Recently I had an email exchange with a radio station production director. For years he has expressed interest in coming to my annual Creative/Production Summit, but he’s never attended.
When he learned I was conducting a conference call for potential attendees who just weren’t sure this event is right for them, he (very politely) took umbrage at my warning, “Don’t bother calling if your problem is ‘my employer won’t pay for it.’ “
“I don’t understand why I should be spending hundreds and hundreds of my money to support the endeavors of a 26 Billion Dollar Corporation.”
You support your employer’s endeavors by just showing up for work. Any effort above & beyond that should be to enhance your career, not their coffers.
Most radio people have jobs, not careers.
What’s the difference?
A job is something you do for survival. It pays the bills. A career is an evolving, living thing that grows along with you.
A job is something that can be taken away from you. While you might lose your career (e.g., an athlete’s injuries prevent him from competing), no one can take it away from you.
A job is something you have to do. A career is something you want to do.
Should a radio station pay for its production director to attend an event that will improve the quality of work he does for them? Of course.
Should a station pay for continuing (or, actually, ANY) education for its program director? Definitely.
Do we live in a world in which most station owners and managers are willing to make such modest investments in its best people? Just a sec, let me look….Nope, no pigs flying past my window today.
My favorite example is the guy who paid his own way to PD Grad School. His employer said the company couldn’t afford to send him. But somehow it found the wherewithal to send its 40 salespeople to a retreat in Bermuda.
Yes, there are exceptions. God bless ’em.
While working at my third radio job in an unrated Florida market, I was offered a job in San Francisco. Rather than accept it blindly, I insisted upon flying in to meet the owner and PD in person. (They were kinda shocked at that. No, they didn’t pay for my airline ticket.)
I told my GM, Tom Thornburg (on the left, holding the microphone) about the job offer. I suspected he wouldn’t want to lose me as his PD, but I don’t think he really expected me to stay in Lake Wales forever
No, he didn’t pay my airfare. But when I told him that of course I didn’t expect to be paid for the days I’d be gone, Tom waved me off. “Don’t worry about it.” He knew I had a career ahead of me, not just another job. And he paid my salary even for the days when I was away, preparing to leave his radio station permanently.
(glissando swells as the dream-like memory fades)
Meanwhile, back in the real world….
If your employer doesn’t care enough about your career to invest in it, then I guess you’ll just need to find someone else who does.
Unless you’re happy having just a job.
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Whenever I’ve asked if I could attend a seminar or conference, our mgr just laughs at me. I always knew he was a jerk, but I never realized he’s a perfect example of someone who goes from job to job to job but doesn’t have a career. I guess he doesn’t want the people around him to have one either.
If there’s something you’re serious about, try presenting it to your manager (not the jerk, I mean in general) as a joint venture:
* “I’ll pay all my travel and hotel expenses, and the station pays only the registration fee. Or, if you prefer, I’ll pay for the registration and the station picks up my travel costs.”
* “I’ll take lots of notes, and when I return I’ll give formal presentations on what I learned to the Sales Department, Programming, etc.”
In any industry, you have jobs and careers, it comes down to what the individual chooses. I don’t think any one is better then the other, but more of a personal choice. sacifice your personal time with your family and have a “career” or work your 40 hours a week and go home to a family and have a “job”. It’s really a matter of personal priorities. I don’t think anyone should be looked down on because of it.
The nature of the job at a radio station level is often of a factory, cranking out the spots, the voice tracks, etc. The quality suffers when the bottom line is key.
Maybe a consultant will inspire some people in an industry very much lacking of creativity, but I will always question those. Why are they needed? why do people need Dr Phil when he spews common sense? are radio people sheep? Why should I spend my money for a consultant? Logical and common sense are very uncommon, and maybe that’s why we need consulants. Just a thought….
It’s really a matter of personal priorities. I don’t think anyone should be looked down on because of it.
Of course not. I was referring to people who say, “I really would like to have this resource that would make me so much better at my job and would further my career…but the company won’t pay for it.”
Why should I spend my money for a consultant?
If you don’t want to, you shouldn’t.
I don’t believe I even mentioned “consultants,” and I share the common disdain that many people have for the stereotypical consultant who thinks there is one magic formula to apply to all situations.
On the other hand, a good professional can profit from working with a good coach. In fact, the more accomplished the professional is, the more she’ll get from working with a good coach.
Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer in the world. He retains the services of a coach. Why? Because he always wants to get better, and he’s not too proud to say, “There still are some things I haven’t learned yet.”
A key difference between an amateur and a professional is the professional never stops learning.
On the other hand, the cynical, bitter blowhards who spout, “I’ve got 30 years experience in this business, and I’ve learned everything there is to learn about it”?
What they’re really saying is, “I’ve got one year’s experience… 30 times over.”
My favorite example is the guy who paid his own way to PD Grad School. His employer said the company couldn’t afford to send him. But somehow it found the wherewithal to send its 40 salespeople to a retreat in Bermuda.
I once worked for a group which shelled out thousands of notes to send every sales person in their employ to Stockholm, while simultaneously sacking three presenters on the station I worked for.
(It’s a group Dan has given his seminars to in the past…!)
Job vs Career….While attending college I was told by one of my favorite professors that I was in college to learn one thing abouot becoming a professional and that was to NEVER stop learning.
He told us that to accomplish this objective we must join industry orgs; professinal orgs; service orgs; read trade magazines, professional magazines; go to conventions, meetings, seminars; build support groups; etc., all with one purpose… to develop as a professional.
Later I read in Selling Power magazine one should invest 2-3% of their annual income into professional development. You do the math. (3% of 30k is $900 annually) If you won’t invest in yourself, why should the employer. Most often they employer will support the diamonds in the rough who want to IMPROVE.
I now ask, during the interview process, what people have invested in to improve. If they can’t tell me they have visited Dan ODay’s website or are at least subscribing to his blogs, free emails, or investing time or money in other broadcasting trade mags, seminars, books, cds to get better then I alwyas follow that question with my final question, “if you aren’t willing to invest the time or the money in yourself then why should I?”
What a great interview question, John. And for those who aren’t familiar with his company, John’s radio group does more than demand that of its employees; it continually makes investments to help them improve.