On Friday evening, our company had the kick off for 2009. It's a time for celebrating the long-service employees (5 years, 10, 15, 20, etc) as well as a party with food, music and a few drinks. This year, they added a new award.
We have a concept in the company which is all about how you as an employee act as a person in your daily work. This year, the company asked employees to vote for the person who demonstrated the qualities behind the concept more than any other. It was a great idea, and there were over 60 nominations, two winners in each of three categories, and one overall winner.
I was proud to get two of the nominations. Seeing my name up there, and hearing a loud cheer from part of the audience when my name was read out, meant a great deal to me. When those around you see that you are doing something in a good way, it's a tremendous feeling of worth. It's value is much higher than a boss saying "well done".
And the star of the show was Morten! He also got two nominations and won the outright award as THE employee who demonstrated great personal qualities in his daily work. There is no more deserving a winner.
Morten has, to my good fortune, been a business partner as well as a friend for over 11 years, so I feel it is fair for me to comment. Every day, he comes to work and treats people with respect, helps those around him, gives honest feedback and is constantly constructive. He works with principles and integrity. His only weakness (in terms of career improvement - it is a strength in terms of character) is that he is not a big-mouthed guy who says "look at me, look what I did". Therefore, he does not always get the recognition his work deserves.
But finally, the real recognition has come. The most valuable recognition of all, that of his colleagues. To his credit, and absolutely in line with his character, he was totally surprised and quite overwhelmed at this success. But nobody who knows Morten was at all surprised, and they hurried to congratulate him in their dozens.
As he stood on the stage receiving his award, it was one of those moments that restores one's faith in the belief that quality will always show. People who are good and do the right thing, with real principles, can win. Congratulations, Morten!
We have a concept in the company which is all about how you as an employee act as a person in your daily work. This year, the company asked employees to vote for the person who demonstrated the qualities behind the concept more than any other. It was a great idea, and there were over 60 nominations, two winners in each of three categories, and one overall winner.
I was proud to get two of the nominations. Seeing my name up there, and hearing a loud cheer from part of the audience when my name was read out, meant a great deal to me. When those around you see that you are doing something in a good way, it's a tremendous feeling of worth. It's value is much higher than a boss saying "well done".
And the star of the show was Morten! He also got two nominations and won the outright award as THE employee who demonstrated great personal qualities in his daily work. There is no more deserving a winner.
Morten has, to my good fortune, been a business partner as well as a friend for over 11 years, so I feel it is fair for me to comment. Every day, he comes to work and treats people with respect, helps those around him, gives honest feedback and is constantly constructive. He works with principles and integrity. His only weakness (in terms of career improvement - it is a strength in terms of character) is that he is not a big-mouthed guy who says "look at me, look what I did". Therefore, he does not always get the recognition his work deserves.
But finally, the real recognition has come. The most valuable recognition of all, that of his colleagues. To his credit, and absolutely in line with his character, he was totally surprised and quite overwhelmed at this success. But nobody who knows Morten was at all surprised, and they hurried to congratulate him in their dozens.
As he stood on the stage receiving his award, it was one of those moments that restores one's faith in the belief that quality will always show. People who are good and do the right thing, with real principles, can win. Congratulations, Morten!
