Interesting Is The Enemy

Matt Stockman, PD, K-LOVE Network

Author Jim Collins opens his book, "Good To Great" like this:

"Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life."

The contrast of those words-goodandgreat-parallels a trap that I believe we can fall into as air talent tasked with creating new, engaging content every day.

Here's what I mean, restated like Jim Collins would say it.

Interesting is the enemy of impactful.

If we all sat down together and shared what our interests are, there might be some slight commonality, but mostly what interests each of us is fairly individualistic. I love Spanish League Soccer and gourmet outdoor cooking. You each have your interests too, which are...well, unique to you.

Impact is different. We've all been impacted by a good laugh with a friend. A book or a movie. Unexpected tears. Injustice. A sunset. The chance to hope for something. Or, the right song at the right time. To be impacted is to be touched at a deeper, more meaningful level that penetrates our heart, our beliefs, and our passions. And it can come as humor, elation, connection, curiosity, frustration, sorrow, righteous indignation, and just about every other emotion in between.

Yet, how many times have we scrolled through our favorite content sources and said, "This isinteresting... I'm gonna talk about it on the show today!" You checked a mental show prep box by thinking, "That's a break...now, just nine more to go!" Prepping this way too long leads to rip-and-read stories getting on the air about the largest ball of tin foil, and waterskiing squirrels. Content that is interesting to a few, and impactful to no one.

So, could the question we should ask as we prep our shows be, "How could this potentially change our listener's day?" If it's difficult to come up with a decent answer, chances are, that content falls into the "interesting" category. Let the cross-town station do the story about the lady who found a corn chip shaped like Donald Trump's hair while you focus on the content that's relevant, connected, and can bring a lift to someone's lousy day.