Each year, at the April luncheon of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, a group of 20 college students each receive a “scholarship” award check of $1,000.00 to apply to their tuition expenses.
As required by the entry rules, all awardees are from the greater Philadelphia area and attending a college within the region as undergraduate students studying radio, TV, film production or in a related field and have demonstrated academic excellence AND professional potential.
As you can see from the photo above, the room at the Bala Country Club in Philadelphia for this past April’s luncheon was filled not only with students, but many family members were present as well, along with active and retired members of Philadelphia’s broadcast community.
All of this is setting the stage for telling you that I felt honored to have the opportunity — along with three others — to address this year’s awardees. In doing this, I felt led to take a different approach than the other three speakers — who mostly shared folksy stories related to their long careers, which were interesting and a good contrast — presenting the students with what I see as being required for them to achieve success in their desired role in the communications arena. Here’s what I offered them:
One of my favorite Broadway shows is one you may never have heard of, as it dates back to your grandparents’ day… Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “South Pacific.” In it, there’s a crusty Polynesian lady named Bloody Mary … she sings a song called “Happy Talk” – the chorus of which offers what I would call a wonderful formula for living one’s life – it goes:
Happy talk, keep talking happy talk …
Talk about things you like to do!
You got to have a dream, if you don’t have a dream
How you gonna’ have a dream come true?
That is the challenge I want to highlight and focus on today!
As for me personally, by the time I turned 10 or shortly thereafter, my # 1 dream was being involved in the sending, the creative, the transmitting side of radio … not just sitting in front of a receiver listening … which, though, became my radio education as far as it went! Exactly how and in what role, I really didn’t know – what I did know was that my heart wanted to create programming – musical or whatever – that would bring joy and/or knowledge to people’s lives in some worthwhile shape or form.
While I did get some beneficial radio experience engineering a remote broadcast in Trenton, doing a DJ show at Thule Air Force Base in Greenland and programming a station’s entire schedule of classical, jazz, Broadway and comedy in Washington, DC … I finally had that opportunity for real when I was hired as the first employee of a new FM that hadn’t yet begun broadcasting in a city called Philadelphia! — it was then that I realized that I was gifted with a sensitivity to what was right to put on the air, music or otherwise … my artistic skills were not in the role of a performer, rather as a PROFESSIONAL LISTENER! When I was listening to a piece of music or preparing some written material … my mind was functioning from the perspective of the listener I was seeking to attract or satisfy!
But enough about me – NOW, what about YOU? What is your dream? What do you want to do and how are you going to get there?
What is your goal? Do you have one? What would you most like to be doing by the time you are 25? Or 30?
What will you settle for … your 2nd option or career choice? Or, are you willing and committed to giving your all and staying the course until you’ve made it … or exhausted all options trying?
Could you be satisfied if you never achieved your #1 heart’s desire?
Thinking about what to offer you today, I asked myself … “what did you do in your job to get ahead, what would you focus on if you were in the job market today?”
To get your mind focused, let me take a minute to run through a few basics:
First of all, it’s getting a foot in the door at a place that’s got some connection to fulfilling your dream … or gaining some experience or knowledge that’ll be beneficial.
Then, whatever the position be … keep in mind you are there to learn – be a sponge!! Plus, make yourself an asset. And, be ready for action … be ready to ask “what can I do to help” … even if outside the area where you were placed or assigned to. At the same time, be careful not to be too “pushy,” to know too much … don’t make the existing employees nervous.
Listen, observe and ask questions — to gain knowledge whenever possible. The more you can become needed, the better off you will be. Think broadly, be bright, be positive and smile! Keep your eyes and ears open … both within the company where you are at present and the industry as a whole … for an opportunity to move up.
Read the trade publications serving the areas of your interest. Don’t rely on just applying for jobs you see advertised or posted … Look below the surface to see what’s going on … something new or a major change developing at a station or company which might just be up your alley … this you discover by keeping a close eye on industry happenings. Even a station or program that’s struggling and you have an innovative concept that might just work … go present it!
My real opportunities came from recognizing an opportunity before anyone else realized one existed … here in Philadelphia, in New York City, in satellite radio!
And, before approaching any station, production company, whatever kind of business … research them – to learn whatever you can about them and how they operate. Then, analyze and consider where and how you might fit in.
Next, always keep in mind … you’ve got to market you and your skills yourself … no one else is going to do it for you. And when you finally get that desired position, don’t allow yourself to get comfortable – keep reading, keep learning, keep refining! The more you know and the greater your reputation … the stronger your position becomes!
