Recognition is Memorable

Having worked at a company that manufactures and distributes awards for over 30 years, I’ve seen my share of award presentations and ceremonies, both personally and televised.

The really cool thing about awards is that they have the ability to impact everyone involved in the celebration. Not just the recipient, but everyone in attendance.

Some are memorable and meaningful, some not so much.

As for those that were memorable—not all have been memorable for the right reasons.

There was the statewide banquet where someone fell into the dais, knocking all of the perfectly aligned awards onto the floor, creating total chaos and shattering a few awards in the process. Oops. Memorable, but not in the way organizers had intended.

There was the time that the recipient’s heartfelt acceptance speech had everyone female in the crowd searching for extra Kleenex and every male clearing his throat and sniffing—the likes of which I hadn’t seen in a male audience since Ray Kinsella asked his dad for a catch at the end of Field of Dreams. Memorable and meaningful in such a positive way that no one in attendance will ever forget that moment.

What longtime Academy Awards viewer will ever forget the statement, “You like me…you really, really like me!”

If you need evidence of how making award presentations memorable and meaningful can impact the audience, you need look no further than the recent MTV Video Music Awards Show, where we saw the same award presented quite memorably…twice.

The first time, instead of allowing the honoree to shine in her moment, she was interrupted by someone intent on stealing her joy. Someone intent on the moment being about what they thought was right. It was possibly the biggest combined display of ego and lack of good judgment/impulse control I’ve witnessed in some time. The energy of the room came down immediately, the spirit of the crowd divided and booing ensued.

Thankfully Beyonce Knowles won an award later in the evening, and shared with us all what it means to operate from intentions that include grace, class, and honor. She shared what it had meant to her to win her first award and brought Taylor Swift back onstage to accept her award a second time, uninterrupted. Although she was unable to give back to Taylor Swift the joy of her rightful moment, Beyonce showed us all what making a great award presentation is all about—honoring the recipient and making the moment theirs.

In doing so, Beyonce not only gave the moment back to Taylor Swift, she gave the elevating lift of recognition back to the audience as well.

In Stephen Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he writes about how “…most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparisons and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing--that is, if I win, you lose; or if you win, I lose...There is only so much pie to go around, and if you get a big piece, there is less for me; it's not fair, and I'm going to make sure you don't get anymore. We all play the game, but how much fun is it really?”

Covey further states, “Win-win sees life as a cooperative arena, not a competitive one. Win-win is a frame of mind and heart that constantly seeks mutual benefit in all human interactions. Win-win means agreements or solutions are mutually beneficial and satisfying. We both get to eat the pie, and it tastes pretty darn good!”  

Covey’s lesson…let’s not argue over one pie, let’s cooperatively make more pies.

Beyonce gets it. The knucklehead still doesn’t.

Does your organization get it?