I recently had the privilege of representing QIC at a conference hosted by the Incentive Marketing Association (IMA), which was attended by nearly 400 IMA members.  Those in attendance were mostly industry service providers, and it was good to have such a group gathered in one place to discuss current topics and trends.

Being an avid sports buff, I love the old Yogi-isms, such as, “You can observe a lot by watching.”  I saw and heard a lot about awards, rewards, platforms, trends, value chains, customer service, security, and more.

While all of this is important, I didn’t hear much about how successful incentive and recognition programs add meaningful and experiential value to the lives of program sponsors and participants.

What about:  Esteem – Joy – Pride?  To me, that’s the business we’re really in.

• We help employees feel good about themselves, their careers, and their accomplishments.
• We help provide moments that make people smile, sometimes even blush.
• We help recognize success – for bosses, peers, and families to share in.

In general, we help our clients build positive cultures, to which people want to belong and contribute.  We make employees evangelists, singing the praises of their companies and co-workers. And by doing these things, we help companies grow and prosper.

Not a bad calling, I’d say. Sometimes I must remind myself, as it’s easy to get caught up in the means, versus the end goal.

Perhaps I will need to discuss this with my fellow IMA members and board regarding next year’s conference.  To make a point to consider our value and mission.  But I also wanted to encourage you to take a moment and reflect on your life’s work. And I’m hoping a bit of that esteem, joy and pride will resonate within.   Because as Yogi also said, “Half the game is 90% mental.”