According to the blog This Day in Quotes, the origin of this quote “We don’t need no badges!” is attributed to the 1927 novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, by B. Traven. A movie adaptation of the book in 1948 cemented the popularity of the quote when uttered by the bandit played by Alfonso Bedoya and known as “Gold Hat” – in an exchange with Fred Dobbs, played by Humphrey Bogart.
Dobbs: “If you are the police, where are your badges?”
Gold Hat: “Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”
As pointed out by This Day in Quotes, the “no badges” line was the source of many parodies – and the most popular actually first originated in a 1967 episode of The Monkees. In it, Mickey Dolenz says, “Badges? We don’t need no stinking badges!” Perhaps the most widely known is the famous scene from Blazing Saddles, Mel Brooks’ western parody. Rick Garcia, as one of Hedley Lamarr’s henchmen, repeated the Dolenz line verbatim.
While it is accurate to say that bandits portrayed in novels, television or the big screen have no use for badges – we know they have much value in helping to engage employees and reinforce organizational culture – especially in today’s environment.
We have written much in the past several weeks about the value of expressing recognition and appreciation for team members who have sacrificed and/or gone above and beyond to serve others. Our clients, having invested in employee recognition and safety/wellness programs are now realizing the benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. One proven and valuable tool gives your team members the ability to recognize each other for such acts.
Badges and Virtual Awards
As more associates are working remotely than ever before, the challenges of maintaining communication, collaboration, and productivity are significant. Simultaneously, team members that continue to commute face new or revised processes, smaller on-site teams, and an increased level of stress. This situation will be with us for the foreseeable future and even into the time when operations begin to come back to normal levels.
Providing your associates with the ability to immediately recognize each other is rewarding, motivating, and exciting. We offer several varieties of badges and virtual rewards within our points-based recognition and incentive platform. Each award is highlighted in a live “feed” which is visible to all team members – helping to reinforce culture character. If you are curious about how Badges and Virtual Awards might work, check out this short video produced for the QIC team, who participate in our internal recognition program – Rally Rewards. And contact us if we can help.
