Launch - Winter 2007 - (Page 24)

“the real question is this : How strategically relevant is chasing an award, compared to all the other pursuits in which the CEO could be involved?” Ego Boosters When asked, “Is the recognition you or your company received worth it?” David Goldsmith, president of MetaMatrix Consulting Group in upstate New York, spoke for nearly every CEO interviewed, saying without reserve, “Yes, absolutely!” Only one was less enthusiastic, Jim Parker, former CEO of Southwest Airlines. During his tenure as CEO, Southwest received many awards, including “Airline of the Year” by Air Transport World magazine; a nod from “100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Business Ethics magazine; and recognition from Fortune magazine as one of the country’s most respected companies. “None of these awards involved onerous application processes or campaigning,” Parker says. “I don’t think you could say that any of them had any particular monetary or business value, but I think they did represent well deserved recognition for the great employees of our company and the superb job they did every day.” Most of the other CEOs agreed with Parker’s view that awards are great for boosting employee morale and recruiting new talent. “One of my top priorities as CEO is to create a culture in which the employees are happy, motivated, and productive,” says Dale A. Walters, CEO of Phoenix, Ariz.-based Keats, Connelly & Associates. “One of the best ways to create a positive culture is to create pride in the company and pride in their work. Having a third party attest to the quality of the company is much more effective.” Like Walters, most CEOs agree that the primary benefit of third-party recognition and awards is internal; awards function as a powerful tool in motivating employees and acknowledging their achievements. Jeremy Hanks, co-founder and chairman of the board of Orem-based Doba, summed it up best, “People like working for ‘winners.’ These types of awards allow us to position the company as a ‘winner.’” Although the internal benefits seem to outweigh any external benefits, several CEOs pointed out that they did leverage the awards in their marketing and public relations campaigns. “The recognition has led to many public and private speaking opportunities,” says Robert Tuchman, president of New York City-based TSE Sports & Entertainment. “These engagements have led to further business for the company. Being recognized has also led to two current book deals and a No. 1 rated radio show hosted on sports business.” Jeff Grady, CEO of Digital Lifestyle Outfitters in Durham, NC, admits he was able to parlay one award into additional opportunities. “Once our initial win of the Inc. 500 award was publicized in 2006, awareness of the company increased tremendously. The producers of CNBC’s ‘Big Idea with Donny Deutsch’ were intrigued what may already be an inflated ego. The CEOs travel to the awards ceremony to pick up their plaques or trophies and make speeches where they accept credit for the accomplishments of their entire team. They also meet other award-winning CEOs, and sometimes decide to dump their lifelong advisors to pay more heed to their newfound friends. In short, CEOs stop listening to the people who got them where they are and join an elite group of mutual admirers. Company-wide resentment follows, which undermines any efforts to boost morale and productivity. Admittedly, this is a somewhat cynical view based on a couple dozen interviews with front line employees and mid-level managers who, not surprisingly, spoke on the condition of anonymity, for fear of reprisals from C-level executives. The CEOs who chase these awards, however, are unanimous in their belief that awards are beneficial and well worth the time and resources required to chase after them. 24 launch winter

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Launch - Winter 2007

Launch - Winter 2007 Contents Editor's Note Dashboard Mentor Column Funding Column Diary Column Sales Column Feature: Moving Forward: College Business Competitions Turn Ideas Into Reality Cover Story: Are Awards Worth the Effort? Company and CEO Awards: Contributing to the Bottom Line or Just Feeding Egos? Entrepreneur Spotlight: Benoy Tamang - Hooksell Entrepreneur Spotlight: Clayton Jenkins - Premium Steam

Launch - Winter 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.