"All the fun's in how you say a thing." Robert Frost

"A good style should show no sign of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident." Somerset Maugham

"Do one thing, and do it so well that people will return and bring their friends with them." Walt Disney

Today's image: Cannon Beach's Sunrise by Arnold Pauteau. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

The one, the only, Superjock: Thanks to radio programming ace John Rook for the tip. The Larry Lujack acceptance speech at his induction into the NAB Radio Hall of Fame. Video courtesy of Bob Hamilton via his New Radio Star here. Bravos, Larry!

Bonus: What makes a design "Googley"? Sue Factor, a writer in Google's User Experience Group, shares some insights...

1. Focus on people—their lives, their work, their dreams.
2. Every millisecond counts.
3. Simplicity is powerful.
4. Engage beginners and attract experts.
5. Dare to innovate.

The complete list of ten and more here. Kudos to Sue and thanks for sharing.

They're not users: Some chatter recently suggesting radio listeners be called, simply, users. The suggestion encouraged by the things listeners do beyond listening (e.g., visiting your web site). Not able to agree with that notion. First, job one is getting folks to listen; listeners are special, heavy listeners are priceless, neither should ever be taken for granted. What's in play here is attention (and that yet to be defined vogue term of art - engagement). Getting listening credit remains the critical economic engine, we're in the business of audio first no matter the platform. Second, your listeners can also play a variety of other roles including visitor, sponsor, patron, game player, winner, friend, member, evangelist, caller, et al., the more the better. Third, user is anachronistic, pre-cluetrain vocabulary. The words of that famous Chris Locke gif are relevant here, to wit "we are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. we are human beings - and our reach exceeds your grasp. deal with it." The habit we have to break is "thinking of business as a way to 'capture,' 'own' and 'manage' customers." As Doc Searls reminds "Relationships are voluntary." Let me add, relationships are precious.

Word to the wise: Tom Asacker, again, favors us with a post that's a must-read...

"...instead of developing models to explore the mysteries, most established brands are moving into the madness phase as they place more and more emphasis and pressure on their worn-out methods. Successful brands will continue to come and go. But the great ones will discover answers to and methods to leverage the new marketplace mysteries of their time. Will you?"

Bravos, Tom! Well said. Read Tom's entire post here.

Tom's writing reminds me of a quotation by Canadian banker Leon Courville...

"Management, a science? Of course not, it's just a wastepaper basket full of recipes which provided the dish of the day during a few years of plenty and economic growth. Now the recipes are inappropriate and the companies which persist in following them will disappear."

Congrats & cheers: 2008 Radio-Mercury Awards finalists. Thanks to Doug Zanger for the tip. She's back - Amanda set to return, sometimesdaily and Monday is the debut. Don't miss it if you can.

All together different: Jump over and enjoy French made Radio Deliro. Bravos to presenter and programmer Sylvain Robert. Got some really cool audio you'd like to share? Please pass along your favs via comments. Thank you very much.

See you next week with a brand new show. Have a wonderful weekend.

Cartoon: Only Talented People by Hugh MacLeod. Wicked good. Thanks Hugh!

"Action without study is fatal. Study without action is futile." Mary Beard

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." Albert Einstein

"Of course, it is not the employer who pays wages. He only handles the money. It is the product that pays wages and it is the management that arranges the production so that the product may pay the wages. " Henry Ford

During a talk last week about sales, some good Q&A on the attributes of a great sales manager. We started with a list of forty or so characteristics and reduced to one dozen. Here is the brief...

Characteristics of the most successful sales managers:

• The ability and the desire to learn
• Excellent communication skills with an emphasis on listening
• Broad, well rounded interest
• Decisive
• Risk taker
• Strong bias for action
• Effective coach
• Creative collaborator; Brings out the best in others - subordinates, peers, support staff and superiors
• Respects feedback; evaluates all activity using metrics and measures
  
• Focused on "the gap" (the reality of where they are now and the goal)
• Resilient
• Enthusiastic

Congrats & cheers: Catherine Levene named COO at Daily Candy, where Alyson Racer also joins as VP - Advertising. I have long been a fan of Daily Candy. Keep a watch on this Bob Pittman venture. The legendary John Rook on his well deserved profile written by Erica Farber and featured in Radio & Records here. Jim Bohannon, radio star, former colleague and friend on his new multi-year contract with Westwood One.

Kudos: To ABC programming ace Kipper McGee for borrowing WABC's now famous holiday "rewind" idea and making it happen on WLS this Memorial Day. In the cast, our charming and delightful Uncle Lar, Fred Winston, Lyle Dean, Chris Shebel, John Records Landecker, Jeff Davis and Tom Kent. More info here. Make a note of it and catch the live stream.

Next New Networks. Duncan Riley offers up a good overview of what is being called "micro television networks" via TechCrunch here.

And then there was ValueClick: The last remaining third party monetization engine with a competitive footprint. Perfect asset for? Viacom + CBS. Murdoch. Time Warner. I'd like to see Barry Diller's IAC get it. Of course, as my friend Mark Niblick likes to say, big dogs eat first and they eat till they're full. Don't count out Microsoft, Google or Yahoo. Stay tuned and don't make much of the FTC notification - this too shall pass.

"It's a tough balancing act, supporting free speech while opposing on-air racism. It is heartening, though, to see entertainers who can walk the line." Ben Fong-Torres offers his take on JV & Elvis and edgy broadcast content here. Bravo Ben! Well said.

Taylor On Radio-Info: Veteran trade scribe Tom Taylor bows online here. Bravo Tom! Welcome to the online world and good luck. Why the 1990's email subscription? Suggestion: RSS! Feed those readers.

Speaking of trades for the first tribe of wireless, here's a Compete SnapShot of the race...



BBDO - the rite stuff: Emma Hall writing in AdAge - Do You Know Your Rites? BBDO Does. After nine months with a sample of 5,000 in 26 countries the survey says...

Women in Colombia, Brazil and Japan are most likely to apply makeup in the car.
49% of Chinese eat on the way to work (the global average is 17%).
92% of Mexicans start their day with a shower or bath (Americans 86%, global average 74%).
Spanish and French eat the highest percentage of meals at home - 42%

Make something amazing happen this week!

"...stories about Obama have been attracting too many racist comments" Brian Montopoli

Today's quote from Brian's writing CBSNews.com Turns Off Comments on Obama Stories here.

Cory Bergman has discussion with comments here.

Congrats & cheers: Steve Dahl again delivers the only competitive 25-54 numbers on WCKG (Winter book). Bravo Steve! But wait, there's more...CBS would be wise to make an arrangement with Steve to sell his web inventory. According to Alexa it seems Steve's site captures more page views than the WCKG station site. Steve does a great job with his site, whereas the WCKG site clearly needs some serious attention. Steve also appears to generate more uvs than the station site. Here's a Compete SnapShot:



Uber-mensch Dick Rakovan checks in to advise the great John Rook will be attending tomorrow's gathering in Chicago. See you there Rackets!

Robert E. Ingstad, Jr has passed. Bob was a second generation broadcaster and a good man. During my consulting days of the last century I advised stations that competed with Bob. In my experience his stations were always well run and strong competitors. He also had a gift for attracting smart and talented people. Many accomplished broadcasters began their careers or sharpened their saws at an Ingstad property. An original in every sense, Bob will be missed. Services have been set for May 10 in Valley City, North Dakota. Our thoughts are with Bob's wife Jan Marie and his children.