by Justin Via

Today’s post is about what I learned at the National Association of Broadcasters conference in Las Vegas. Oddly enough though, I don’t want to talk about the conference itself, but more about what I learned from interacting with so many talented people from all over the world. And how people should never quit being teachers, or students.

The people in my life have taught me a lot. My dad taught me how to catch a ball and how to throw a punch (to say the least). My five sisters taught me how to understand women - for the most part. High school and college teachers have taught me thousands of things - many of which I can’t remember - but I’m sure they’ve shaped who I am today. But even after all that I’ve learned and experienced, sometimes I don’t feel like I know enough for my opinion to matter.

Now this has nothing to do with my level of confidence, or intelligence (then again I’m not a shrink, so there may be some underlying issues I don’t know about). What it has more to do with is the “student mentality.” Feeling like I should always be the one learning from others, and never the teacher. But at the conference, the NAB proved that student’s opinions do matter.

It was an NAB first. A group of students from Baylor University were invited to speak at the Super Session - Social Networking and the Democratization of Broadcasting. When I found this out, I was excited to see that industry professionals were reaching out to younger minds. Another example of the NAB reaching out to students is a blog posting where Billy Gidney, a college student form Corona, California was asked to write his thoughts on the conference. His well-crafted article revealed his understanding of the industry, and how current technologies are changing its shape. Something I believe we’re all trying to wrap our heads around. I found his comments as relevant as any top-level executive.

Learning. Teaching. Learning. Teaching. It’s such an amazing, yet challenging task. To be confident enough to make tough decisions, but humble enough to accept help from even the most unexpected sources. Throughout my career I hope to maintain a good balance between humility and confidence. Really, it’s something everybody should strive to achieve.

This thought might be something I should have learned a long time ago. Or maybe it’s not. But I do know that life gets hectic at times, so at the very least it’s a good reminder. If you’re a big guy, remember to listen to the little guy, he may have something new to say. Also, if you’re a little guy, remember to listen to the big guy, he probably knows more than you think. The NAB seems to be catching on to this thought. Hey, maybe you should ask some young guys about how they’d run your business, you might be surprised at what they’d say.