
Awards are Bullshit - squiggy22
https://medium.com/@getdeckchair/awards-are-bullshit-8470154e83d7#.uu5tpdkds
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dalke
How many Purple Heart winners have you seen be dismissive of their awards, and
throw them away at the first convenient moment?

> You’ll know because your peers have told you so.

One way they tell you is, you know, with an award.

> You’ll know because your employees are happy.

As a counter-example, consider someone who internally blows the whistle. Often
that person will be snubbed as being disloyal, even if the end result saves
the company money and keeps it out of legal trouble. One of the best practices
is the company to give a 'meaningful reward or recognition for legitimate
whistleblowers'. (Quoting [http://corporatecomplianceinsights.com/problems-
with-the-cur...](http://corporatecomplianceinsights.com/problems-with-the-
current-internal-whistleblower-systems/) ).

This sort of award can be oil for troubled waters.

> If you are doing great work. You are doing great work. Period.

No. Period.

McConnell's "Rapid Development" has a chapter on programmer motivation, and a
section titled "Rewards and Incentives". Quotes from it:

> "Developers grow tired of working for unappreciative companies, and rewards
> are therefore important to long-term motivation. But monetary rewards have
> to be handled carefully. ... It's also important to present any reward
> purely as a gesture of appreciation rather than an incentive ... _The work
> itself is the greatest motivator_ , and the more a manager stresses an
> external reward, the less interested the developer becomes in the work
> itself, and the more potential motivation is lost.

> Here are some possible gestures of appreciation that are often appropriate:
> [I've abbreviated the list]
    
    
       * Sincere praise directed at a specific accomplishment
       * Humorous or series awards in the form of plaques, certificates,
           trophies, and the like
       * Special events to celebrate significant accomplishments
    

> In _In Search of Excellence_ , Peters and Waterman (1982) report that the
> companies that manage to stay in the top halves of their industries over
> 20-year periods make extensive use of nonmonetary incentives.

Under "Morale Killers", McConnell includes "Lack of appreciation for
development's efforts" and "Heavy-handed motivational campaigns".

It's easier for me to believe this author considers these awards to be "heavy-
handed" than to agree with the conclusion that awards are bullshit.

