Monthly Archives: March 2018

Politically Incorrect & R-rated (new geo Blog for the week of March 26/18).

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 Jay Williams, the former GM of F105 (WVBF) in Boston recently emailed some kind words to me saying, “George even though you weren’t formally educated; you always managed to bring an interesting perspective on life to the radio.” Thank you, Jay, you’re right about the education but even though I’m not intellectually qualified to debate with the elitist professors who lecture at the likes of Stanford, Berkley, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Yale, I’m itching to do so. (Did I leave any geek schools out, If so I apologize.)
Ok, my learned socialist friends answer me this, “If Hitler had won the war, would Mr. Ford or the Dodge Brothers be running Detroit now, or would it be Mr. Benz and Mr.Toyota? Why do we vacation in Germany, Japan, Korea, and Viet Nam where American soldiers died, but not Cuba? Better start making vacation plans for Iraq and Iran before all the hotels are gone. Oh and if Germany Italy and Japan still own the lands we conquered, why don’t the North American Indians or even the French in Canada who took them first still own them?” It’s pretty obvious to me that Castro (pictured above) didn’t get the memo when this was all decided.

A FEW MORE THINGS THAT HAVE ME RILED UP.

Speaking of the French, what percentage of them do you suppose are employed by the federal government in Quebec eh?

What I’ve never understood is as liberal as Harvard is, how do the people who graduate from its business school manage to not be liberal?

So my buddy Big Bob and I hit a few bars tonight including one called Twin Peaks which is one of our favorites. The bartenders are all in their early 20’s, skinny with all the bumps in all the right places and the ability to make a couple of old guys like Bob and myself feel special. Anyway as we’re sitting there nursing our drinks and enjoying the view, we can’t help but notice this black dude sporting dreadlocks hanging around the bar area. He was laughing while taking pictures of the giggling bartender’s asses and Bob and I couldn’t help but say in unison, “Fucking drug Dealer.” Sure enough, when we left for the evening, he was out front doing a little business with a few folks who were parked out front. Now my question is if Bob and I can spot drug dealers that easily, where the fuck is the DEA or whoever else’s job it is to keep this scum away from young girls?

Sometimes I just have to wonder who’s crazier, me or some of the women who have been in my life?

Ponder this, what if when the baby clock went off and men were no longer interested in sex?

We’ll know the sexual harassment stuff has reached the tipping point when some guys start complaining that their manhood is in question because they haven’t been accused.

I wonder who was it that told Stevie Wonder that he was black and how did they explain it?

One of the best things Pierre Trudeau ever did when he was the Prime Minister of Canada was to kick Charles DeGaul out of the country for his inappropriate behavior. I doubt very much that his son would have the balls to do so today.

Avoiding a problem only allows it to grow all out of proportion.
 
I wonder how things would have gone had Jesus been married?
 
Speaking of marriage, when couples go through a divorce, I wonder why it’s always your friend who was the good person?
 
The media may not acknowledge or remember your acts of kindness, but the folks sure do.
 
It looks like the only way to get rid of the so-called important people in America is to accuse them of inappropriate sexual behavior. For some reason, Americans are ok with those who lie, cheat, steal, do drugs, or accept bribes. Weird!
 
With all this sexual harassment stuff going on I wonder when the lawyers are going to start advising Mr. Businessman that it’s not wise to hire women because of the legal ramifications. Time to start your own business ladies.
 
Do you have to be part of the extreme left to become a professor?
 
The only presidential candidate who will get my attention will be the one who claims that he/she is going after big business.
 
A lot of women are attracted to powerful men, but most of those men are smart enough, if inclined, to let it come to them. It’s the men in positions of power who really don’t have any who are most likely to harass.
 
I think maybe the reason that Congress doesn’t come up with a new way of financing election campaigns cutting out the need for contributions from big business, is because they plan on stealing some of it?
 
When too many words are used explaining some charges on your bill, you’re usually getting scammed. Most of those words are legalese preventing them from getting arrested for screwing you.
 
Is it the Singer or the Song? Well here’s a clue, the songwriter doesn’t have to go on the road unless they want to.
 

Are “Rock Stars” sexually harassed?

Wow, Stephen Hawking is gone, what a mind huh. He proved the point that sometimes adversity leads to brilliance.
 

Why does every government agency feel a need to suck up to “Big Business?”

