It seems that with all the financially-driven and political noise out there, the good old-fashioned recognition for a good deed or job well done is getting pretty scarce.
I’m not really sure why this is happening, but it seems to be the norm today. I do not think it’s a generational movement because, in reality, we recognize our children today for every little thing to the point where true accomplishments get lost in all the participation awards. That phenomenon is probably going to be one that us boomers are the most sorry for.
The disconnect seems to be on the business side. Recognition should be taking place on all levels of business. It should be happening at the upper management level all the way down to the lower rungs of your organization. It’s a huge motivator and can challenge people and organizations to achieve new and higher levels of performance.
Many times, it gets lost in the daily grind of managing people. I’ve witnessed so many times a complicated recognition program that gets forgotten and overlooked because it’s too complicated and/or so diluted that it lacks relevance. The best recognition is close to the activity and extremely timely.
It’s not rocket science. If you see a job well done or an extraordinary accomplishment, recognize it on the spot. Be advised, however, that there is one danger: the Negative Nancy lurking in the organization. From them you will hear, “No one ever recognized me for my actions.” We all have these Negative Nancy’s, who are merely products of the previous no-recognition environment. Keep it up and they, too, will see the merits of praise when they receive it. If they don’t, well, you have a different issue to deal with, and that can be discussed in a later column.
We have a perfect opportunity here at BodyShop Business for you to practice recognition. It’s called our “Executive of the Year” award. You see, your peers and fellow operators need recognition too. If you know someone in our industry who’s a standout in our world and has benefited the industry or their community, send their info to us. You can nominate them at bodyshopbusiness.com/shop-executive-year/. Who knows, they might just get win and receive a trip to SEMA and be recognized at a special SEMA awards breakfast in Las Vegas.
Come on, let’s help the business world resurrect the long-lost art of recognition. Good job!
