‘True Innovation Will Never Win Awards’
Dan and I have similar experiences about the newspaper business. His candid advice is priceless in this post about five lessons about newspaper contests. His post goes into detail about these contests that we as journalists know about and have all entered. Dan says he’s done with them.
True innovation will never win awards, because there’s no contest category for something that nobody else is doing. And if you foster a culture in which awards lead to promotions and financial rewards, then asking your talented people to invest themselves in anything new is going to look like a bad deal.
And, if you were wondering, Dan got a Journalist of the Year award a couple of years back in South Carolina. He knows of what he speaks. Dan, I didn’t enter anything this year. I was too busy trying to figure out how to edit video, social media networking services and getting some sleep.
The best award I ever won was for Volunteer of the Year through the Tennessee Association of Community Action Agencies. I must say, it’s one of my favorite things ever. It had nothing to do with the day job, and for some reason that pleased me. I didn’t know I had been nominated. It was more than groovy and I was so honored I think I bawled.
Yeah, I’m a big baby although I bawled at home. Shut up.