With the football season over, and March Madness taking over TV, here’s some football trivia that could keep it alive for you plus maybe win ya a few drinks at a sports bar.
Q: What Heisman winning QB from Stanford who was drafted by New England but then cut went on to win 2 Superbowls where he was the MVP in one of them but remarkably is not in the hall of fame?
A: Jim Plunket of the Oakland Raiders.

Speaking of March Madness, I wonder what the folks think about the controversial firing of Bobby Knight back in 2000 now that not only are they are no longer winning NCAA championships, they’re not even in the tournament? 

Lots of sexual stuff going on right now so here’s a fun look at the word that’s always in the middle of it all. (Very R rated)
Much more and a sneak peek at upcoming Blogs that are under construction at GeorgeJohns.com and on Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

Who The Hell Do They Poll? (new geo Blog for the week of April 30/18

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I love hanging out at the bar in Duffy’s in West Palm Beach because you never know who you’re gonna run into. I’ve had a few beers and some great conversations with Superior Court Judges, Admirals, Generals, Major League Scouts, Pro Athletes and even Politicians like Rudy Guiliani. However, one of the most interesting people I’ve met there is Buzz Braman. Buzz’s uncle Norm owns Braman Motors in South Florida which is billion dollar big, but I would guess that he may be the black sheep of the family. Early on Buzz developed a love for basketball which led him to become an assistant coach in Philly with the 76rs and a few others before finishing up with the Orlando Magic where he was known as the “Shot Doc.”
Even though Buzz is now back in the family business, he still hangs with Superstars like Shaq and Penny Hardaway who not only buy Bentleys and Rollers from him; they also hire him to teach the art of shooting to their kids. On one such occasion, Penny asked if Buzz could come back to Orlando for a couple of days to shoot some hoops with his son. When Buzz arrived and found out that Penny was being ripped off for a couple of grand to rent a gym, Buzz said, “No fucking way!”
After asking around, someone told them that there were some outdoor basketball courts nearby as long as they didn’t mind the rough neighborhood where they were located. On their drive over they couldn’t help but notice all the graffiti on everything not to mention more than a few gang members staring at them as they drove by. When they finally arrived at their destination and began to warm up, within a few minutes they noticed a few low riders slowly pulling into the adjacent parking lot, and Buzz thought to himself, “Oh oh!” Nothing happened for a while, but when they got out of their rides and began to swagger over, Buzz told Penny that he had spotted the leader who was all tatted up and sporting a doo-rag and then said. “I’m carrying so if worst comes to worst you and your son need to hang back behind me, and I’ll take out the boss man first, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
As the bangers showing attitude got closer, suddenly the main guy looks at Penny and says, “You’re fucking Penny Hardaway man, wow, you’re my all-time favorite player, bring it in!” For the rest of the afternoon, the gang members whooped and hollered after every shot proving once again that it’s always good to hang out with the rich and famous.
 
AND NOW BACK TO REGULAR PROGRAMMING
 
The more time you spend planning, the less you’ll spend executing.
 
You hear about a new poll almost every day but who the hell are they polling? Have you ever been asked for your opinion about anything?
 
Have you ever noticed that the only place that you ever see a man cry is in a film?
 
Freedom of speech like justice is a myth. The only place you can say what you want in America without consequences is in the middle of a field where nobody can hear you.
 
My parents weren’t as free as I am but they were sure a hell of a lot safer.
 
Am I the only one in the world who didn’t realize that like Snopes, Facebook is liberal?
 
How can anybody who thinks the minimum wage is too low in America be against tariffs on the goods produced by rich people in other countries who pay their workers pennies an hour?
 
The only positive thing that consolidation produced (if you can call it that) was the fees made by the money men for the refinancing and the buying and selling of radio stations.
 
Who gets more breaks in life than a beautiful woman?
 
I may be somewhat liberal, but I’m not a socialist.
 
Other than the lucky sperm club, it seems to me that most people who made it had no other choice but to do so.
 
Hiding from the truth doesn’t make it go away. 
 
Who has a better life, a woman with a rich man or a man with a rich woman?
 
Sometimes it’s the folks who start out with nothing who end up with everything.
 
I wonder if LeBron has somehow forgotten that he managed to buy his mama a brand new Hummer before he left high school. Ain’t America great?
 
Winners don’t keep regular hours.
 
I think the East in Canada should begin in the eastern suburbs of Toronto.
 
Speaking of Canada, shouldn’t every city have an NHL team?
 
Most guys at some point would love to own a pickup truck.
 
