Surrounded by winners

When you work with talented people who are dedicated to their craft, it makes all the difference in the world. I am doubly reminded of that this month-both in awards Columbus CEO is honored to present and in honors the magazine recently received.

The awards we are bestowing are the 2014 HR Excellence Awards for Achievements in Human Resources. No matter what business you are in, individuals entrusted with caring for and supporting your workforce are critical to the ultimate success of your enterprise. And so it is with the eight winners and seven finalists being honored this year. In case after case, nominators and senior staff members talk about the difference the winners and finalists make in their workplaces, setting a tone and cultivating a culture designed to ensure the organization's success.

In stories beginning on page 22, the HR exemplars are described as caring, insightful, creative and supportive-qualities that often accompany success in any field. The nature of their work gives them the opportunity to have impact throughout their organizations. It is especially gratifying to recognize individuals and programs that work behind the scenes so effectively. Their names may not be familiar to you, but the reputations of their organizations probably are; and now you know better why that may be.

Similarly, the Most Improved Publication award Columbus CEO received this summer from the Alliance of Area Business Publishers is a tribute to the remarkable team working on this magazine. I can say that unabashedly because the award recognizes changes that were made from 2012 to 2013-before I arrived on the scene. It was a national competition open to business-focused newspapers and magazines from across the country, with 43 publications logging some 659 entries.

In the first year for Columbus CEO to enter this competition, it was very gratifying to come away with a win in a Best of Show category recognizing the redesign the magazine underwent in 2013. Here is some of what the judges had to say:

The redesign of Columbus CEO is a striking upgrade of content, visuals and design. The publication was steady and serviceable before, but the team has taken it to a new level with a clean, stylish typeface; commanding photo display; bold covers; and consistently effective headlines. Content has been markedly improved with an eye to contemporary reader needs.

Columbus CEO also won a bronze award in the Magazines category for Best Use of Photography/Illustrations. Judges were taken with "wonderful infographics that are presented understandably to give a sense of style to this entry." They liked what Art Director Yogesh Chaudhary did with a couple of Breakdown pages and commented, "photographic strength is found in the cohesive, nicely composed architectural interiors."

Chaudhary was also very involved in the 2013 redesign. The masthead on page 2 lists many of the others responsible for this recognition as well. I am grateful to all who carefully cultivated Columbus CEO into an award-winning publication. As with the HR awards, it is the people in our organization-as in yours-who make all the difference.

With stories of excellence on several fronts, it is hard not to be inspired to push ourselves to new achievements and recognition.

Here's your chance for recognition: Nominations are being accepted until August 22 for 2015 Top Workplaces. The process to nominate is easy and can be done at columbusceo.com/nominate. The top 50 workplaces, as determined by WorkplaceDynamics, will be honored next spring and featured in the May 2015 issue of Columbus CEO. Don't miss this opportunity to demonstrate what makes your employees say, "T.G.I. Monday!"