Bringing your 'A' game in 2012

[DxdB]

First time on the board.

The attached article got lots o' feedback in Beantown, kind of surprised it was not brought up in Buffalo and Rochester yet.  Thought it was good reading and some really interesting comments.

the full article link is here:
http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/news/mediaBiz/index.php/2012/01/13/entercom-radio-chiefs-clueless-email/

[SirRoxalot]

This got plenty of run on other boards, which is probably why it didn't make much of a splash on this board. Maybe David should spend a little more time in the "wilds" of his own radio stations, and a little less time in Africa.

[jas2525]

Field has a lot of nerve cherry-picking Steve Job's business principles:

"Steve Jobs dared to be great. He built a culture at Apple, like the African bush, where everyone is driven to perform at their very best every day with zero tolerance for weakness or mediocrity. At Apple, good enough is never good enough; producing “insanely great” products in record-breaking time is the minimum acceptable standard. At Apple, there are no trophies for just showing up. It is no wonder that Apple and its employees have built an unmatched record of achievement."

He certainly doesn't mention Job's attitude about company's that CUT many needed expenses, just to save (make) money---instead of REINVESTING in the company and improving QUALITY. Job's said that once you start cutting, the company is already DYING.

I wonder if Field knows about THOSE Steve Jobs business principles?

[chas108]

Reminds me of the old story about brownies made with a touch of dog poop...which of course taints the entire pan of brownies.

There are excellent points here...for example...

"...we have been conditioned by society to expect immediate gratification in life, undermining the principles of hard work, personal accountability and striving for excellence."

...and sadly those points have been wrapped in the dog poop of elitist tone-deafness.

I remember the all-staff meeting at my cluster at the end of 2001, when the then-GM announced a corporate-wide wage freeze, offering up this gem as an exclamation point:

"Not even (Corporate CEO) or (Corporate COO) will be getting a raise."

Considering one of the major financial newspapers - and all the trades - had just run a story about the CEO and COO taking home a $15 MILLION dollar bonus - EACH! - to say no one was impressed would be the understatement of all time.

My perspective on the Fields dates back 20 years and ended when they sold my market in '96. I should also share that immediately prior to making the jump to Entercom, I worked for legendary former WGR PD Larry Anderson (who had gone on to Taft/Great American corporate before becoming my GM in 1989).

It wasn't long before I concluded that Larry had forgotten more about the business than the Fields ever knew. Again I can't speak for how it is today although in a 2008 conversation with a co-worker whose last station was owned by Entercom, it sounded like little had changed.

That they often come up lookin' not-too-bad in comparison to Clear Channel/Cumulus leaves my head shaking.