"Gut Wrenching"

A&O&B works with all parties involved in yesterday's huge transactions and so all of us have been busy counselling buyers, sellers, executives, employees, all longtime coworkers at broadcast groups, radio stations and networks we have come to love and admire.

Mergers and acquisitions require adaptability and change.  Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt wrote the book on the subject back in 1998. 

"Increasingly, the companies that win are those that learn faster, act quicker and adapt sooner. They will compress time by making and executing early, informed decisions about economic value creation, ruthless prioritization and focused resource allocation. They will use these decisions to take early firm stands on management deployment, organization structure and culture. Their actions will increasingly be linked to long-term, sustained economic value creation."

As someone who manages or works for one of those companies, you know intellectually the truth of of that paragraph, yet your individual needs and fears add relationships and emotion to the personal calculus which can work against getting what needs doing done.

I have another time-tested book I recommend that everyone read at least once a year which helps me with that process.  @ParachuteGuy Richard Nelson Bolles is now semi-retired, but his work goes on as the need is greater than ever.

Recent graduate of Villanova Law School Andrew Dellaripa blogs that it's important to be cautious about giving advice in situations like this:  "Good advice sticks to your very soul. The kind of advice Obi-Wan’s ghost gives.  Bad advice, though, is outdated, archaic clichés pulled from large-font posters of cats in baskets."

So, I'll go light on advice for you except to suggest that this weekend is a great time to think about your own personal goals, abilities and career.

The clearer you are on what makes you succeed the better communicator you'll be when that new leader you'll be working for begins opening up about your new role.

If you need a mentor to help with this process please reach out to any of the A&O&B team.

Your success is our success.

Country "Tastes" Very Good

Hats off to Townsquare Media radio stations and their national interactive team which hit the ground running just nine months ago on a terrific achievement, 700,000 "likes" on their Taste Of Country Facebook page.

A proud post Saturday by the Taste of Country Staff:

Country music is stronger than ever right now, and we’re blessed that our readers let us bring them country music’s breaking news, the most insightful interviews and the best new music on a daily basis. We’re also very grateful for your timely feedback. It keeps us to stay on task to what is truly important in country music right now. 2011 has so far been a whirlwind year of country stars penetrating the mainstream in ways fans can embrace.

If anyone doubts that small and mid-sized market radio can get large-sized response, Townsquare's 176 radio stations and companion websites in 38 markets across 16 states prove again that great content and strong focus make a powerful combination, generating engagement and excellent radio results.

Free Trip Inside

The interactive wizards at Townsquare Media practice classic Seth Godin by making it more than worth your while to subscribe to their (free) "Taste Of Country" prep email service, which drives impressive levels of traffic to the company's country music news portal.

1. It's great format-relatable content for you to talk about on air (of course, crediting the source).

2. "If you’re a Jason Aldean fan, you won’t want to miss out on this contest. Taste of Country is sending one lucky fan and a guest to see and meet the ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ singer live in Los Angeles on his My Kinda Party Tour." Sign up with a click here.

Freezin' For A Reason

Zoo Montana was going to have to close, due to financial pressures. (click to read the story)

Townsquare Media/Billings Program Director Larry Wilson devised a plan. Wilson, who also does an on-air shift, once did a promo called "Freezin' For a Reason" to bring awareness to the Haiti tragedy.

The idea was that no matter where in the world there is a tragedy, everybody can give back.

The concept: Sleep in the van, go on the air and try to raise money for a cause. And, keep in mind, Montana is not Florida.

The reason "Livin' Large Larry" made the sacrifice, of course, had nothing to do with winning an award, but last weekend at the MAB convention he won one, an E.B. Craney Award.

The "EB Awards" are named in memory of Montana broadcast pioneer Ed Craney. The "EBs" recognize excellence in local news, production, promotion and public service. The awards are presented annually during the Montana Broadcasters Association convention.

Congrats, Larry. Thanks again for proving that there's nothing like radio people and our listeners getting together to make big things happen.

This Is Leadership

“Although they’ve been good for radio, the ads have been really nasty, and I’ll just be glad when it’s over. This is one way we can thank our listeners for sticking with us. It’s so critical that we show the listeners we’re committed to playing a lot of music. We’ve sent out press releases, email blasts, on our website and some print marketing. We’re feeling a lot of love for it, and people are really excited.” -- Townsquare Media Cluster OM Mark Callaghan in today's Country Aircheck

Townsquare’s KUAD/Ft. Collins, CO and its four sister stations will go commercial-free tomorrow (11/3) to provide some relief to their audiences for enduring so many negative political spots during the past month in what’s been a key battleground state.

I wish had I been the first to suggest this idea, but now I'm hoping that there'll be a whole lot of "second" ones to also announce it today by moving some post-election inventory around. You have to know listeners will appreciate it.