No excuses

“It’s true there’s a plethora of competition out there, but it’s also true that more is not better. Only better is better.”

That’s Richard Piepler, CEO of HBO, and there is insight to be gleaned from that simple sentence.

I think sometimes consolidated radio uses competition with dozens of signals in each market, with streaming services, and cheaper online advertising, as an excuse.

An excuse to cut “expenses,” like great talent, like imaginative, compelling content on every radio station, like brilliant, engaging commercials.

We have no excuse if Pandora or Spotify or Beats 1 are heard as better. Greed or debt service or Wall Street aren’t excuses – they’re symptoms, reasons we’ve given listeners to be frustrated and dissatisfied.

Better costs more. More time, more money (meaning lower profit), more devotion to creation and service, more talent.

Better is hard.

Excuses are a lot easier.

But, as HBO proves, better is the only way to thrive in our world of more. Only better is better.