{"id":421,"date":"2009-06-09T00:05:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-09T07:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blogWORDPRESS\/2009\/06\/09\/scott-shannons-focus-keys\/"},"modified":"2009-06-09T00:05:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-09T07:05:00","slug":"scott-shannons-focus-keys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/scott-shannons-focus-keys\/","title":{"rendered":"SCOTT SHANNON’S FOCUS KEYS"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n\"Scott<\/a>\n

When I speak of \u201cfocus keys,\u201d I\u2019m talking about making sure you keep the important things important. <\/p>\n

Example: <\/p>\n

One day when I was programming in Nashville, I was driving home from the station and thinking, \u201cMan, I had a great day! I had a lot of fun, did an interview with the paper, went to lunch with a couple of record guys, and took some phone calls from people telling me how great I am.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And then I realized something: I didn\u2019t really do that much.<\/p>\n

In fact, I didn\u2019t accomplish a damn thing that day! <\/p>\n

There\u2019s only a couple of things about your job that are really important during any given week. Make sure those important things stay important. <\/span><\/p>\n

Concentrate on the critical inch<\/span> of your business. <\/p>\n

Take all the power you have \u2014 your problem-solving abilities, your concentration \u2014 and focus on something that will make your station better. <\/p>\n

You can do it. But first you need to figure out and isolate what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

One station I consulted drove me crazy because it\u2019s in a market where there\u2019s not a lot of good morning shows. I told the PD, \u201cYour morning show has a lot of potential and talent, but it needs nurturing and guidance. Your mission is to fix and maximize the morning show.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n

After a couple of months I noticed the show hadn\u2019t gotten any better, so I called him and said, \u201cAre you spending enough time on that morning show?\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n

He said, \u201cYeah, I\u2019ve got a concept sheet.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

I said, \u201cAll I want you to do is get your ass out of bed in the morning and go sit with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s not my job.\u201d <\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“No? What the hell is<\/span> your job??”<\/span><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t focusing on the important things. I said, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to make this morning show better. These guys have potential.\u201d<\/span> <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ve never worked with a morning guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, now\u2019s a good time to start!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/span> <\/p>\n

I\u2019m sad to report he never did figure it out. <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not saying everybody\u2019s got to sit with their morning show. Maybe not all morning shows are crucial to the success of the station. For this radio station it was important to maximize the morning show, and it wasn\u2019t happening. <\/p>\n

The critical inch on your<\/span> station may not be the morning show. <\/p>\n

It may be the music. <\/p>\n

It may be marketing. <\/p>\n

It may be something else.<\/p>\n

But figure out what\u2019s important, and allocate your time in such a way that the important thing gets a lot<\/span> of your attention. <\/p>\n

You need to spend time figuring out what\u2019s important.<\/p>\n

Excerpted from Living Your Dreams\/Programming To Win<\/span><\/a> by Scott Shannon<\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 by Dan O’Day All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I speak of \u201cfocus keys,\u201d I\u2019m talking about making sure you keep the important things important. Example: One day when I was programming in Nashville, I was driving home from the station and thinking, \u201cMan, I had a great day! I had a lot of fun, did an interview with the paper, went to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,158],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-421","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-radio-programming","7":"category-scott-shannon"},"yoast_head":"\nSCOTT SHANNON'S FOCUS KEYS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/scott-shannons-focus-keys\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SCOTT SHANNON'S FOCUS KEYS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I speak of \u201cfocus keys,\u201d I\u2019m talking about making sure you keep the important things important. 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