My new goal is to make it out of my condo each day without having to come back for keys, glasses, phone, wallet, etc.
 
I always wondered why you would ever need a new roof until I realized that I’d never lived anywhere long enough to require one.
 
What makes a woman think that she can say “f**k you” to anyone at any time without fear of retaliation?
 
Can anyone tell me how a skateboard follows the person when they leap several feet in the air?
 
Helping others get what they want helps you get what you want.
 
Is it just me or does the FBI always seem to be involved in all the bad events that have happened lately but did nothing to prevent them?
 
Things are how they are not how we wish them to be and the reason that they are doesn’t change that.
 
Laws don’t prevent bad things from happening; evil doesn’t obey laws.
 

The only thing I have in common with Shakespear is that he too wrote for the common man.

Stephen Hawking claimed that there is no God and according to God there’s bo Stephen Hawking.

Speaking of God, the Pope now claims there’s no hell.

Wow, just watched a video of the two leaders of South and North Korea holding hands as they crossed into each other’s country. Damn!

Jets and predators head back to Winnipeg for game 3 all tied up. Go Jets!

For sneak peeks @ upcoming Blogs go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Comments and sharing appreciated.

 

The Leader Of The Band. (new geo Blog for the week of April 23/18)

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Even though only my maternal grandparents were alive when I was born, I do know a little about them all. For instance, I know that my grandmothers were Scottish (Hunter and Sutherland clans) my grandfathers were both English, and my name is Welsh. I also know that my Mom’s parents met in Scotland when my grandfather Ben, an engineer, was on his way back to England when he spotted my grandmother Charlotte picking flowers in the middle of a field. Being a lot more romantic than I ever remember him, he stopped the train and went over to her to chat her up and the rest, as they say, is history.
On my paternal side, my Grandfather Edward (pictured above) was a bandleader from Roland Manitoba had a big problem. When his band was booked for a European tour his piano player being only seventeen and underage, couldn’t go with them so my grandfather married her. What a guy, huh, and even though they were busy making music and traveling, they must have found time to get busy because they also managed to have six kids of which my Dad, Sandy Johns was the youngest.

Unfortunately, I never knew them because they both passed away when my Dad was only four, so my Dad was placed in an orphanage until his older married sister, finally came to his rescue. Even though I didn’t know my grandpa Ed, he has to be the one responsible for my lifelong interest in music which gave me a fairly successful career because as Dan Folberg sang, it is his blood that runs through my instrument. Here’s to the real leader of the Johns family band, my grandfather, Edward P. Johns … Wish I could have known ya!

https://youtu.be/qQmkoMZyvOQ

OK ENOUGH NOSTALGIA ALREADY, LET’S MOVE ON.

When I first moved to the US from Canada in the early 70’s, everyone seemed so proud of being an American that it was almost sickening. What the hell happened America?
 
Most star performers are gifted and have no idea how they do what they do let alone teach it, so they make lousy managers.
 
Not all Hispanics are bangers, not all blacks are thugs, not all Indians are drunks, not all Muslims are terrorists, not all Italians are mafia, not all Canadians are polite, not all cops are killers, not all rich people are wealthy, not all Mexicans are poor, not all politicians are crooks, not all men harass, not all women are innocent, not all children are adorable and not all whites are racists.
 
Did you ever wonder as I did why Wile E. Coyote spent enormous amounts of money with the Acme company for tricks and gimmicks which he used unsuccessfully to catch the Roadrunner? Why didn’t he just have the Colonel cook him up some chicken?
 
If America was to align itself with Russia, how long would Isis survive?
 
The day Cami ordered Grey Goose, and Cranberry juice was the first time that I noticed that my little girl wasn’t so little anymore.
 
Have you ever noticed that no matter what political party is in power, we are part of the group who nothing ever changes for?
 
A good leader simply supports what it is a good staff wants to do which puts enormous pressure on the staff to come up with something worth supporting.
 
If I wasn’t paid to do so, I rather doubt that I would listen to much radio anymore.
 
Why would you ever enroll in auto pay with anyone let alone your cable company?
 
I bitch a lot, but I’m not a whiner.
 
Why is it that the fewer facts the folks have, the stronger their opinions.
 
Carrying a briefcase today just screams old.
 
Growing up in Winnipeg, I promised God that if he would let me live in a place this time of year where I could put the top down every day. He did, and I do.
 
If you want to be remembered as a nice person, you have to start by being kind.
 
