The typical radio station at the time had three or four salespeople, but local newspapers had sales staffs of ten to fifteen, so we copied them. We stopped selling radio commercials or ‘spots’ and began custom crafting large dollar advertising solutions designed to solve our clients’ big problems and take advantage of new opportunities.

One of the fun things we did was launch the nation’s first two-hour weekly program titled, “MoneyTalk,” with a financial expert. It became so successful that, in short order, we filled the weekend with twenty-four, two-hour talk shows ranging from “Garden Talk” to “Horoscope Talk” to “Cooking Talk.” They were highly targeted programs; we charged premium rates and before long our weekends were making more money than our weekdays.

Owning that first radio station (and there were more that followed) taught me a valuable lesson that I still write and talk about today: be prepared to let go of yesterday’s breadwinners because what brought you to where you are won’t get you to where you want to go. Let go of ego where the boss has to be the smartest person in the room. Let go of same old-same old and the belief that if something isn’t broken it doesn’t need fixing, and let go of conventional wisdom because all it’ll ever get you are conventional results.

Constantly embracing change helps you avoid falling victim to the “Immutable Law of Suckage” (which I write about in my most recent book), which says, “By the time you figure out you suck, you have sucked for a very long time.” Any organization or company that isn’t changing faster on the inside than the world is changing on the outside is doomed to irrelevance.

What I’ve learned by studying more than 220,000 companies for my past eight books is that in order to create a culture of urgency and growth, the company or organization must have a single sense of purpose built around doing something good, whether it’s serving rural America (CoBank), existing to end social injustice (Henry Schein), helping the many have better lives (IKEA) or existing to help people get their jobs done safely (Grainger).

Now we view each speech as an event, and the value added we bring to the party includes an interview with the CEO and ten other interviews with company executives in order to assure that the customization is spot on. We show up early to attend a welcome receptions, shake hands and greet people during breakfasts or lunch before or after my speech. We are willing to host a private breakfast for top performers or top customers, sign books – whatever is required to ensure the client’s expectations are exceeded.

As a result of changing from a ‘speech’ mentality to an ‘event’ mentality, the Great Recession were two of the biggest years I’ve ever had. Now, more than ever, people are seeking value in everything, and that includes in the speakers they hire.

Out of all that study, I believe the most important observation is as follows: business is very simple, and the most successful and enduring companies keep their business proposition, their model and their business operations very simple. It’s the secret keepers, egos, senses of self-importance and entitlement, greed and avarice that lead eventually to the floundering and failure that upend once great companies like Sears, Blockbuster, Budweiser, Blackberry, Borders, Circuit City, and the list goes on and on. One of my favorite lines is that, “business is simple common sense, but sadly, the most common thing about common sense is how uncommon common sense is.”

There have only been a few instances where I’ve stood on a stage, looked at the audience and stood frozen, almost unable to begin my speech. A few years ago, I was doing a big keynote in New Jersey for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products at a time when the company was really hitting on all cylinders and doing extraordinarily well. I recall gazing out at a sea of people gathered in the atrium of the headquarters’ building and seeing white, black, brown and yellow faces in equal numbers, village elders, physically challenged people, young interns. Someone in the back row was waving a rainbow flag, and I damn near started to cry. I could feel goose bumps all over my body as I thought to myself, “OMG, this company looks likes their customers.”

I have a working theory that companies that look like their customers are not only doing the right thing, but are more profitable and successful in the long term than companies that don’t. That’s one possible book.

I’m also at work on a piece that I suspect will become multi-media in the form of a book, long form video, keynote speech and online teaching that is about the power of purpose. Much has been written about purpose from a military, religious and self-fulfillment perspective, but not a single work has ever been devoted to the power of purpose in business.

My publisher tells me that your next book comes from a discovery you made for your last book, but didn’t have the opportunity to fully explore it. I believe in the first chapter of my newest book The High Speed Company are the most important words I’ve ever written. And I really want to explore and write more about purpose.

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To bring Jason Jennings to your organization to help your organization embrace and implement change and successful leadership practices in your organization, please contact Michael Frick at: Mike@Speaking.com.