Happy Birthday to Everyone as Applicable

I was recently in Starbucks where they were promoting a “Celebration Mug” which included a pen and a writable area for personalization.  It needed no explanation that by its very definition, celebrations should be personalized.  When you go to a ballpark and Birthdays and Anniversaries are announced on the big screen, they don’t say “Happy Birthday to everyone as applicable”.   Ballpark promoters are very careful to include everyone’s name – hopefully spelled correctly.  Personalized celebrations done right mean the people celebrated matter – which is the whole point of celebrating.    

In Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, June 2009, Gary Kelly, Chairman, President, and CEO of Southwest Airlines wrote an article celebrating 38 years of the airline.  He said, “Celebrating is part of Southwest’s Culture DNA . .  . I believe that celebrating our Employees and our Company is more important now than ever. . . .Basically, a celebration is recognition of a job done well by individuals who matter and at Southwest everyone matters.” 

If celebrations by their very nature are personal and a demonstration of a company’s culture, why do we sometimes create workplace celebrations that are not personal or are not representative of the achievement.   More of a “here’s some stuff” or a generic “well done” type anti-climatic moment.  To be effective, each and every celebration should include both a personal element and a representation of the company culture, if not in the award itself, at least in the presentation.