Thinking must be difficult which would explain why so few do it.
 
Nobody tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
 
What purpose do you suppose going bald serves?
 
Everybody is political about something which includes Snopes.
 
God or someone calling themselves God gave us all of our gifts but whether or not we use them is up to us.
 
One of the greatest gifts you can ever have is having the ability to see what others can’t.
 
It’s much easier to change than it is to grow.
 
Speaking of God, have you ever noticed that when you need a solution to a problem, you tend to look up?
 
The people who whine the most are usually the folks who are most responsible for what they are bitching about.
 
You are whomever the guy who signs your paycheck claims you are.
 
Those who know the most achieve the most.
 
When your hot the only press you get is the kind designed to bring you down.
 
You lose once accused.
 
Nobody is anywhere near as good as they claim to be.

Absolutely everything is deductible until the IRS says it ain’t.

Winnipeg Jets move on to round two of the Stanely Cup final. Go Jets!

For sneak peeks at upcoming Blogs and some that are still under construction, go to GeorgeJohns.com. On Twitter @GeoOfTheRadio. Sharing and commenting is appreciated.

 
 
 
   

Shoot The Chicken.

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The Midweek
Motivator

 Audience Development Group
 

Shoot the Chicken                                                                        February 28, 2018
Tim Moore

Tim Moore, Managing Partner Audience Development Group

Managing Partner

Audience Development Group
Quick Links
 

It’s so easy to see our organization’s people as homogeneous; one size fits all. They’re staff members, associates and in some cases, friends. Equanimity is fine; favoritism can come back to haunt us. But the plain truth lies in accepting a group of people within a company regardless of size when assessed purely through the eyes of competency, your team members cannot possibly be classed as performance equals. To make that mistake can stunt achievement, outlook, and morale.
Occasionally we refer to George Johns, still celebrated as one of the most significant architects of great radio, documented through the history of the legendary Fairbanks group with stations in Indianapolis, Boston, Philadelphia, West Palm and Dallas-Ft. Worth.
Fairbanks’ people were instrumental in establishing truly “visual” stations with quality standards still revered but rarely found today. Alumni of the “Fairbanks Way” mentored junior people who in-turn mentored more fortunate members of today’s program director ranks engaging the model in today’s context.
A couple of years ago Johns shared his remembrance of Fairbanks’ leader Jim Hilliard who at one point had grown weary of some grousing from his Indianapolis staff. Within Fairbanks, it was tough to find something to bitch about. Nonetheless, Hilliard chewed some tail with his Indy staff, recounting the timeless story of Chicken Little, who ran around squawking the sky was falling. Hilliard reminded his people, “The story could have ended on page two of the book if the farmer had simply shot the chicken.” Hilliard went on to suggest that he was considering just that. A few subsequent memos thereafter were even signed-off with “Shoot the Chicken!”
Given today’s disequilibrium, there’s lots of stuff to grouse about. We’ve long used the model of “The Competency Ladder” and it’s interesting to note those on the highest rung of the competency ladder typically voice the least sky-is-falling oratory. We describe a person in the top-tier group as a Conscious Competent. Defined, they are priceless and the most capable people in your organization. They know why they’re competent and better yet can mentor their skills to associates and peers.
The second strongest tier belongs to the Unconscious Competent. These team members are skilled enough to perform tasks at an above-average level but may lack introspection to know why they’re effective or, the insight to pass their skills on to a willing junior staffer. They’re not always managerial candidates though a great place to look!
Following that group ranks the Conscious Incompetent. But within these cohorts lies tons of potential that often remains untapped! Fair to say they’re not yet developing at a high level, but they know it and with encouragement can be relentless self-improvers within a vault of potential.
Finally, on the bottom rung of the Competency Ladder are the few Unconscious Incompetents…subpar in performance but worse, aren’t aware of it! And, occasionally you’ll hear them proclaim “the sky is falling.”

Sincerely,

Tim Moore

Tim Moore

Managing Partner

Audience Development Group

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When you’re in a ratings war it’s best to aim high. When you’re in a budget war it’s best to aim low.  Do both with one nationally proven, multiple format consulting partner: one firm, one culture, one travel expense, one consolidated fee. Call us today…before your competition does.

