Remarkable!

A friend of mine recently gave me the book “The Big Moo.”

The headline emblazed across the top of the book is “stop trying to be perfect and start being remarkable.”

The book was edited by Seth Godin, but written by 33 authors, including Godin. The unique thing about this book is not only the amazing wisdom that one can receive by reading it, but also the fact that 33 well known authors came together and wrote short one and two-page tips on how YOU can become a remarkable person.

The authors include such notable names as Malcolm Gladwell, Tom Peters, Randall Rothenberg, Guy Kawasaki, Mark Cuban and Seth Godin. None of the 33 stories is attributed to any individual or specific author. The book makes you guess as to who wrote what, but by not having the authors’ names attached, the voice you hear is your own.

The friend who gave me the book signed it, as I always insist when people give me books, and she wrote, “thanks for making me remarkable!” I was more than complimented; I was out and out flattered by such a statement. However as I read the book I realized that the power to make ourselves remarkable comes from within us. Every one of us has the ability to do the remarkable on a regular basis.

Maybe being remarkable isn’t so remarkable, given the fact you do it all the time, but I doubt that’s a possibility. The average person strives for “good enough.” They don’t go the extra step that exceeds the expectations of those around them.

The application to us in radio is that “if what comes out of the speakers is always what the listeners expect, then your radio station is probably predictable.” If your radio station is predictable, then the average person doesn’t need to turn it on and listen day in and day out.

Being remarkable, doing what is not ordinary, creates that “if I don’t listen, I will miss something” feeling.

REMARKABLE is . . .
• being unafraid to standout.
• having a fire in your belly and an idea that won’t quit.
• telling the truth, always.
• a risky idea that might fail, but a boring idea definitely will fail
• failing often and then trying again.
• more doing, less planning. More testing and less waiting. More dreaming, less sleeping.
• when you stand for something and make it happen and change the world or your business or your life along the way.
• in the eye of the customer. If your customer decides something you do is worth remarking on, then, by definition it is remarkable.

The authors make the point the only way to grow is to be remarkable. The only barrier to being remarkable is your ability to sway your peers to make it happen. The problem with that is being remarkable isn’t up to you. It’s in the ear of your listener. If your listener decides that something we do is worth remarking on, then, by definition it is remarkable. It is motivating your audience to talk about you. It’s motivating your audience to make noise about you.

The book asks the question, “What do you stand for.” It points out how Rockport shoes went from being stodgy looking footwear that was worn as almost an orthopedic shoe into a beautiful walking shoe. Rockport banked on the health phenomenon. It was about making a good-looking shoe, but it was more about health. Walking promotes good health. Exercise elongates one’s life. Rockport decided to stand for good health and helping people live longer.

When Avon takes on breast cancer, or a company like Lenscrafters goes out of its way to help improve the sight of those with a vision handicap, they are transcending brand expectations and they’re doing something that people find worth doing. They are giving back to their community.

This is something that allows them to make a difference in the world. IBM is committed to education. Starbucks is committed to saving the rainforest. Nike is committed to fighting cancer through their relationship with Lance Armstrong.

In taking up philanthropic causes these brands are sticking their necks out for something greater and far more purposeful than their everyday work and in return they give relevance to their brand. Nike isn’t “just a shoe.” It is a community that cares about saving the lives of others. And they sell shoes.

The world becomes just a little bit brighter and little better because of them. You have to stand for something or stand for nothing in this day and age otherwise you become trivial. What is your relevance? What does your radio station stand for? What do you stand for?

Recently I wrote an article titled, “Dinosaurs” it was about hiring young and fresh ideas to keep you and your product from becoming extinct. This book validated my belief. It notes in the chapter titled “Where Do Ideas Come From?” that the majority of new ideas come from new hires. These are fresh people; green recruits to your team that walk in the door with a different perspective and innocence’s that makes their ideas relevant. Why? Because the have fresh eyes.

