As a lifelong Cowboys fan, I was born with an intense hatred for the Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the fact that I have become a fan of the Kelce brothers New Heights podcast, overall I still despise the team from Philadelphia. However, even I couldn’t help but be impressed by how they worked as a team last Sunday to thoroughly demolish the defending two-time Super Bowl champs that just happen to be lead by arguably the second best QB to ever play the game. Going into the game analysts admitted that the Eagles might have the better team overall, but recent history and the magic of Mahomes led the Vegas sports books, that are in the business of getting these things right, to give a slight edge to the Chiefs. But, within minutes of the first quarter it was evident to everyone watching that the Eagles were in fact the far superior team and this wasn’t going to be close. So, what lessons can radio learn from the example Philadelphia set this year, and how can we apply those same philosophies to lead our stations to our own version of team wins, ratings and revenue dominance in our markets? Here’s some thoughts on that.
Starts at the top: Even though the Eagles went 14-3 the prior season, two games ahead of my Cowboys to win the NFC East, the Eagles management and ownership made some bold off season moves to improve their team. The most notable of those moves was going out and paying $13 million per year for star running back Saquon Barkley, stealing him from another NFC East rival the Giants. They did that despite the fact that conventional wisdom says a running back shouldn’t be paid that much because of how the modern NFL game is played. But, that gamble paid off. Barkley had the best season of his career and turned out to be the difference between their late-season collapse the prior year that led to an early playoff exit and winning the Super Bowl this year. When the people at the top are willing to lead by example and make bold moves, invest in improvement and support their team, that trickles down throughout the entire operation. Which results in a staff full of people who make strategic decisions at every level. We need to see much more of that top down leadership in radio, far too many stations and overall groups are playing it way too safe and that’s leading the radio industry to fall behind in innovation and creativity at a time when we’re facing stiffer competition than ever.
Clearly defined goal: One of the great things about sports is, it’s very easy to define the goal, win games, especially when they matter at the end of the season and the playoffs. Plus, you know exactly who your competition is and have a pretty good idea of what you have to do to compete with them. In radio our goals are a little more vague. Which makes it that much more important that we clearly define them so everyone in all departments knows exactly what we’re all working toward. Of course, we all know the ultimate goal is to generate enough revenue to stay in the black and share some of that with our staff. But, what targets do we need to hit in regards to listenership, digital impressions and in-person impressions to turn those revenue goals into reality? What are the individual goals for each on-air personality or show, station, market or group that will help us get there? Speaker and author Greg Reid has a great quote about goals, “A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.” I see a lot of radio groups doing a good job setting goals at the top of their organizations, but a lot less clearly defining and sharing those goals with everyone in the organization.
Team members that are selfless and put the team goal ahead of their individual goal: Our company goals are meaningless unless we fill out our operation with people who are willing to put the broader team goals ahead of their individual goals. While of course we want all of our team members to succeed and meet their own personal goals, that can’t come at the expense of the team goal. The Eagles are a perfect example of that. They’re led by quarterback Jalen Hurts who has been labeled a bus-driver for his entire NFL career despite the fact that all he does is win and now he’s a Super Bowl MVP. They have a star wide receiver A.J. Brown who, despite being one of the best in the league at his position, took a step back as the team became more run-focused this year. Saquon Barkley was 101 yards away from breaking the regular season rushing record when he willingly sat out the week 18 game because it was meaningless for playoff positioning and wasn’t worth risking an injury and messing up their team goal of winning the Super Bowl. Luckily, he ended up not only getting that Super Bowl ring, he also set a new NFL record for rushing yards in a full season including the playoffs.
Clearly defined incentives: Even though everyone who’s ever picked up a football dreams of one day winning a Super Bowl, NFL teams don’t rely on that being enough to motivate everyone on the team. That’s why many of their contracts have performance bonuses built in and every single player on the team gets a $171,000 bonus if their team wins the Super Bowl. That’s because they understand that money is the ultimate motivator. If you’re struggling to make ends meet it makes your life easier. Even if you’re currently doing well financially, like most NFL players, it gives you the freedom to splurge and do fun things you wouldn’t otherwise be able to do. Many radio employees I talk to do not feel like their lives will improve at all if the station they work for succeeds and achieves its goals. They have no performance bonuses built into their contracts. Most don’t have contracts at all anymore. If they are thrown a surprise bonus when things go well it’s typically a nominal amount that’s a nice gesture but doesn’t do much to change or improve their life or it’s something the station has traded out. I understand that the whole industry is struggling to survive, but motivated staffs make that struggle much more likely to pay off and nothing incentivizes staffs better than money.
What were your takeaways from the game and what lessons do you think it could teach radio? Comment below or email me at Andy@RadioStationConsultant.com.