Email this page to a Colleague
	Print this Page

Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential
Issue 5.18 - May 5, 2008 - ISSN: 1551-6571

In Kevin's Own Words

Celebrate Like You Mean It

I was traveling around St. Patrick's Day and while I ate dinner and enjoyed some Irish music I saw a promotional T-shirt for Guinness beer announcing the holiday. It was a very stylish T-shirt, but it was the tagline that I loved the most. It read:

Celebrate like you mean it.

I haven't been able to get that phrase out of my mind since.

Organizational leaders think about celebrations a lot. Maybe not the type Guinness was thinking about with that tagline, but they definitely think about them. They think about what, when, where and how to celebrate. Sometimes they get it right. But far too often they don’t.

Celebrations are important, but even more important is handling celebrations appropriately.

Of the four points mentioned above (what, when, where and how to celebrate), what to celebrate and how to celebrate it are the most important for you to consider. But first, let's start with an underlying principle - why to celebrate in the first place.

Why to Celebrate - Consider the Underlying Purpose

There are at least three great reasons to celebrate in your organization:

1. to commemorate results and efforts.
2. to recognize people accomplishments and contributions.
3. to appreciate people.

When you think about these purposes, especially in an organizational context, it makes it easier to think about when to celebrate.

Meet You in San Diego Get a fr.ee consultation with Kevin during the ASTD International Conference in San Diego – even if you’re not registered for the conference! We want to meet you in Booth 1737 – learn more and schedule your appointment today.

But before we get more specific about that, think about the last five times you arranged or participated in a celebration, and what the expressed purposes were. And, perhaps more importantly, what are the situations when you didn’t celebrate that, using the purposes above, you could have?

When to Celebrate - Consider your Reasons

Read any book on team building, employee engagement or project management and you will read that celebrations are important. You can easily find lists of reasons to celebrate that usually include things like:

Celebrate when you . . .

1. Reach a goal.
2. Achieve a milestone.
3. Gain a major Client.
4. Release a new product.
5. Win an award.

These are probably obvious times to celebrate (in part because so many experts have reminded us). Most organizations do something at these types of "big achievements." And yet when you consider the stated purpose above, there are so many other situations when you could celebrate. What if you celebrated when:

1. People worked exceptionally hard?
2. People delighted a customer?
3. People lived your organizational values in a unique or important way?
4. People deserved thanks?
5. People reached a milestone, even if the project isn't complete yet?

Each of these lists could be longer - but please notice a critical difference. The first list is about completion and success, the second is about people. The first list is the obvious times to celebrate; the second list might be more of a surprise and have greater meaning to those being celebrated.

Successful celebrations occur in part when you are celebrating for the right reasons, and when those reasons are perfectly clear to those involved in the celebration.

How to Celebrate - Consider Your Attitude

Ever been to a celebration that flopped? Chances are it wasn’t about the cake, punch or surroundings. The single biggest reason why celebrations flop is because people are just going through the motions.

Like when the leader arrives late, makes a proclamation then rushes back to his or her meeting.

Or the purpose for the celebration isn’t clear.

Or it has been postponed three times.

These are all examples of celebrations becoming perfunctory and without any passion. And in the end, these "celebrations" hurt engagement, morale and energy more than they help.

If you want successful celebrations you must be real and genuine about the reason for celebrating. You must be gracious and thankful for those involved. Your comments must be heart-felt, and you must be present – really there in the moment - sharing in the celebratory feelings of the event.

There is another article that could be written (and I'’ll probably write it) about the ways to do the celebration, because not all celebrations are (or should be) created equally.

Be Our Guest Join us May 20 for a Remarkable Leadership Guest Conversation with Jonathan Farrington. Kevin and Jonathan will cover Customer relations, leadership and much more. Register today!

However you do it, in the end, the biggest key to any celebration's success is all about the slogan from that T-shirt. If you want your celebrations to be meaningful, celebrate like you mean it.

Your Comments: Please visit Kevin's Blog to leave your comments on this article.

Potential Pointer: It isn’t about the venue, the theme, the budget or even the food. When celebrating events and accomplishments in your organization, what matters most is that you clearly want to celebrate! So, celebrate like you mean it.

Kevin

Kevin's Recommends

The Sales Bible: NEW EDITION
by Jeffrey Gitomer

The original version of this book was the second Jeffrey Gitomer book I read. This new version is far more than a new edition – it is a complete overhaul. Now written in the undeniable Gitomer style and layout (ala The Little Book Series – see some of my past recommendations here, here and here), it is more readable, more accessible and more fun.

Jeffrey’s writing matches his persona perfectly. It’s practical, positive and irreverent. He calls a spade a spade. If he thinks an approach, however well known or often used, is wrong, he will tell you. He writes in a short, punchy style filled with cartoons and lists (including the all new 10.5 Commandments of Sales Success).

If you are a salesperson by trade, or if you lead or manage salespeople, you must own and use this book. I can’t imagine not highlighting, dog-earing and applying this book daily. If you aren’t in sales, you can use these ideas too.

And believe me, now is the time to buy your copy! The book officially releases May 6th (I’ve had a pre-publication copy for a few weeks) and when you buy your copy on Amazon.com you will be getting much more than book. You will receive hundreds of dollars worth of downloadable e-books, white papers, articles, audio MP3s, video MP4s, reports and chapters of best-selling books being offered by 40 top experts in a variety of related fields – including me.

It’s that simple, and that valuable.

Get more details about the offer from Gitomer. And then, get your copy of the book on Amazon.

Your Comments: Please visit Kevin's Blog to leave your comments on this article.

Home | About Kevin | Archive | My Subscription | Contact Us

If you find this information valuable, please pass it on to a friend. You can forward them the email or go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/tell.asp to use our Tell A Friend tool.

If you received a forwarded copy of this newsletter and would like to subscribe for yourself, go to: http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/subscribe.asp.

For information on reprinting any of this information included in this issue of Unleashing Your Remarkable Potential, go to: http://kevineikenberry.com/uypw/reprints.asp

© 2008 The Kevin Eikenberry Group – All Rights Reserved

The Kevin Eikenberry Group
http://www.kevineikenberry.com
7035 Bluffridge Way
Indianapolis, IN 46278