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There Is A God! (new geo Blog for the week April 16/18)

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Ok back to the sales people in my life. I think that my not so good relationship with salespeople may have begun when I was the production board op at CKY in Winnipeg. Whenever I left the production studio, one of the older sales reps would sneak in and put his production on top of the to-do basket. Unfortunately, his stuff was always difficult and time-consuming to do, and he would add insult to injury by rewarding me with a single movie pass for completing one of his more difficult creations. My attitude towards salespeople spiraled down even further after becoming program director of CKOM in Saskatoon. Upon receiving my first great rating book, the GM ordered me to change our sound because the sales department claimed that they couldn’t sell it. I chose to leave instead.
However, looking back at my career I must admit that there were a few really good ones. One of them, in particular, was Tim Reever. (pictured above with me just before a race) I first met Tim when Jim Hilliard and I reunited in Boston to do a six-month project (I ended up being there five years) and Tim was the sales manager. Like me, he was a runner so we hit it off immediately and ran in a lot of races all over New England together plus ran on the Charles almost every day.
Now that we both live in Florida, we occasionally have dinner along with his beautiful wife Heidi where we talk about the “good old days in Boston. Recently at one of these occasions, Tim recalled one of our early training runs where he did most of the talking because I needed all of my breath just to try and keep up with him. On this particular run, Tim remembers saying to me, “George, you’ve known Hilliard for a long time right” and when I nodded my head in agreement, he went on to say, “I really need your help man because the amount of money Jim wants me to bill with our present rating situation is impossible. I need you to help explain the situation to him so he’ll back off.” Tim then laughingly remembered my response when I stopped running and said, “Your right Tim, I have known Jim for a long time and what I’ve learned in all that time is that it’s a lot easier to give him what he wants than try to talk him out of it.”
Before long, Tim “got it” and started doing spectacular things like making a half a million dollars in one day. What he did was rent the sidewalk out front of the Prudential Tower where our radio station was housed. That rental cost us $50,000.00 for the day, and the reason that real estate was so valuable was that it was right near the finish line of the legendary Boston Marathon. Tim turned that sidewalk into gold.
 
LET’S GET ON WITH THE REST OF IT ALREADY. 
 
Sometimes just being different for different sake is enough.
 
The people don’t know really know what they like; they like what they know.
 
I’ve never forgotten the days when the pretty receptionists at the radio stations I consulted would eventually stop me and say, “Mr. Johns, I understand that you’re the person who picks the music we play?” When I answered that indeed I did, some of them would say, “I was wondering if you would have time to get a drink some evening, I love music and would love to talk to you about how I could get involved?” There is a God!
 
One of my jobs as a PD was to keep the dee-jays and management apart because they scared each other to death.
 
I think the only reason executives make so much money today must be because they’re the ones who decide what everyone should make.
 
How come the Asian Americans don’t need the governments help?
 
As much as I love the product sold at Victoria’s Secret, I can’t figure out how so little can cost so much?
 
People only dream about their wants but worry about their needs all the time.
 
When you get to hang out with celebrities, and they become boring, you tend to blame yourself.
 
I wonder what our founding fathers would think about America today?
 
Father Time is still the greatest teacher of all time.
 
Gathering information is a wonderful thing until you discover how much of it is wrong.
 
Mediocrity knows nothing better than itself.
 
Genius, as difficult as it may be to do so, needs to be tolerated.
 
Creative people are ultra sensitive to everything.
 
Today is starting out pretty smooth; I don’t think anybody launched a new social network.
 
It’s not the strong who survive; it’s the adaptable.
 
Adversity brings out the best in some people.
 
Gifted people have great difficulty in recognizing talent in others.
 
Wealthy people only fear other wealthy people.
 
There are no small parts at a radio station just small players.
 
My creativity begins with the uttering of the word no.
 
It used to be that when two young ladies walked into a bar, you thought it was your lucky day. Now you just assume that they are Lesbians and move on.
 
I’ve read and heard a lot of great things about a lot of great people but them being especially nice was not one of them.
 
Intelligent people reasonably informed seldom disagree.
 
As Leon Russell said, “You’ve gotta earn the right to wear shades on stage.”
 
Why does it seem like you can have any of the women you don’t want but not the one you do?
 

I remember when it was the air talent who made all the money, not the executives.

I find it amazing that it took the Toronto Maple Leafs 14 years to get back into the Stanely Cup playoffs but the Las Vegas Golden Knights made it on their first try. Go Jets!

Speaking of the Jets they’re up three games to one eh!

Sneak peeks at upcoming Blogs @ GeorgeJohns.com. On twitter @GeoOfTheRadio.