Getting Oscar-Worthy Feedback
Posted by Laura Sheffield on Mon, Mar 08, 2010 @ 01:50 PM
The 82nd Academy Awards took over Hollywood along with most American living rooms last night. As the stars arrived in their glamour and glory, the first round of judging started almost immediately.
The web was abuzz with both the beautiful and the dreadful within seconds of each red carpet entrance. The gorgeous were applauded, but for those who blew it, the public had no mercy. We took a vote of our own and are pleased to announce our picks for worst-dressed. We laughed at both Charlize Theron's awkward flowers and Zoe Saldana's purple poof.
That's the first round of judging, but the second round of judging is what really matters.
Unlike the instant judging of the red carpet glamour, the members of the Academy spent most of January considering their votes for each of the evening's honors. Who is the academy? According to their website: "The Academy is an honorary membership organization whose ranks include more than 6,000 artists and professionals." In short, they are the respected and admired peers of the nominated, peers who are involved in the day-to-day business of movies. That matters.
Contrast the Academy Awards with the Golden Globe Awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association selects those winners. The foreign press who are not peers of the nominated, nor are they involved in the day-to-day business of movies.
Which feedback is more valuable? The answer is easy. Which feedback is more valuable to you? The feedback given by your respected peers or the "foreign press"?
Feedback matters most when it comes from those involved in the day-to-day goings-on of your organization, company, or industry. Feedback matters most when it comes from peers that you admire, peers whose opinions you value and respect.
With 360-degree feedback, people tend to disregard feedback unless those giving the feedback are respected colleagues and coworkers. Those are the opinions that hold the most weight-- their compliments are the most valued and their criticisms are the most impactful.
The world has naturally acknowledged the Academy Awards as the more important motion picture awards. An Oscar statue is hugely valuable to an actor, because an Academy Award is awarded by people who matter.
(Interestingly, to prevent the valuable statues from being auctioned on the open market, the Academy requires that they cannot be sold unless first offered to the Academy for repurchase at the price of US $1. Winners must sign this agreement before leaving with the award.)
As another aside, we wonder whether Charlize Theron and Zoe Saldana forgot to get feedback before crashing on the red carpet. But, we like to believe that Sandra Bullock and Rachel McAdams did. They are our picks for best-dressed, in case you wondered.