This one is tricky.

It's a trap.

I’m talking about popularity.

Most of us learn that in our early teens, but popularity is so seductive, so hard to resist that we keep it alive somewhere within us, hidden -- dormant -- but not dead, waiting to spread its poison.

For most of us in Radio, we need to be massively popular to hit our bonus, to keep our job.

Here's where the paradox comes in though.

You won't hit that massive popularity by trying not to offend, not drive away anyone who could listen.

You can't become popular while trying to be all things to all people.

You hit it by making super strong emotional connections one person at a time.

Now, sometimes, in rare cases, you can create this kind of bond with thousands at a time. Days like 9/11 or any true local catastrophe.

This is a story about expectations. We see what we expect to see, in ourselves and in others. Six photographers accept an assignment to shoot pictures of one man. What makes it so interesting is that each photographer is told a different story about the man before ...

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My friend, George Johns, has helped create some of Radio's best stations. Having followed many of them, I can tell you none was boring and bland. George understands show biz. He loves great talent. He believes in bigger-than-big promotions. And he said this: "In ...

And bring it every single day! “There’s no line item on a balance sheet for ‘give a damn,’ but it’s the most valuable thing you’ve got in the business.” ~ Casey Gerald Now why do you think your employees should give a ...

In his book, Creativity and the Mind, psychologist Tom Ward explains that when we think about almost anything we follow the path of least resistance. Without consciously trying to, and usually without understanding what is happening, we instantly and automatically put ...

That should be obvious, but evidently, it's not. "Distribution is king. If you can’t see or hear it, it doesn’t exist. But distribution without talent is a complete failure. Talent first, never forget it.” That's Bob Lefsetz. No business succeeds ...

We have the ability, every day, to touch lives, to intervene when needed, to inspire, to entertain, to help people in our community when no one else will. But maybe that's because of something inside of me. Maybe that's one of the reasons I chose to work in radio in the ...

“I can see for miles and miles …” Statistics and focus groups are not going to tell you what your listeners will want in the future. Maybe they can help show you what NOT to do, but predicting what people will want before they hear it, before they ...