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Today’s remark – fear-less

– Posted on Mar 26, 2012 by Margie

There are many things we all have in common – need to belong, need to be missed when we aren’t there, need for touch physically and emotionally, etc. But there is one thing we all have in common but don’t talk about much and that is fear.

We are all afraid – afraid of making a mistake, afraid of being seen as a fool, afraid of public speaking, afraid of death, afraid of what might happen. All of us have fears and many are ashamed of them or think we are alone with them. We look around and everyone appears so confident and without fear. That’s all a sham! And have you noticed that many of the things you feared turned out to be nothing at all? What you thought might happen didn’t?! And you reprimand yourself for spending so much emotional energy being afraid when you could have spent that energy positively and productively! Yep, we’ve all been there.

Look, some fears are good and protect us from harm so don’t eliminate them all!

But here are a few things I have done to deal with my fears:

I talk about them with people I trust – somehow that releases me and I also find out I’m not alone
I write them down – another release, forces me to clarify them which usually dissipates their force
I allow myself only so much time to think about them – no obsessing (I read about someone who would write them down and put them in a box only to be looked at on “fear Wednesday” and, by then, he realized most of his fears were nothing to be afraid of!)
I face them head-on as often as possible
Positive self-talk and visualization
Tell myself I can handle whatever comes my way – amazing how freeing that is and usually I can handle whatever comes my way!
Realize that most of what I fear is temporary and won’t matter a month from now anyway.
The big ones like fear of death or something happening to someone I love? Well, they remain but I do my best to understand much of that is out of my control. I can choose to allow those fears to run my life or to live my life every day like it is my last because some day I will be right. Most of the time I choose the latter.

Living with fear-less will help make us even more remark-able.

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Today’s remark – any resonate with you?

– Posted on Mar 20, 2012 by Margie

Harvey Mackay’s columns always end with “Mackay’s Moral.” Recently he wrote a column just listing his many “morals” and so many resonated with me. Wish I had thought of these!

Here are just a few we broadcasters might relate to:

“Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do”
“The best way to sound like you know what you’re talking about is to know what you’re talking about”
“Change your thinking and change your life”
“If you want to be heard you must know how to listen”
“Even the turtle knows you have to stick your neck out to get ahead”
“People have a way of becoming what you encourage them to be”
“My goal is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am”
“The person who asks may feel like a fool for five minutes but the person who does not ask remains a fool forever”
“Be prepared, or be prepared to fail”
“If you want to be successful you must practice reciprocity without keeping score”
“To get what you’ve never had you must do what you’ve never done”

Thanks Mr. Mackay!

Any resonate with you? All of them will help make us remark-able.

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Today’s remark – ALERT, uncomfortable and requires work

– Posted on Mar 13, 2012 by Margie

I started thinking about “job shares” the other day and recalled a really good one I worked with. One member was very out-going, creative, big-picture thinker, could spot a good idea a mile away – you get the picture. The other was excellent at details, could implement a great idea flawlessly and communicate brilliantly both internally and externally with advertisers and TV station personnel.

Their talents complimented each other perfectly and their billing soared with happy clients who renewed consistently. They were able to divide tasks to fit their strengths which made them happy doing the work they enjoy. The process was streamlined for efficiency so more good work could be accomplished. The key words here are “more work” “happy” “efficient” and “renewals!”

That got me thinking about structure and hiring practices at TV stations. ALERT, this is a change which is uncomfortable and requires work!

Should we hire and structure in teams? Not job shares in the traditional sense but teams of AEs whose natural tendencies complement each other to produce more work, increase efficiency and renewals and attract new and happier employees?

It’s hard attracting good new talent to our business as we continue the churning of AEs bouncing from one station to the next. Clearly, we need to do something different?

I know this idea is out there for many of you who have been in the business for awhile – but as we focus more on local direct business we will need to become more nimble than ever before and we will probably have more active accounts than ever before. Hiring in teams may be an answer.

The business is changing but most TV Sales Departments haven’t changed their structure since 1990. A change in how you look at hiring and structure could make you remark-able.

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