Yesterday, the 1st of December 2020, I won a prestigious Oscars award—for outstanding delivery.

This is not an award from my pastime which is writing books and I really love writing books, especially poetry books which by January 1, 2021, I would have authored a gargantuan seven poetry collections and a collection of inspirational essays and also a collection of short stories, which makes this more than a pastime. Nine books Just “WoW”.

I won an ‘Oscars’, but this is a workplace Oscars award, which means so much to me.

As an advocate of excellence as a workplace culture, I’m over the moon with this win.

It’s an acknowledgement that when you walk the talk, you just might earn a just reward in a fair system.

When humans get recognition for what humans do, then it’s a victory for us humans. With Artificial Intelligence, Robotics et al. coming to the fore. Where it is expedient that the human touch is essential, we need to show the robots why robots can’t trump our human collaborations, human actions like taking ownership and personal responsibility and of course the general feel of the human experience.

There are occasions I have had to interface with AI when reaching out to some organisations and to be honest, the experience left me frustrated. Humans can frustrate too, but trying to explain a situation to a machine can daunt, especially if they have been programmed to function in a particular way.

This is my second workplace award win, and now I’m able to give some candid advice in developing excellence as a workplace culture. My advice would be, always put your best foot forward. Accept personal responsibility, it’s okay to make mistakes, to be imperfect, but I will go with the biblical injunction in Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. (NLT)

As a creative writer who mentors hundreds of young people, imbibing excellence in my writing life means I have to replicate same in my work-roles otherwise it would be an aberration.

While I celebrate my award win, it remains business as usual for me. The goal is to continue to deliver excellence to clients, agencies, colleagues and everyone I come in contact with in my work roles. Delivering value and going the extra mile is a norm for me, and it should be the same for you.

There is life outside of my writing journey, which I’m living and embracing to the fullest.

I hope you have found a few helpful tips that would propel you to reach for greater heights in your career journey.