Dust to Dust (Collectors)
There was a great essay in The New York Times last week entitled, "Losing is Good for You." Author Ashley Merryman was venting about the annoying practice that has taken over school athletic programs where "everybody gets a trophy," whether they earned it or not. She laments the "Trophy Industrial Complex" running our children's lives. Come to think of it, ubiquitous awards in every category have diminished the value of worthy accomplishments and the excitement of being singled out for distinction.
Winston Churchill, who knew a few things about playing to win, said “Awards are effective as a motivational device only if they are kept scarce. A distinction is something which everybody does not possess. If all have it, it is of less value."
Deep down, you know if your kids have actually earned the awards they receive and apparently so do they. By age 4 or 5 they can begin to discern who in the group is a Superstar and who can't figure out which way to throw the ball.
Thing is, once kids get good at something, they can't wait to test their prowess against the competition. But that excitement soon diminishes if they start noticing that everybody wins (something).
Studies abound that show if children aren’t (fairly) recognized for their hard work, sacrifice and achievement, they may eventually give up.
And how about those marginal players who are sashaying on stage to pick up their Plaques, Letters, and Trophies?
They aren’t well served. Turns out many become ill prepared to handle life’s challenges when the real world rears its ugly head. Not used to failure, cheating starts to look like a good alternative and they long for the days when good enough was good enough. Prize winning, even.
So awards risk being counterproductive.
Yet it’s human nature to want to win.
I'm no athlete but I'm very competitive. It surfaces in work and play. Like when I reduced my then 4-year old to tears by beating him at Checkers (a hollow victory I admit, but I still won, fair and square).
We all seek recognition for something we’re good at.
Recognition gives us social status, bragging rights, an extra line or two on our resumes or LinkedIn profile.
It motivates us to strive even higher. Especially when we’ve earned it.
But this awards thing is getting out of hand.
Yet everybody continues to give them out: governments, the arts, culture, sports, media, film, non-profits, for-profits.
On the one hand you have the prestigious awards for honor, valor, courage, life for country.
The United States has nearly 160 military decorations (of which more than 60 are currently in use).
In the Revolutionary War under General Washington’s command, the Badge of Military Merit, the original Purple Heart, was awarded only three times.
Since that time, over 1.8 million Purple Hearts have been bestowed.
Taking it to the other extreme is Hollywood with its never-ending, self-congratulatory Award Shows and honors. Both here and abroad.
Reminds me of the hysterical dream scene in the movie, ”Living in Oblivion,” a film about filmmaking, where an actor was standing at the podium giving out an award “for the Best Picture made by a human.”
When my old boss used to be approached about promoting yet another "employee of the month" or "top salesman" award, he used to mumble under his breath, "your incentive is you get to keep your job."
Fortunately I kept mine and many years later, the award I covet the most in my business life is New Business.
That tells me everything I need to know about how my team and I are doing. It validates our worth and acknowledges the hard work that went before and is yet to come.
A “thank you” now and again is nice, too.
But I don’t need that engraved.