In the heyday of Pro-Log Corporation, about 5 years after its founding, I picked up a lapel pin at a trade show which displayed a picture of a bulldog and a caption “We need more bulldogs and less bullshit.” My first instinct was to wear it at our monthly all-hands meeting. Then I decided, more or less on impulse, to award the pin to an employee who had done something outstanding in the previous month, label that person “bulldog of the month” and have that employee identify and award it to the next recipient. During the intervening month, the “bulldog of the month” was encouraged to take time to look around the entire company and then describe what had merited the award. Who or why they selected a particular person was at their sole discretion. Humor, cheering and applause were encouraged.
My part in making the first award was easy because the man in charge of our accounts receivable, a person who over the years couldn’t have done a better job managing cash flow had the money been his own, had successfully put the Federal Government on COD, and collected! One of our customers was China Lake, whose payments had stretched out beyond 90 days. Then they ordered some electronics that were critical to one of their experiments and he put them on COD, faced down a flurry of resistance and collected. I had a great deal of fun, and personal pleasure telling the whole company of his accomplishment and naming him the first “Bulldog of the Month.” When I spelled out his, and future recipient’s responsibilities to present the award each month, I clearly stated that I would have nothing to do with the selection process thereafter.
This award went from person to person, department to department for about 2 years. Bulldogs took their responsibilities seriously; some even cited runners-up in their presentations, soliciting cheers and recognition for more than one other person. I found it to be the highlight of our monthly meetings; eagerly awaited and loudly cheered. Then it happened! Someone in the personnel department had received the award and chose to pass it on to one of the company’s executives, her boss. I realized that the award had run its course and quietly terminated the program. (There had been other signs in previous months.) I don’t recall that anyone complained about its demise; although many fondly remembered its highlights and the camaraderie for the next decade.
