The radio business is a cruel and shallow
          trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves
          and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs.
          There's also a negative side.
                                                                                                                 
                                                  Hunter S. Thompson
 
Reading with interest a late week e-mail filleting a national media company, there was that sense again. Our business forging ever deeper into a surreal tunnel of change; the kind visionary entrepreneurs like Storz or McLendon, who came before us, could not have imagined. What began as an entertainment bonding agent for generations of Americans has become but an asset or liability on the books of some national companies that might have been oligopolies had the grand plan succeeded. Rumors fly, innuendo abounds, a few companies teeter on the brink.
 
Segments of radio grope in the dark; a business for sale and praying it doesn't find a buyer. Yet a new sun is rising just beyond the midnight black. Highly capable ownerships are re-tooling while others are forming up to take their place in the void bequeathed by bad directions and poor designs. As we turn into the final lap of the year about to melt into the next, here for your review is Audience Development Group's Best Practices Inventory.
 
The ADG Salient Six: rate your group's alignment with the following, scale of 1 to 10
 
___High Values Awareness
     Company standards are regularly communicated and graded to build awareness throughout your group, regardless of its size and scope.
 
___High Values Accountability
     Results are the name of the game, but they're not achieved in a vacuum. Evaluate your people on standards in parallel with results; show zero-tolerance for intentional violations.
 
___Leadership By Example
       The only way you can expect leadership to work is through being skillfully equipped to practice West Point's definition of the process; stated simply "Follow me."
 
___Continuity Of Words & Deeds
     Radio has become famous for its contradictory field-coordination; mixed messages and conflicting objectives. No organization can trump its competitors if people are unsure or confused about the battle plan they're following. Some don't have a plan.
  
___Attention to Perception Management
     Only highly sophisticated companies and their leadership are aware of the growing impact of company attitude and sense-of-self. This is not about manipulating the truth, but instead an unceasing awareness of the climate within which our people either succeed or fail.
 
___Positive Change In Increments
     No negative situation was ever completely reversed in 24 hours or 24 months. In a time like this our attentions should be mono-focused on small improvements every day, rather than a few big-idea, Hail Mary passes based on quick-fix voodoo or program-of-the-month.
 
It's time to change who we are and what we're really all about. The future belongs to better leaders, better employees, and better human qualities. Some are acting on it. Others never will.