Get involved in community service. If there isn't something you're already passionate about, find out what the business leaders in your market really care about and are involved in, and volunteer. You will do good for your community, you will meet people who will open doors for you, and you will strengthen your leadership skills and grow.

Offer to non-profit organizations your expertise in advertising or marketing. When you get involved in committees, plan a large organizational mission, or execute marketing and communication strategy, what you give will come back to you tenfold. If you become involved in researching the specific industries that can serve as sponsors of your non-profit endeavor, you’ll learn information that should prove to be beneficial as you develop revenue streams for radio.

Having a baby makes you more well rounded in business and helps you relate to others with children in business. Also, it helps you prioritize better.

Take college courses, like basic Algebra, grammar and writing skills, and art at night. A little bit of "back to basics" training, along with something completely different and creative like art, can help you in your job.

Remain curious...ask questions, and then ask more.....the more you ask the more you learn...the more you can see opportunities...sometimes in the strangest places.

Take a speed reading and comprehension course. There are so many trade periodicals to go through each week that it’s almost impossible. Speed reading and reading for comprehension/retention can be a great help.

Join think tanks of companies where you may not be sitting on their boards. Get to know a group of people inside the company and set up collective brain dumps so that you can share information as kind of a check and balance system and a way to compare notes on industry trends.

Listen to books on tape (CDs on tape), especially business best sellers but also books on spirituality, human relationships, win-win negotiating, etc. It makes driving/flying time more productive and means you will always have fresh, new ideas to share with clients and potential clients (who never have time to read). There's always the self-improvement aspect, too...never a bad idea.

Take one-night classes. NYC has The Learning Annex, where you can invest $35 and hear from mega-stars in the fields of business, marketing, advertising, promotion, etc. etc. Another reliable source for continuing education: community colleges and online.

Learn how to network. Much like playing tennis, you don't get better playing someone who is a lesser player than yourself. You don't improve by playing someone at your own level. You learn and progress by playing people whose game is better than yours. The same in business. Networking with people more experienced, exposing your "weaknesses", allows for more learning. Whether it's attending industry seminars, calling on an experienced or "tough" buyer, etc. It forces you to know your product and play at the top of your game.

Take a course in Effective Listening. As sales people and marketers, we're all too ready to start talking with a customer or potential customer. Often we can be more instrumental if we learn to listen effectively. One or two key questions asked, and then shutting up and listening, will yield more useful and actionable information.

Don't take work home!

Join Rotary or another business/service club and get involved. It's a very efficient way to get to know and network with people who can do business with you. Don't say you don't have time. Your television and newspaper counterparts are there...and business people do business with people they know, people who share their values.

Serve on Boards of Directors and participate in community non-profit events. All of these events and boards give you and your stations wonderful exposure in the market and many valuable business and community contacts. Start small but do get involved in some charitable organization that you can get behind personally and professionally. It is very rewarding to know that in some small way you are impacting the community you live in and are making it a better place to live.

Join AWRT. It provides amazing networking opportunities. This offers you the ability to speak confidentially with other women in broadcasting; to pick their brains and learn from some of their experiences. To be a well-rounded business person, you also need to be well read, well traveled and somewhat cosmopolitan.

Read everything that you have time to read outside of the industry: pop culture, psychology, consumer trends, national and international news. The more well read you are, the better able you will be to communicate with your customers, staff members and peers.

Just starting out--get INTO the business--learn about every department of your station/network/business. Pitch in to help other departments. When you learn what the publicity department does, along with learning about network sales, you get a fabulous education! It makes you an incredibly well-rounded employee with a deep understanding of how to succeed and how to help your company succeed.

Get OUT of the office. Immerse yourself in tennis, yoga, volunteer activities. Develop a life outside of business. The more varied your experiences the better.

Take courses like Dale Carnegie, Toastmaster's or join a local Optimist's Club. One of the five greatest fears is public speaking , and if you're on a fast track in management, these are skills that are invaluable.
These types of courses sharpen your confidence in your own public speaking abilities plus they are great networking opportunities. Other managers and executives from your community will also be in attendance.

Delve into your station or company top advertiser list and identify executives or business owners with strong public speaking skills and a great (business) story to tell (top selling Cadillac dealer in a five state region, developed a new compensation system which was adapted company or industry wide etc.). Invite them in as a guest speaker to a staff or management meeting; offer to do the same for their company or organization (yourself or a company executive). You and your staff benefit from an inside perspective of a top advertisers' organization, you have the chance to expose your company/stations to their management team and staff. Broadens general business knowledge and insight into a key client/category.

Take a class in "Leader Effectiveness Training" at a local university in the evening. The course teaches, in very PRACTICAL terms, how to deal with all kinds of people and work with them in team or individual situations. You’ll use the lessons you learn there in your personal as well as professional life.