WGN

Rapid Change > Too Much?

I grew up listening to WGN Radio. WGN is a 50,000 watt clear channel station in Chicago. At night, I even get it here in North Carolina. WGN had the Cubbies (Chicago Cubs) games….Max Armstong and Orion Samuelson (farm news….this is the Midwest!)….Wally Phillips, Bob Collins, Spike O’Dell (morning guys) and Kathy and Judy (funny and entertaining).

WGN was a great station….until:   “It is certainly no longer the station that mid-America knows and trusts.”

Radio stations….newspapers….and traditional media have had to change and for some….quickly. The News and Observer is not the same paper….it was five years. So it is with WGN Radio….the management believes its demographics (people who listen) want something different.

Here’s where it gets tricky….Is the brand….WGN….stronger or weaker with a new programing direction? Only time will tell.

In this case I prefer the “old” conversational WGN….to the “new” confrontational WGN.

Preserve the brand….just remember when Coca-Cola tried to change its formula (New Coke)! 

www.wgnradio.com

News Roundup

June 2010

+ Some good websites:

Global Province: Always an interesting read….though pessimistic (or realistic?) at times. www.globalprovince.com  Click on the Letters from the Global Province in The Table of Contents.

Naval Leadership: This is a blog that I came across….no idea of the author….but interesting posts on navy leadership. http://navaleadership.blogspot.com/

Gary Hamel: Hamel lost some of his luster (he wrote a lot about Enron)….but is still an astute management expert. http://blogs.wsj.com/management/

+ Worlds largest retailer: Wal-Mart $305 B per year. The best Wal-Mart lessons are from the early Sam Walton years.

+ Wines….coffee….are intriging business models. The growing of grapes and wine-making are especially interesting because there are so many variables. Alder Springs Vineyard is  particularly interesting because the vineyard is in a remote area of California….and the grower is meticulous in detail. And this is a business and not a hobby. http://www.alderspringsvineyard.com/

+ Look at your business and ask yourself, “What do I offer customers that they can’t get elsewhere?” Make a list. Are the reasons compelling enough and do you offer enough to attract more customers and grow your business? www.retailerblog.com

+ Bonus new blog: Follow two adventurers on a search for true grits and other southern delicacies. www.ncfoodquest.wordpress.com

Innovating

 The key to surviving in the innovation quadrant is to keep innovating.        

Innovation seems to be a “hot” word in the business world….as other catchy words it often gets overused and loses it meaning. Yet, there is no other word that conveys the principle of business growth than innovation. I use “better and new”….just to be different.

Most businesses/organizations have to be in a continuous innovating (change) mode. If not, they simply won’t survive. Some organizations can get by on doing the tried and true….though in those cases they have to be the very best and possibly the only ones who do what they do.

Every business/organization has to meet the needs of the marketplace….and the marketplace changes….very quickly at times.

Whatever one wishes to call it: innovating….better….new….different, its vital to invent a better light bulb.