Obama asks business leaders to look beyond the bottom lines. Will radio listen?

[Tibbs4]

Speaking at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting today and following similar words of President John F. Kennedy, President Obama has asked business leaders to "ask yourselves what you can do for America, and not just for company bottom lines."

What could radio company business leaders do??? This oughta become a spirited topic. 0r a lot of hot dead air...

 

[landtuna]

Without a stable bottom line they will not be able to do for America.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Maybe the question we should be discussing....

and the question we should hope that broadcasters will give some thought to:

"What can broadcasting do to enhance the economy of America:"

It was widely discussed in the news today (and reported in the news in recent weeks) that Corporate America has significant cash on hand. I sat through a LOCAL chamber of commerce presentation recently in which the resident guru-of-economics in our area gave his annual observations and forecasts. In an area that has been hard hit by the bursting of the construction bubble, he indicated this will be the year that "Cash is King". And he gave several examples of recent property transactions where INDIVIDUALS sitting on cash have swooped in to graze on bargains.

I have no confidence that owners of radio stations as a group is sitting on a lot of cash. Yes it would be nice if every radio station in America could by March 15th lay out money to fund the hiring of an average of 7 new employees per radio station. But I don't think that is the prudent thing for them or our economy.

But what could broadcasters do that would help make the economy sparkle?

Maybe instead of sponsoring and co-sponsoring concerts they could sponsor job fairs and seminars on how to find your new job and how to find a business all your own.

Small businesses get lost in the noise level of advertising today. Maybe an hour each day could be devoted to giving a leg-up to struggling small businesses that need to be spotlighted. Just like Tradio and Trading Post programs have been made available to individuals with sofas to sell and yard sales to promote, why not line up struggling businesses in person to tell what they offer the community. Some of them might grow up to eventually become power-house advertisers when the economy turns around.

Have we lost the ability to brain-storm?

 

[jetfli]

Obama (or anyone) will never be able to get corporate leadership to do this by just asking. The economy will continue to be in sad shape until something is done to bust up monopolies and ever-increasing corporations ase busted up.

 

[Tibbs4]

Jet --- do we need a Brentwood-based PBR summit meeting?

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe instead of sponsoring and co-sponsoring concerts they could sponsor job fairs and seminars on how to find your new job and how to find a business all your own.

Every station I've ever known co-sponsors job fairs at least twice a year. A lot of stations spotlight local small business, usually as a bonus to advertisers. So folks are doin' it. But it really doesn't matter. It's a tree in a forest.

But getting back to the original question, I don't think speeches solve problems. Maybe it was his tribute to Reagan, because he's the one who used to do this all the time. He had a team of people, led by Michael Deaver, who did this sort of thing. Pick a subject, deliver a speech. They called him the cheerleader in chief. But speeches don't work any more. No one's listening. Everyone's too cynical. What will turn this economy around is the next great invention. The next great idea. It hasn't happened yet, and no speech from a president will inspire it.

 

[Don78]

no

 

[jetfli]

The next great idea. It hasn't happened yet, and no speech from a president will inspire it.

What we need are companies with the ***** to innovate. The only innovative American company I can think of today is Apple. Are their others?

Also, there's a climate today in the US where people don't care about the correct things in order for innovation to even germinate. LOVED this day's Brewster Rockit strip:
http://www.nola.com/comics-kingdom/?feature_id=Brewster&feature_date=2011-02-08

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

What we need are companies with the ***** to innovate. The only innovative American company I can think of today is Apple. Are their others?

Innovation, like beauty, is sometimes defined in the eye of the beholder.

Google is probably an innovator. Walmart is an innovator. The cellphone industry. As hard as it is for me to say it, the new General Motors may turn out to be innovative. I see a lot of restaurant companies that are innovative... even if I find their food not to my liking. There are a number of start-up companies in alternative-energy that we will recognize 20 years from now as having been innovative for 20 years. Part of the health-care industry is highly innovative. (It may be a government entity, but I am told that the Veterans Administration health-care mechanism is currently ten years ahead of the industry in innovative patient care.) UPS is a very innovative company. The Mega-church "industry" is quite innovatie... even if I find their "food" not to my liking. ;D

I chatted with an old high school friend of mine recently (we're both old!) and he proudly told me of a business his son has developed. He has a "x-ray process" that allows heavy industry to examine the safety of a lot of equipment without having to shut it down and take everything apart. He is in a holding pattern while the economy is soft but should return to selling new installs when the economy returns to some kind of rock-and-roll.

There is throttled innovation all over the place. Everybody is just waiting for someone else to jump into the (economic) pool first.

Maybe President Obama can't make a speech or two and get people jumping into the cold water much sooner, but if he has to make a mistake, the worst one would be to hunker down in his office and say nothing.

 

[spew]

a radio business leader? what is that