Andy Murray achieved something remarkable when he became the world’s No1 tennis player. It was global news and here, in Scotland, we celebrated what must surely rank as a career highlight – perhaps even his greatest sporting achievement.
And we took time to enjoy the moment – time to celebrate and to congratulate Andy who is regarded by many as our greatest ever sportsman.
But, why does his achievement matter so much?
Awards and achievements matter because they recognise skills, determination, talent, tenacity and hard work. They highlight excellence and, most importantly, they provide an opportunity to focus on the traits and characteristics that we want to see more of for ourselves, our businesses and our communities.
Andy Murray’s story is all the more remarkable because no one from Britain has previously achieved this. We can all think of similar, notable examples where someone does something for the first time; they not only break their own barrier, they knock down the barrier for everyone else. In 1952, Roger Bannister completed the first sub-four minute mile at the Olympics in Helsinki. Since then the record has been broken by multiple athletes and the record has reduced by almost 17 seconds. Breaking a barrier shows others what is possible. It allows others to think bigger and encourages them to be ambitious.
As humans we are programmed to gain knowledge through our subconscious – transferring knowledge through our communication with each other. While life can become more isolating as we learn an ever-increasing amount from books and online, it’s deeply-embedded in us to be on the lookout for new information. Awards provide a platform for us to access new ways of doing things, to learn from each other and to show what’s possible when people come together – the results can be amazing.
It’s one thing reading about someone and thinking, “wow that’s impressive” – but it has an even greater impact when you see someone in person and you see the human aspect of them – including their flaws.
Earlier this month, I was on the judging panel for the Entrepreneurial Scotland Entrepreneur of the Year awards. And it was truly an honour to meet such inspiring individuals and to see, at first hand, their humility and humanity. Every one of our finalists this year is outstanding.
Being in the presence of those who are achieving amazing things and to be in a position to recognise excellence normalises it. That’s a great thing. By celebrating them we remove the superhero image that we often construct through what we read about them. It recognises them as a person – someone who has been prepared to put in a lot of hard work and determination. And it equalises us. If we see others doing something we more easily recognise the human element in them and we realise that we also have the potential to do it.
Richie McCaw, captain of the All Blacks and, possibly, one of best rugby players of all time, famously swept out the team changing room after every training session and every game. It symbolised that no job was too big for anyone, it showed his peer group that they were in it together
and no one was more equal than others.
The Entrepreneurial Scotland awards, now in their 20th year, focus on this. For us this is what counts – sharing the moment with each other and, through the stories of our finalist and winners, we are able to inspire others. We have a genuine purpose and a robust awards process.
Nothing is more satisfying than when we meet up with finalists and winners from previous years and are able to hear how their organisations and enterprises have grown. This is just one way that we are doing our bit to make Scotland the most entrepreneurial society in the world.
Sandy Kennedy is chief executive of Entrepreneurial Scotland’s awards, in association with Deloitte and The Herald, which take place tomorrow.
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