New ideas come from people on the periphery. Your administrative staff can give a perspective that can be very beneficial to you. Why not ask them about programming? You always have the right to disregard their comments or suggestions. The people in the traffic department (the kind who do the logos,) not the kind who report on automobile traffic are folks to ask for opinions. Want to get brutal honesty? Ask the engineering department what they think about your product, promotions and community presence. Grab your head and duck.

Front line workers sometimes have the best ideas as in the case of broadcasting and programming and talking to the airstaff. Write down what they say, try not to let your ego get in the way. Realize that it’s for the good of the station, and all of the discussion is about improving the radio station. You don’t have to do anything they tell you, but it certainly helps to know what the people on the front line think.

The customers are a great place to find out what is happening with your station. Asking listeners what they like and then giving it to them has been in retailing since the days of Macy’s. Back in the hay day of the Sony Walkman, it became the way for strategists and marketers to slam the customer for his input. “If we waited for customers to tell us what they want, we’d never come with things that they didn’t know they wanted until we made them.”

Times continue to evolve and change and real life research and development labs have shown people that Starbucks knows how to continually test and roll out new drinks in the coffee shop. When to pull them back is something else that the people at Starbucks learned. It’s how Harrah’s has formed its gambling and entertainment business into a gambling company that’s really in the retail business. Harrah’s asked, the people responded, it listened and then acted on what they said. The way that these companies use the input of their consumers is far more sophisticated than what we do in broadcasting, yet it is more basic and easier to define than the complexities we’ve created as an industry. Can’t it be as simple as asking people what they want … and then giving it to them?

New ideas come from great companies and other industries. Why can’t we apply things that we’ve all learned from watching Coke Cola? The whole reason I read management books is to figure out how to take what other people do and expand or improve upon it for broadcasting. There is nothing that says we in the broadcast business are so great or so unique to what others do is not applicable to us. A consultant that used to be affiliated with McVay Media once shared a story with me in that Don Pardo said to him, “amateurs borrow, professionals steal.”

Don’t be afraid to be edgy. You have to be a company that feels comfortable being “edgy,” but you don’t have to break the law . . . be unethical . . . or fail the expectations of your listeners by being an edgy company. There are several broadcast companies I can name, and you’re probably thinking of them by name, that are definitely edgy. They have radio stations that aren’t edgy. The point is that companies that are good at being edgy will always find a way to thrive, even in bad times. The sure way to fail, it seems, is to ignore new ideas and new and fresh people. As an attempt to comprise an affinity for edginess for the mass market. In the words of Kenny Rogers from the song The Gambler “you’ve got to know when to fold’m.” If you are afraid to be edgy, then fold’m. If you are afraid to hire new people and listening to fresh and new ideas, then fold’m.

The author of one of the stories in this book encourages us to contact those people we admire and see if they’ll communicate back to us. The initial reaction I had was that I don’t believe those of us close to being average (which is most of us) have the drawing power to get a call back from a famous author or artist. However, I reflected on my own life and times. Long before McVay Media was a household name in the broadcast industry, I contacted famous marketing experts Jack Trout and Al Ries and surprisingly they called me back. We began a relationship that led to them speaking at McVay Media seminars.

Michael Bolton, Dan Hill and Reba McEntire became friends because of an initial contact I made with them or their management. I’ve been able to connect with authors, singers, songwriters and television personalities … because I contacted them and asked them to return a call. It can work. It is only because the author made such an outrageous comment that I shared my story with you. This isn’t about ego. This is about “trying” something.

The author wrote, “If I read a book I found personally or professionally important or useful, I try and track down the author. If a piece of music effects me, I reach out to thank the artist, and if I want to meet, learn more or help someone I meet on-line or off-line I write to them. I do not do this as a fan, but as a co-conspirator. If someone else’s work can improve my life or my work it is my responsibility as a customer, and fellow creator to help improve their lives in work in kind.”

Next month, more of my observations about the book THE BIG MOO.