By Scott Westerman In the days when my dad was an administrator at the Ann Arbor Public Schools, election nights took on a special significance. It was a time when people actually voted “yes” on school bond issues and the money drove the construction of Scarlet Junior High and the…
By Scott Westerman Someone once told me that the secret of a successful marriage is to “never stop courting”. For 30 years Colleen and I have preserved our Wednesdays for Date Night. I leave the office at 5 sharp and we spend the evening celebrating our relationship. We’ll seek a…
By Scott Westerman There are no ordinary days in New Mexico. The view from Academy and Tramway is an exquisite panorama that splashes a palate of earth tones more than 40 miles distant on a clear day. Its noon, and I’m watching a thunderstorm form far off in the desert.…
After more than three years, the Keener Podcast has faded into history. Why? 1) The day jobs that Steve Schram and Scott Westerman have are keeping us pretty busy and time has been at a premium. Both of us won’t do anything Keener related unless we’re certain it will live…
By Scott Westerman From Inside Radio Time for radio to take some chances. That’s a mantra for Greater Media’s Peter Smyth. While Cumulus chief Lew Dickey tells the NAB Radio Show in Dallas “we can’t be afraid to fall on our faces” and experiment. And Emmis boss Jeff Smulyan says…
by Scott Westerman I’ve been thinking about change management a lot lately. Most of us exist in organizations that have a degree of dysfunction and helping others open up and buy into new ideas is a pretty important part of the job.
by Scott Westerman Nellie Knorr, the visionary woman who created WKNR, passed away on August 10th, four months shy of her 90th birthday. She would have been the first to share the credit for WKNR’s groundbreaking success with the many men and women who were part of the Keener team.…
By Scott Westerman There’s a great ad in one of the trades that lists the latest on-demand technology: Weblogs, Podcasting, YouTube, Tivo, ITunes.. And then, in a direct shot at the linear media, the ad concludes, “Ignoring this is not a business model.” It made me think of this..
For those of us who admire Warren Buffett, his announcement that he was giving the bulk of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation only amplified our esteem. In an extraordinary interview with Charlie Rose, Melinda, Bill and Warren discuss how the greatest philanthropic alliance in history came…
By Scott Westerman Tangible Value Clear Strategy Committed Team Excellent Execution Those are the four take-aways from my experience at Harvard Business School. The professors were excellent. I was surrounded by smart people who were engaged and eager to learn. The atmosphere was conducive to learning, the technology was top…