Today the Country Music Association announced the nominations and nominees for the 2007 CMA Music Awards—the 41^st Annual CMA Awards. The CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville on Nov 7, 2007, airing on the ABC Television Network from 8:00-11:00 pm ET/delayed PT). George Strait and Brad Paisley led the nominations with 5 nominations each. The CMA Awards show is huge business, watched by millions of American and international fans, generating millions of dollars of revenue & expenditures by the Country Music Association, the sponsors and advertisers, the TV networks, the featured artists, the venue… the list goes on.

I have a friend who gets irate every time the next award show comes on TV, whether it’s the CMA Awards, the Oscar Awards, the Emmy Awards, anything. He gets so mad because he believes every award show is an utter money-grubbing scam driven by greed and fame—simply a way for all the industry players to pat themselves on the backs and make a lot of money doing it.

I don’t agree with him. Sure, there’s an element of self-praise, ego-building, and money making, but awards shows do so much more than that—they create culture, they build and support a brand, they recognize success. In any corporation that is attempting to influence their own company culture, awards that are given for all to see are an integral part of effective employee recognition and motivation. Almost every successful business has some type of an awards banquet or reward system, whether on a weekly, monthly, or yearly schedule. Employee productivity and expertise must be rewarded and praised, and public recognition is one of the most effective ways to do it. It boosts employee morale and creates a more positive company culture—one that focuses on success and excellent performance rather than focus on failure and threats.

So I say bring on the awards, CMA! I’m not a fan of country music, but let George Strait, Brad Paisley, and Carrie Underwood win as much as they can and be honored for it. The CMA Awards show will further build the country music brand, generate a healthy flow of good old fashioned capitalist commerce, and bring happiness to many people. The more the merrier.