I don’t watch the Academy Awards or care about it, but a lot of other people sure do. Why? Does it make the movie better because you won an Oscar? Does it make us like the actor or the movie more, motivate us to see the next one they make? Apparently it does!
Winning an Oscar is very good for business and this success goes right to the bottom-line. For example, after Halle Berry won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in “Monster’s Ball” in 2001, she started commanding more than $10 million per picture, according to Reuters. (8 Reasons You Really Want to Win and Oscar.)
This same article states that Winning the Oscar for Best Picture is worth $13,980,757 over the course of your career. I’d say that makes it worth focusing on.
If there were Oscars for how you lead your company, would you win, or even be nominated, and do you care. Let’s think about it.
Would You Be Nominated?
People get nominated and voted on by their peers because of the work they did that year. Having people appreciate the work you do adds to the bottom-line. When a movie is nominated for an Oscar, ticket sales aren’t the only thing that see a boost. DVD sales for Oscar nominees no longer in theaters also jump.
Of course, we are not in a popularity contest in our business, but having our peers (employees, business partners, vendors, and the community at large) value the work we do, the way we act, and the resulting product we produce, does give us the respect we need to be a star and demand the spotlight as we take the stage. (I’m just loving all these movie metaphors.)
Being nominated is nice, winning is better and has its own value. In the four years leading up to 2011, the Best Picture winners saw a 22 percent bump in box office revenue after they were nominated and another 15 percent bump once they won. Oscar wins and nominations tend to be more lucrative if they happen early in an actor’s career.
How would your employees feel about you and the way you lead your team? Would they look at the things you do and say you are the Best Actor in a Leading Role? Your ability to motivate others to follow you, remain fully engaged, stay loyal and dedicated, requires you lead in a way that creates fans.
The real value of having your team believe in you is not to get a golden statue, it’s to help you reach your goals.
As you sit down Sunday night to soak in the Academy Awards show, ask yourself how are you doing as the main actor of your company. Is the script you’ve written for your story really what you want it to look like? Do you have the best Producer, Supporting Actors, and Crew around you to make this a Box Office Smash?
Lastly, when you do win, remember to thank all those who made it possible during your acceptance speech. Don’t forget the team that stood behind you when things were tough and production was behind schedule. Remember the others who made you look good and only showed your good side in the final cut. Your cast and crew need to be recognized for the tireless work they do in the background while you take a bow.
by Robert Hunt