learning comes the joy of sharing.


• Only you can share your memories.


• Clarify your thoughts so that others may use them.


• Better to be a participant in life than a reporter.


• A perpetual learner is the best teacher.


• Speak to people about a subject, not on a subject to people.


• In 20 languages "be" and "do" are the same word.

Interviewing by a PD as witnessed by... me!

I have been reading The Pursuit of WOW! By Tom Peters, and it has got me thinking about different experiences that I have encountered in my life.

Being in radio for 13 years, I have had many opportunities to interview with several different program directors. One experience that stands out was when I interview for Scott Sands who is Program Director for WZPL in Indianapolis.

I had to do the normal stuff – Send a tape and resume, which got me in the door, then I had to do an air shift (which was a blast – because I had always admired the station). The funny thing was that there wasn’t that much of what would be called a ‘FORMAL’ Interview. Most of our conversations were in Scott’s car as we drove to and from Dinner, and to and from the hotel to the station.

When my Sunday evening shift was over, he took me to a local place to grab a bite to eat. He had mentioned that maybe some of the staff would come by. Well, it was pretty much the whole staff – give or take a few. I remember that Dave Decker the Midday guy/APD/MD was there – great guy – the promotions team, a couple sales folks, I think there were more, and a couple came late to hang out as well. It was good dinner, drinks and conversation.

Little did I know that that was the majority of the interview.

I did meet with Scott briefly in his office the following morning. But nothing really in depth – just the semantics of what the job would be if I was hired.

Needless to say, I wasn’t hired for that job. Perhaps because he was good friends with my Program Director at that time, Jimmy Steele, and they apparently had had a conversation about me. (which came up at an inopportune time a couple months later)(that’s another story)

But, that is one experience of Interviewing that I will always remember. I really enjoyed it.

He obviously was looking to see how I would Gel with the staff that was already assembled. (You gellin’? Like a felon)

He was seeing if I could think on my feet.

He was looking to see how I would relate, and his folks would relate to me.

Tom Peters in a “rant” in his book Pursuit of Wow – talks of his displeasure with drug testing. (this book was written several years ago – so I wonder is he still has the same ‘distaste’ for it today as he did then – I bet so!)

He says that the interviewing process should be like a courting process, setting up times for Coffee, for lunch for interviews with the whole staff, for dinners, for mingling with everyone on all levels within the company.

That the process should take several weeks of time. That way, you truly know who you are getting, and the need for a drug test is non existent. (pgs 88-89 if you want to read it)

Scott Sands was doing a mini version of this when I visited him and his station and staff in Indy those couple days.

Cool stuff. And I will remember it for a long time to come.

Thanks Scott!

Creativity

Great Post I just found from GAPING VOID…you may have already seen it.

On how to be creative.

Bridges and Thumbnails

Reading The Pursuit Of Wow! by Tom Peters. An older book, but still some great thoughts.

One of his points is:
“Build bridges with friends, instead of burning them with enemies.

Forget your enemies. Work around them. Work instead on developing friends, turning people who agree with you (a little bit or a lot) into passionate advocates and adherents.”

It made me think of my cousin who was working on the roof of his house. He slammed the hammer down on his thumb. Thumbnail – Popped off. (gross) Blood and thumbnail on the ground. Purple thumb. That’s what I remember.

It made no difference though. Swollen and busted up thumb, he still had to finish the roof. 4 fingers were fine. 1 that was busted. Yet, he still had to complete the project.

This example is not quite related to the point above – but in a way it is. How easy is it to let one sore thumb totally screw up the project you are working on. What if there is one sore thumb in your organization?

Are we going to let that one sore thumb torpedo the project? Or are we going to gather the four fingers (plus the other five on the other hand) that can still do the job and get it done?

Hmm. Maybe it’s completely two different points. But still. It made me think.

Thinking is good.

OBSERVATION OF SERVICE 1

A fast moving storm blew thru our city on Sunday afternoon. Straightline winds knocked down one of the trees that line our back yard. That would have been fine and dandy, if our cars had not been under the tree. Go Figure.

Our next door neighbor offered to grab his chainsaw and cut the tree off our cars. We weren't sure if we needed to leave them there for the insurace guy to see or not. Yet, they still needed to cut some limbs off, because they woudn't be albe to get into their driveway if we just left it there. He started cutting, and we started dragging some limbs.

Out of no where, (well, I am sure they came from somewhere) these two folks from down the road - not anyone we had had a conversation with, showed up and just started helping to move the limbs out of the way. We didn't cut the whole tree apart, just enough to get thru to the neighbors drive.

They were walking the neighborhood after the storm, and were glad to help.

Then they just walked on.

FOSTERINGHOPE.COM

What a great Site.

This week Dave Foster has been talking about Serving. GREAT STUFF

We attended Bellevue Christian Church for about a year, and loved Dave to death!

...BEEN AWHILE...

I haven't had time to blog for a while, but I am going to do my best to pick this back up, dust it off, and begin again...

Fall down six, Get up seven.

Right?