Today’s business community is mantling on the attractive armor of hope, humanity, fun, downright silliness, and sincere concern for social contribution. Says who? Says Bart Jackson and anyone who witnessed CEO Report’s latest Corporate Culture Awards held this January 24th at (appropriately)Times Square’s newest entertainment theme park, the NFL Experience.
The Corporate Culture Awards are the brainchild of CEO Report, a broad-reaching, multi-media informational resource, recently risen from the ashes of Smart CEO Magazine. Under guiding hand of veteran publisher and CEO Jim McDonald, CEO Report is employing all media tools currently on deck to keep business leaders informed about what is working and who’s doing it the most effectively.
Lilien Perito, master of development for the firm’s NY – NJ – CT region, deftly engineered this spirited soiree. The 24 selected award winners were mostly mid-size companies, each with a substantial number employees. All guests and company teams lustily entered into the evening’s NFL experience – testing our blocking ability, passing accuracy, play calling strategy, and pass-catching jump height compared with the pros. All great fun. Then, with dinner, came the real professional lesson as Lilie, with video and verbal profiles, presented the awards.
With leaders a slight bit on the younger side, the winners came from all facets of commerce and industry. Investment houses Star Capital and Summit Place Financial, took honors alongside technology builders Wayside, Lorven, and bcm one, plus companies that restored your body (Spear physical therapy) and property (Maxons Restorations).
As each award was presented, great cheers went up, the CEO rose invariably tugging several members of their firm to join in accepting the award. As the videos and the spirit of the evening demonstrated so boisterously, these are companies people where love to work. Enjoyment and engagement and teamwork are paid far more than lip service. Employee birthdays and project completions are lavishly celebrated; games are routinely played; fun family parties are standard parts of the work routine. The whole hall was enthused with the feeling that the daily workday must be a gathering of congenial folks blending fun and excitement in the quest for profit.
Who says striving for achievement must be accomplished with a grim scowl? Certainly not the high-success teams honored at the NFL Experience on Wednesday. I left CEO Report’s joyous dinner with a broad smile and a lesson: If you want to attract and get the best production from the top talent, salary alone is no longer enough. You’d better ladle out some heavy doses of humanity and re-creation into your motivational mix – and never forget that all business is very personal.
Wishing You Every Success,
– Bart Jackson
