"Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it." Lou Holtz

"Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be." Kurt Vonnegut

"There is always room at the top." Daniel Webster

Today's image: Fall Sunset Splendor by Bill Shannon. A killer pic caught at sunset in Columbus. Thank you very much.

Two chances to win: Four of the six CBS radio stations in Chicago are posting revenues which place them among this year's top ten billers. WBBM-AM ($33 mil), US99 ($20 mil), WXRT ($16 mil), B96 ($16 mil). Two properties represent significant upside potential: WJMK ($8 mil) and WCKG ($5 mil). The combined billings of WJMK and WCKG fail to reach the billing of either WXRT or B96. At this point it is fair to suggest getting better is not the solution but rather getting different. Time to position the assets (and the portfolio) for 2008. Tis the season. Related: The wayback machine - 1991 billings. WJMK $10.2 mil, WCKG $11.4 mil. The #1 biller in 1991 was WGN - $43 mil, #2 was WLUP - $19 mil. WJMK was the #8 biller, WCKG ranked #7.

Rules for Management Innovators

• To solve a systemic problem, you need to understand its systemic roots.
• At least initially, it's easier, and safer, to supplement an existing management process than supplant it. (Run the new in parallel with the old.)
• Commit to revolutionary goals, but take evolutionary steps.
• Be clear about the performance metrics your innovation is designed to improve.
• Start by experimenting in your "own back yard," where the political risks are the lowest.
• Whenever possible, rely on volunteers.
• Diffuse potential objections by keeping your experiments fun and informal.
• Iterate: Experiment, learn, experiment, learn.
• Don't give up: Innovators are persistent!

My thanks to Gary Hamel for this morning's brief, taken from his latest work - The Future of Management. Highly recommended. Amazon info here.

Bonus: Dave Winer via Twitter "if you're scared to hear what people really think you're not prepared for the world you live in." Made my day, Dave! Bravo and thanks.

Congrats & cheers: Respected Pac NW broadcaster Dave McDonald down the I-5 and back to Portland where he will, again, manage the CBS radio portfolio.