142: Elegantly Accepting Your Kudos

<p>You want to promote your business or organisation, so that you can be more successful.  A genius idea pops up amongst the brain trust over a few drinks after work – why don’t we enter the Business Awards?  Someone has to win don’t they, so the odds are fair. Anyway, there is no downside is there?  True but there can be, if you don’t fully think this through.  I don’t mean the requirement for polishing the application or assembling the data in support of the claims being made.  I am talking about seizing defeat from the jaws of victory on the winner’s dais.</p> <p>When you win, you are invited up on to stage.  The cameras are rolling, the lights are flooding the arena and the music is pumping.  You are pumping too, baby.  It quickly occurs to you that hammering the booze on the table to instill some bonhomie amongst the troops was a good idea at the time, but now you need to pull yourself together.  You fight your way to the stage, negotiating your way through the labyrinth of socially distanced round tables.</p> <p>Before you know it, you and the team have assembled on stage to receive the ovation from the crowd.  In a moment, the MC announces you are about to be handed the cool looking trophy from the key VIP guest of the evening.  The crowd now goes quiet as you draw up to the stand microphone of the stage grasping the prize in your hand.  A thousand eyes are fixed on you, awaiting your acceptance speech.  You fluff it.</p> <p>A ragged series of ums and ahs are punctuated by disoriented rambling highlighting no cohesion of thoughts, concepts or ideas.  You are now sweating bullets.  Multiple beads of perspiration start to run down your face, your pulse is surging, you realize this is a disaster and mentally start looking for the exit. </p> <p>Thanks to you, all the tuxedoed dandies present have enjoyed their modern day Colosseum bread and circuses moment. Once the victim has been disposed of by public humiliation, everyone just returns to their table chatter.  You are not forgotten though.  You are now outed