Even A Phenomenon Has Room For Improvement

One of the most valuable business skills, in my opinion, is the ability to look at a good thing and still find a way to make it better. 34.1 million people watched Fantasia Barrino win on Fox's American Idol, but we have to wait nearly a month for her single to ship. So much for momentum. American Idol is nothing short of a phenomenon, but that doesn't mean there's no room for improvement.

The same is true of a winning radio station. Oh sure, we all look at a messed up failing radio station and suggest a million ways to fix it. But it is a wise person whom looks at a successful station and suggests ways to further improve it [not "change" mind you - I said "improve"]

I once worked at a station that was on the rise in a big way. Ratings came out and we'd basically trounced the market. During our next staff meeting, the PD praised everyone for their hard work, and then said: "Now let's say we worked at the competition & we were trying to beat US. How would you do it? Where are our weak points?"

I'm sure many in the room thought "are you kidding? We're the best station in town!" But being the best also means you're the one everyone else wants to beat.

Work hard to win. Then you have to work even harder to maintain that win.

As for American Idol, they'd be wise to find a way to get songs produced for at LEAST the top two finalists so they can immediately ship the winner as an mp3 file to radio stations nationwide.

Nothing generates momentum like momentum.