“Peer pressure is one of
the greatest motivators in professional football,” former Dallas Cowboys and OU Sooners Coach
Barry Switzer told the audience at the talent coaching session at this year’s Country Radio Seminar.
To make his point, Coach Switzer went on to tell the story of a particular Wednesday morning team meeting
- Wednesday being the day when the entire Cowboys team would gather to watch
videos of last week’s kicking game. Everyone on the team - whether
they’re part of the kicking unit or not - is present.
The video rolled and
everybody watched as the individual kicking plays were shown.
It would quickly become obvious who was or was not giving their all.
As one player’s
performance was called out as under-performing, Coach Switzer recalled Michael Irvin standing up and, in the presence not only of the offending player but the entire team
shout, “Cut him Coach! He's going to cost us wins!"
Immediately I imagined
a weekly air check meeting where everyone in the building was summoned to hear breaks from
each talent’s week of shows and voice their opinions about the effort the
talent was putting forth.
Knowing your work is going
to be laid bare and evaluated by your teammates - not only for its
in-the-moment impact, but for its positive or negative reflection on the brand
and everyone associated with it now and in the future - would indeed be one
heck of a motivator!
The thing is, that while we don’t
generally put our on air talent through something like this (though it does
give you pause), listeners do.
And they too have a version
of “Cut him, Coach!”
It goes something like: “I’m tuning out now because there must be something
that's more entertaining than this.”
Hopefully we’re all
aspiring to be exceptional every break (or sales call or in responding to a
listener touch-point) every day.
But a little extra motivation is never a bad
thing.
2 comments:
At CHUM Bob Wood used to bring us in every Wednesday at 9AM for a jock meeting. He'd play an aircheck of someone for all of us to "critique" Knowing full well we might be the next one up, when asked we of course always made laudatory remarks about our fellow jocks performance
Which, of course, was the idea :D
Thanks, Pat. A motivated air staff + a PD who finds new ways for them to succeed is a powerful combination!
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