The Bob Davis Podcast

Podcast 231

Short Term Thinking. How reliance on formula reduces innovation. American Business is increasingly reliant on short term thinking and ‘templates’ or formulaic approaches. The least revolutionary kind of innovation – improvements in finance, procedure, cost controls and personnel – are increasingly the only kind of innovation in the corporate world. Meanwhile, innovations that create new products, new markets and revolutionize thinking are in short supply. What started as a conversation between two old radio friends about the broadcasting business sparks some ‘slash and burn’ thinking about business in general. Why do some businesses rely on formula so much? When are formula’s good. When is it best to trash the formula and let the inmates take over the asylum? (Editors Note: The best jobs I’ve ever had in radio, the best experiences as a creative person in broadcasting happened when the inmates were running the asylum. In fact, that used to be our business model!) These days it seems like formulaic thinking has invaded politics, movies, radio, music, television … really almost everything. And, we’re choking on it. Is it possible one of the reasons so many people remain out of the work force for extended periods of time is because they’re sick of implementing plans from the corporate office? Maybe what we all need is to throw the formula out and start doing whatever we want. To be sure, there will be mistakes, and failures, but there might also be some great successes. Some of the things business does, it does because of formulas developed 20, 30, 40 even 50 years ago. Back in the day, those formulas may have made sense but now they bear little resemblance to new market contours. If the United States wants to maintain its position in the world, we’re going to have to set our workers free; Free to think, free to make mistakes and free develop the kinds of new strategies that revolutionize markets. The response to almost every truly revolutionary idea has always been, ‘You can’t do that’, or ‘It sounds like crap’, or ‘Why would anyone want that?’. Or worse, ‘That’s not the way we’ve always done it’. Our strength has always been in the skunk works, the garage, the basement and backyards, and with the so called ‘crazies’. Rules are made to be broken. Why don’t we start breaking some? Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul and by Depotstar. 

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Podcast 230

Gone Girl. “Gone Girl” is the movie everyone is going to see these days. The new movie has an unexpected story line about The Media. Did the writer(s), director and producer(s) know they were making a movie about media’s effects on our society? Or did they think – as many contemporary commentators think – the movie is about rape and murder? In a movie about a crime, you never see the inside of a courtroom, a prosecutor or Grand Jury. Even the lawyer acts like a Public Relations man. The ‘case’ is tried in the court of the media, and the media can be manipulated if you are smart enough and have enough money. It doesn’t matter how you become famous, only that you are. Notoriety can make you enough money to pay smart expensive lawyers and PR people who can ‘manage’, ‘spin’, ‘lie’ and create a story line. What ‘Gone Girl’ really says is there are two realities in our society; two separate spheres. There is a fantasy world created by the media where there is no right or wrong, no up or down, right or left, and no absolutes. Everything can be adjusted, walked back, changed, realigned and consequences are dependent on how savvy the protagonist, or victim is when it comes to media. Then there is in fact, the real world. A world where real things happen to real people. A world where hostages heads are cut off, where people get diseases and die, where policy decisions result in catastrophe, where airstrikes alone don’t stop the enemy, where the economy doesn’t get much better, where real people are worried and afraid. In one world people react to things said on television, magazines, talk radio, newspapers, social media and blogs. In the other world, real people act, and there are real consequences. Which world are you living in? Right now media coverage of the 2014 election cycle clearly illustrates the existence of these two worlds. If you’re running for office you’re supposed to follow the majority party’s playbook. Questioning US Border Security, asking whether there should be some kind of quarantine in place for West African arrivals to the US, questioning whether the President is protected, questioning whether the economy is ‘recovering’ is ‘alarmism’, or spreading ‘fear’. On November 4th, 2014 a very real thing will take place. There will be an election, and real people will go to their polling place and vote. One side will win the right to govern and the other side will lose. As the opposition party in the current US Government, republican candidates have a duty to question the competence and leadership of the president and his party, in any language they choose. In one world questioning the competence of our leaders is not acceptable. In the other, it’s essential. Sponsored by X Government Cars and Depotstar. 

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Podcast 229

2014 Election Update. Political Red Meat. The 2014 Election will be a republican wave? Whoa! Hold on there, big shooter! It’s time to go through the toss up states one by one and take a look at what the polls say, how they are averaging and why predictions of a wave election for republicans may not just be off base, but way off base. Part of the problem is media company’s like NBC, which apparently is unable to discern the difference between a satirist and a newsman, between entertainment and information programming. No wonder people watching can’t tell the difference anymore. The other part of the problem is the habit of projecting polling data as actual votes. They are vastly different. Thus, someone is finally going to tell you why predicting republican – or democrat – victories with close races in places like Louisiana, Kansas, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, and yes even Iowa, is nothing more than setting a story line that makes republicans feel good and keeps them watching. They’ve even taken to suggesting Minnesota’s senate race could tighten up because businessman Mike McFadden is such a ‘good candidate’. Really? None of this means a Republican wave can’t or won’t happen, but predicting such a thing is really bad reporting. Another reason we are deeply ill served by our so called ‘news media’ these days, which has become a caricature of what it once was at best, and a gross cartoon at worst. The danger for Republicans is they will do what they always do, tell pollsters they are going to throw the bums out, that they’ll vote in a show of anger toward the bum-in-chief, and then since Fox News is telling them the GOP is on a roll stay home and get comfortable in the chair to watch the election results. God forbid anyone would actually go out and make sure a candidate wins, that’s for someone else. The danger for Democrats is that they will be so demoralized, they won’t vote (not betting on that, though). Sponsored by Ryan Plumbing and Heating of Saint Paul, and by Depotstar. 

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