Skill Versus Talent

In football coach Bill Parcells' 1995 book, "Finding A Way To Win," he says, "What many people in football -- and in business -- fail to understand is that there's a major difference between skill and talent. Skills are basic tools ... and we all know they're important. But skills alone can't carry you if you lack the talent to apply them in performance."

In coaching hundreds of stations over the last 15 years, I look past mere skills (or lack of them) and find the talent that lies underneath, then work hard to bring that out in ways that are targeted toward one thing: being compelling and entertaining enough so that the listener wants to visit with you again tomorrow.

It's not necessarily about being funny, or opinionated, or having a great voice. To quote Parcells again, "Talent -- and certainly greatness -- is more than the sum of a person's skills."

What separates the skilled from the truly talented? Honestly, I believe it's one thing: work ethic. If you don't have that, you might be the tallest midget in the room, but you're not going to dunk a basketball anytime soon.

When you're the best choice for an opportunity, you'll get it ... and be very likely to keep it, even when others are being turned away.