The Golden Banana
One of my all-time favorite business stories is the story of the Golden Banana. I remember first hearing about the story when I was in business school and it is probably the biggest lesson I still remember (sorry to all of my professors). The Golden Banana is a story about an executive from Hewlett-Packard who issued a contest to his staff challenging them to solve a certain problem and if they did, they would get a special prize. One day, one of his staff members comes into his office and says he won the contest and solved the problem….the only problem was the executive completely forgot about the contest so he didn’t have a “prize”. He looked around his desk frantically trying to find something he could use to recognize that employee. The best he could find was a banana he brought for his lunch. He reached out, grabbed the banana, and exclaimed “Congratulations! You won the Golden Banana Award!” it wasn’t much by any stretch of the communication, but the employee left beaming because of the sheer fact that his efforts were recognized by management. Since then the Golden Banana has gone on to be a coveted award for those who contribute to the company.
I love this story because I feel like it completely challenges the current status quo of how employees are treated/recognized for what they do for companies. Many businesses may feel it needs to be big, elaborate, and expensive but sometimes all an employee wants is to know they’re not just a number, but they’re an asset to the company they spend 40+ hrs a week at. There’s the usual “employee of the month” awards which are awesome for type A employees, but sometimes it’s good to get creative and find a way to recognize your employees in a way that stands out and fits within the culture of the company.
One thing that can generate amazing loyalty to a company is that when you do recognize an employee, you do so in a way that is personalized. Some people live for a little recognition, so the Golden Banana works great but then with others maybe they would enjoy a chance to have coffee with the boss. It’s key to know your employees and what makes them tick, that’s leadership 101. So next time you find out about an employee going above and beyond, try to find a way to creatively show they they are valued.
(Random side note, be careful googling “Golden Banana”, you may fine some rather interesting results ;) )