I know these are all fundamentals for achieving success that you may know and likely heard before, yet you can’t lose by having a refresher! Let me give you a great example of the value of going over the basics: Back in the 1960’s, the Green Bay Packers had just faltered in beating our own Eagles for the NFL Championship — this was before the Super Bowl — by blowing a lead with moments to go. Their coach was Vince Lombardi, who’s name is legendary as a coach in professional football, leading the Packers to multiple championships in years following. When training camp opened the next summer, the players were ready to refine their game and be ready to win the next time. However, coach Lombardi had a different plan — here’s how it’s described in a book about his life:
He took nothing for granted. He began a tradition of starting from scratch, assuming that the players were blank slates who carried over no knowledge from the year before … He began with the most elemental statement of all. “Gentlemen,” he said, holding a pigskin in his right hand, “this is a football.”
Enough said? No matter what you are doing or responsible for, never lose sight of the basics! And … Attention to detail! As time goes by and you succeed and hopefully arrive in a management/leadership/supervisory position, keep in mind … media is a 24/7 business … you may well have under you persons who you will never see between 9 and 5 Monday through Friday … if so, make sure to have some contact with every person you are responsible for … even if it means showing up at Midnight or 5 A-M from time to time.
I recently read a newspaper article about a lady named Lisa who is CEO of a 3-billion dollar for-profit education-oriented business. In this half-page article in the Washington Post two things jumped out at me. The first in the second paragraph: “Lisa Wardell dared to take risks, meet people from diverse backgrounds and put herself into uncomfortable situations. She learned from that discomfort.” Then, the final paragraph related to her in an earlier experience, joining her boss for a presentation to a group of 14 bankers. When it came time to present, her boss turned and said, “Lisa, you’re on!” Here was a woman of color suddenly … unexpectedly… making a 90-minute presentation to these bankers, who were all white males! Afterward, she turned to her boss – who happened to be Robert Johnson, the co-founder of Black Entertainment Television – asking why he put her on the spot.
His reply … and you may need to ponder this: “Because I want you to understand that until you believe that you belong in the room, you don’t belong in the room!” LET ME REPEAT: “Because I want you to understand that until you believe that you belong in the room, you don’t belong in the room!”
No matter what, you’ve got to learn to believe in yourself and have confidence in your ability to conquer whatever the challenge may be! Be prepared so if an unexpected situation occurs, you can take the lead and be the problem-solver.
Joaquin Bowman, who was a longtime member of the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia and spent 25 years as head of public relations for SEPTA, a few years ago called me “courageous” for being willing to risk all by leaving a secure position and move to another city to take on a new challenge — which I did based on the confidence that I was up to the task. That particular move which he remembered did not prove to be a very astute move, but without having done that … I doubt that my years going forward would have worked out to be as great as they have been. Joaquin, who died a couple of years ago at too young of an age, was a Temple student and one of our board operators when we put WDVR 101 on the air in the early 60’s. Joaquin and I re-met after my wife and I moved back to Bucks County in the 1990’s and I discovered we both were living in Doylestown.
One more quick thought I’ve learned from experience and benefited from a time or two: Along your journey, there’s bound to be one or more occasions where you’ll be given negative feedback related to something you’ve created or your job performance – don’t under any circumstances get defensive or give a negative reply — Grit your teeth and say “thank you.” Yet, don’t ignore! Take the time to carefully analyze what you were doing or not doing to bring on that criticism … and make an adjustment if the comment was appropriate. And/or go back and discuss the matter with that person, or maybe your boss if he or she wasn’t the person speaking.
It’s time for me to wrap up here – however, I want to leave you with a story I heard recently which is very apropos to what I’ve talked about today:
A young person approached an older gentleman, who had been head of a fairly large bank for many years, and asked “what’s the secret to making good decisions?” The reply, simply: “Experience!” Next, the young person asked: “So, what’s the key to gaining the experience that will help you make good decisions?” Again, the old executive had a simple answer: “Bad decisions!!” You learn by doing … now go for it!
Thanks to all of you for listening, and thank you to the Board of Directors for inviting me here today.
What are your thoughts … do you agree with this advice? What would you like to tell these young people who have dreams of succeeding in our crazy media world of the 21st century? Scroll down to the contact form and let us know…
Image Credits: BPP Luncheon Photo by Gerry Wilkinson, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia, Photo of Marlin R. Taylor by Gerry Wilkinson, Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia
