Play Ball & You'll Do Fine

Spring is here along with my favorite time of year, opening week for Major League Baseball. To quote the late baseball owner and entrepreneur Bill Veeck, "There are only two seasons -- winter and baseball." What does baseball have to do with the daily operations of a non-Sports radio station? I can think of several common threads -- change, opportunity, adjustment, and the fact I'm a fanatic about both industries.

In the movie "Major League II," Manager Lou Brown was fed up with his team going through the motions after the team's previous success. He started to make a locker room speech that was interrupted by a mistaken heart attack; it turned out to be stress-related. Regardless, his words concerning his team's whining is interchangeable with people and excuses around a radio station.

In response to Lou's pleading with the team, Coach Jake Taylor (The previous year's hero as a catcher with bad knees) said, "Oh Skip, they were a different team last year."

Manager Brown: "Taylor, it's not your job around here to make excuses. That's all you guys do good! It's either a leg thing, or a spiritual thing, or a psychological thing, or a heart attack!"

Taylor: "Who used a heart attack?"

Brown: "Me."

That's when he collapsed and the team feared the worse. However, it you ever saw the movie, it triggered a series of self-reflection; the team stopped complaining, and they started having success again.

Quit on Friday....

Years ago, I had a Music Director come into my office at 5:30p on a Friday and tell me that he was leaving to take a new job. I congratulated him before he had given me the rest of his news; this was not a two-week notice and his new job started on the upcoming Monday. He then proceeded to tell me, I had held him back, that the station had succeeded because of him, and that he was not doing the music logs for the weekend.

Back Already...

There he was, sitting in the lobby when I got to work on Monday morning. I simply asked, "So what's up?" The same indignant person from Friday now wanted his job back. I re-hired him part-time and assigned him the same music duties. I eventually gave him full-time status again. I never found out why he held his new position for less than 48 hours over a weekend. But the situation reiterated something to me--never hire anyone for a job I couldn't do if I had to.

Don't Bail ... Learn

During the arranging and rearranging of radio stations, I am betting this situation will sound familiar to a lot of you.

Jock: Thanks for getting back with me. Here's the situation: The job I came here for five months ago, has been eliminated and they are moving me to another position.

Coach: Okay, I don't hear a problem. It sounds as if things have already been handled and it's in your favor. But I have to admit, it is a little strange, you've only been there for a few months. Does your money stay the same?

Jock: Yes, but this is not what I came here for. I got a $25,000 bump and full benefits when I came here.

Coach: My friend, this year you are making $25,000 more than you did last year and with a much better health insurance package for you and your family. And the problem is?

Jock: Yeah, but the cost of living is a bit higher here and this job they want me to do is not something I want to do.

Coach: Isn't the guy who brought you in an old ally of yours?

Jock: He is.

Coach: So is this other gig a step down or something?

Jock: No, but that's not the point.

Coach: I 'm not sure what your point is. You have no idea what you will learn from the new position or how you will be able to use it later in your career. Hey, stuff happens. Most times, when positions are suddenly eliminated, the gig is over. However, in your case, they just slid you over and your salary and benefits are intact.

Jock: Yeah, but I want to know what else is out there.

Coach: You need to stay there and learn. No one would ever understand why you would leave at this point. Unless this is only a temporary thing and they do plan on getting rid of you.

Jock: No, my longtime mentor is my boss and he said this is real and that the elimination could not be avoided. Check this out: He wants me to write up a proposal on something else he thinks he can put me in charge of.

Coach: Basically, you get to create your own job description and you want to leave. You are being irrational and not hearing what's going on. Your boss is about to let you write your own ticket.

Jock: Well, there better be more money if that's the case.

Coach: Really? Do you hear yourself? There are guys out here trying to find jobs and, I might add, very qualified veterans with great track records, and you're complaining they want to keep you at your company but shift you over. To top it off, your boss is a friend and you've been there for only five months. The problem is, you don't know when things are good. It sounds like the company likes you.

Jock: I guess, but I see your point; they paid for the move and let my wife and I have a month to find a place to live. But, I am trying to figure out my next move.

Coach: Look, I know you are disappointed, but take the time to learn the new gig or better yet, see what the proposal you've been asked for does for you.

Jock: Okay, I just haven't looked at it in the way you have.

Coach: You are in the driver's seat. Things will be fine, now get your head back in the game. I am not saying you shouldn't always have your eye out for the next rung on the ladder, but to actually try and make a move after having only been there a minute is nuts. Get that proposal done for your friend and relax.

Conclusion

You must be willing to learn and always allow yourself the opportunity to make the choice to move forward. Adjustment is the name of the game, as is keeping yourself in realistic state of mind. No one owes us anything, so stop looking at every bump as if the world has stopped liking you. Everything lost is a new opportunity, not a punishment.