Launch - Winter 2007 - (Page 25)

by my startup story and contacted me to appear on the nationally televised program. The exposure on CNBC, in turn, caused CNBC to contact us to be featured in a marketing campaign for the network.” PR and Networking Perks Awards also function as a networking catalyst for many CEOs, giving them the opportunity to rub elbows at local and national award ceremonies. According to Mike Nikolich, CEO of Chicago-based Tech Image, meeting fellow nominees has been a major benefit of the awards he receives. For example, when The Holmes Report named Tech Image “Best Boutique Agency to Work For,” Nikolich flew to New York for the awards banquet. “While I was there, I was able to talk and exchange ideas with leaders of other top-notch agencies from around the country. That’s not something that occurs every day,” says Nikolich. Many CEOs use their awards as launch pads to win speaking engagements. “With me specifically, the awards have given me more speaking opportunities which have lead to even more speaking opportunities,” says Gary Swart, CEO of oDesk.com in Menlo Park, Calif. Only one CEO, Brian Beutler of Lindon, Utah-based Alianza, noted receiving a measurable gain on the bottom line for the company. In the spring of 2006, his business plan and investor pitch won the Brigham Young University Business Plan Competition. “The press and buzz that resulted was instrumental in helping me close out our Series A round of financing,” Beutler says. Possibly the most significant benefit of third-party awards comes from the process of pursuing them. If the award comes as a result of developing a great product or delivering superior service and results, then the award may have merit. However, if the purpose is merely to stroke egos, then it is of little value or maybe even worse — if the CEO fails to share the award equally with the employees, a loss will result in both morale and additional success. Pursuing the Prestige Paul Spiegelman, CEO of Bedford, Texas-based Beryl Companies, uses awards as a benchmark to set higher standards for his company. “In order to win awards, you have to do things well,” Spiegelman says. “These awards generally recognize achievements that are contributors to business success. While they generate great pride and marketing appeal, the value to me personally is the challenge of living up to the standards that allow us to be recognized. In other words, how do we get good enough to win, and what can I do personally to support that? Quite simply, it makes us better.” Steve Smith, co-author of “Egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Most Expensive Liability),” believes this is exactly the sort of viewpoint CEOs should have when looking at these awards. “It’s not the award itself that is good, bad or innocuous,” Smith says. “The value of pursuing any award, and whether it adds or detracts value from the company, is the intention driving the CEO or company to pursue the award or the ‘prestige’ in the first place. At the end of the day, focusing on creating truly great products and building an exceptional company will bring the relevant rewards, whether we get trophies, certificates, plaques or not.” To make sure the right intention drives the pursuit of the award, you need to ask a few questions before you chase it, Smith says. For example: Is the award relevant to the core goals you are executing against? Moreover, Is that core goal worth accomplishing? Is the pursuit of the award getting in the way of actually getting the results the award is intended to produce? Smith also warns that if the intent behind pursuing the award is simply “me-centered” and self-serving, then pursuing the award could be counterproductive. “Awards can be a superficial cover-up for lagging and lacking performance. Let the results speak for themselves.” The decision of whether to pursue a particular award must pass the “strategy” test: “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?” Whether these awards boost sales and revenue or have any effect on a company’s bottom line is still up for debate. While plenty of subjective data suggests that such awards motivate employees and drive business and investment, there is little concrete data to prove it. Until we have such data, we will continue to see two distinct camps — the CEOs who unequivocally believe awards are valuable, and employees who generally think awards generate more busy work and hassles in order to further inflate the egos of those whose egos are already over-inflated. $ Mikal Belicove is an Orem, Utah-based freelance writer, ghost blogger, and corporate communications and business management consultant. When he is not penning or ghosting articles and blog entries for clients, he can be found musing about the world around him on his own personal blog at www.Belicove.com. Click here for the HTML version of this article on launchutah.com including additional information, tips and awards list. launch winter 25 http://www.oDesk.com http://www.Belicove.com http://www.launchutah.com/article-coverstory-q42007.php http://www.launchutah.com/article-coverstory-q42007.php http://www.launchutah.com/article-coverstory-q42007.php

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

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