Awards dilution….

November 7, 2011

When I won a Turnaround of the Year Award from the Turnaround Management Association (TMA)  in 1997, I was thrilled.  In addition to the thrill of being recognized for my achievements, during the award ceremony, I had the opportunity and the pleasure to deliver a thank you and give credit to Ron Torland, the CEO who brought me into the company, gave me full operating authority, worked with me side-by-side, and supported my decisions, some of which were extremely unpopular.  The turnaround would not have been possible without his participation.

When I attended the TMA awards presentation at the conference this year, it struck me that things have really changed.  There were so many awards given to so many people that there were no speeches–just lots of people marching across the stage.

Think about it:  How many announcements about awards events or awards being bestowed do you receive every week?  Clearly, these awards bring people into each organization and its events, and they are are certainly great marketing tools for both the organizations and the winners, but I can’t help feeling that the significance of these awards has been diminished.