Recent Posts
Right Or Wrong, Hogan’s Got Guts
Armchair quarterbacking: We’ve all done it. (Heck, some people say it’s what I do best.) How many times have you thought or said, “If I were running Clear Channel, I would…”? But you’re not running Clear Channel. Even if you were, you wouldn’t have the freedom to do the blah, blah thing you say you’d do. The problem with publicly traded companies is that they’re owned by people who have no idea how to run them: stockholders. Can you imagine answering to a nervous board of directors that is being yanked by a group of investors with no real qualifications beyond inheriting a pile of money from their parents? Today’s Clear Channel was formed in much the same way as the old Soviet Union: Previously independent republics were co-opted into a growing monolith “for the greater good.” Not surprisingly, CC and the USSR shared the same initial problem: the integration of dissimilar styles, methods and belief systems into a single, seamless system. The situation created hotly contested turf battles and culture wars, and there were many casualties. When Randy Michaels sat in the CEO’s hot seat, he took the bull by the horns, and that bull pinned him to the wall. Remember when Clear Channel was drowning in a sea of controversy and negativity? Everyone in the industry, everyone in the press, even the man on the street [...]
The Experience of “Being Painted.”
It was logical... my column in an art magazine should not show my photo, it should be a painting. We started putting out feelers about who was good, who was hot, who was up and coming and who fit the style of our magazine. It was Timothy R. Thies. "I don't paint from photos.. or at least I prefer not to. When can you fly up to see me," said Timothy. A couple weeks later I arrived in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho at Timothy's studio. We had a cup of coffee, I checked my email and then it was time... sit still for several hours. I'm a portrait painter myself but most of my work has not been "from life" and I have never been on the other side of the brush. I had no idea what to expect and I found the experience to be better than expected. I sat very still at the same angle for about six hours with a break every couple of hours. Many portrait artists don't want you to talk. Fortunately Timothy Thies was an exceptionally nice man and was willing to chat throughout the whole day. When was the last time you got to chat casually for eight hours with someone you barely knew, someone who lived the life of an artist? I think that was the best part. A new friend, [...]
Gut Leadership
Two years ago I came to my staff with an idea for a new magazine. They listened politely but they were secretly rolling their eyes. "Here he goes on another harebrained adventure," is probably what they were thinking. I could feel it. I was way out there... and they were disinterested. Even my visionary top people were screaming on the inside while politely hearing me out. Upon receiving everyone's feedback I heard that my idea was a bad one, that it would kill the company, that it would be a wild goose chase. I almost took their advice. Yet my gut kept telling me I needed to move forward. So, I announced that we were indeed launching this new magazine. It was not widely supported. Some were mildly interested while others thought I was insane. After all, I've launched many things that did fail. Almost two years and a whole lotta cash later I am initially vindicated. Wild success for the product is an understatement. In fact the success fell at a time when part of our other business was soft. The natural reaction is to "hunker down" and conserve cash, which of course we did... kind of. We hunkered down everywhere other than the new launch. Turns out it has become our cash cow, has brought in countless subscribers and advertisers and may surpass billing of some [...]
