Grab that Award
Local business associations, local business papers, local chambers of commerce often provide nominations and awards for business excellence. This is another opportunity for you and your brand to garner a higher profile.
Thirty under Thirty, Forty under Forty, Business Leadership & Influence Awards, Project Awards, Professional Achievement Awards, these are but a few of the areas you or your company can rise above your competition. The key is to identify which you believe you qualify for, And how best to position yourself to achieve one.
First, look at your local chamber of commerce and your local business newspaper. These organizations almost always provide nominations or awards in categories that range from personal leadership to business success. Whether their category is age related success, women or minority related success, or company milestone related success, there should be a category for you to qualify for and enter the race to win.
One aspect of these type of business community awards that should be noted - pay to play. That means you need to join your local business association that sponsors and/or creates the awards forum. You need to subscribe to the Newspaper that runs the listing of most influential or most powerful business leaders. It is often an unspoken barrier to entry. These nominations do not happen in a vacuum. They are strategic in nature and often promote the underlying sponsor as much as the winners.
Having been a recipient of one of these awards, it is a moment to savor. The ceremony, the public relations, the advertising and subsequent news wrote-up, and the photo, do not forget the photo. The image and press around your moment of fame is both a celebration of effort and a profile in achievement. It is advertising and it is a statement, you, your company, or both, have been identified as rising above the competition. It can propel your image to that next level.
So, join that chamber, subscribe to that journal, participate in your local business community. Research the qualifications and when you believe you or your firm’s accomplishments have met the requirements, apply, nominate, and target that award. The media, the celebration luncheon, the article in the paper, the physical plaque to display on your office wall. Each of these represent a social media opportunity and moment to rise above your indistry competitors.
Going the extra mile to participate in strategic organizations can result in a boost to your leadership profile. Covet the award that best celebrates your professional and community accomplishments. It feels good to be recognized, applauded, and celebrated. We all deserve a bit of fame for our hard work and contributions. Go find yours!
Be well.
