Sometime on Tuesday I guessed

[rifat28dddd]

“Timmy, do you know the problem with our business?”

Dick often used a question as a way to get into a topic. The correct answer was always a polite ‘no’ because then he could launch into a monologue. His monologue would include a story and an example and then a call to action. Lesson absorbed, I would head out to conquer the world of radio advertising sales.

But, sometimes it was more fun to throw a couple of ideas out there first.

“The problem with our industry? Maybe, massive consolidation destroying the very soul of the industry?”

“No. I mean ‘yes’ but that’s not what I meant.”

“Voice tracking? Rampant discounting? Greedy ownership taking companies public for no reason other than a massive payoff that will eventually result in thousands of shareholders losing millions of dollars?”

“You’re not really playing the game properly.”

“I’m sorry, Dick. What is the problem with our business?”

“Simple,” Dick replied as he crushed his little pakistan telegram data Cheerios box. “We don’t have any deadlines. Think about it. If you want to be in the Food Section of the Charlotte Observer on Wednesday, do you know when your ad needs to be in?”


“No!” Dick shouted. “No. That’s the point. If you want to be in the Food Section, you need to have your ad in to the paper by 3pm on Tuesday. Three p.m.! Do you know what happens if you get your ad in at 4 p.m.?”

“They hold the paper to maximize their revenue for the next day while somebody rushes the ad through layout and production?” I was warming up to the game now.

“No. What happens is that you don’t get in the Food Section until the following week!” Dick was giddy from his newspaper discovery, or maybe it was a reaction to the oat bran.

“You know,” I said, “a friend of mine says that most human behavior is in response to a deadline.”