How to Enter
It is free to enter the Lean Business Ireland Awards.
When completing your on-line entry at https://lbiawards.com/categories/, please follow these rules:
- All activities cited in support of your entries must have been ongoing within the past 14 months from the closing date of these awards.
- Please ensure your submission fits onto no more than 5 A4 pages in portrait PDF format including supporting materials such as pictures, graphs, tables etc.
- Please answer each of the key criteria points allocated to the category that you are entering. This is what the judges base their scores on. Back up your key points with other information such as tables, graphics, figures, pictures etc.
- You may enter up to 3 categories that are relevant, however each entry must be tailored to meet the category criteria.
- The entering party does not have to be resident in the ROI but the projects that support their entry must have taken place in Ireland
- Your organisation can enter up to 3 Award categories per year.
You will need the following to complete your entry:
Your 5 A4 page PDF entry document.
- A 100 word summary of your entry. This may be used in full in our Awards booklet or in our script. It must be relevant to the category you are entering: so, if you are entering a project, the summary must be about the project; if you are entering a person, it must be about that person
- 2 high resolution landscape photos (300 dpi) relevant to your entry and the category you are entering: so, if you are entering a project, the photos must be about the project; if you are entering a person/Team, it must be of that person/Team. These will be used as part of the AV presentation on the night, so choose photos that you are proud to display.
- A jpeg version of your organisation’s logo
- The name of the person who will accept the trophy on your behalf in the event you should win. This may be used in post Awards media coverage.
Please note: All of the above items will be required in order to submit your entry, and you will not be able to modify your entry once uploaded.
We wish all our entrants the best of luck and we look forward to receiving your entries
Top 10 Tips for Entering:
- Read the criteria and make sure you answer each point. The judges use the criteria points as a basis for their scores, so make sure you touch on each criteria point. You can use additional facts, figures and information to back up or add to these points. By following the criteria you stand a better chance of scoring highly and make the judge’s job easier!
- Enter the right categories. Some companies seem to enter certain categories, and then ignore the one that they would stand a much better chance of winning. To start, look through the categories carefully and choose the most relevant to you. This will give you a better chance of winning. You may enter up to 3 categories.
- Facts are very powerful; and waffle or generalities cut very little ice with the judges. There are lots of ways of presenting data, and one may look a lot stronger than the others. For example, your sales figures may not be great, but your new enquiry levels could be through the roof, focus on these. We’re not advocating you twist the truth; but we do feel it’s within the rules for you to make the strongest possible case for your company.
- Don’t write more than you’ve been asked to supply. There is a limit on the number of pages you can submit (5 A4 Pages). Don’t go above this as the judges won’t read reams of supporting information. In the same way don’t do ultra-minimal entries and simply rely on your profile to get yourself noticed.
- Check everything carefully. Many entries include fundamental errors – mainly spelling or grammatical errors.
- Put yourself in the judges’ shoes. Think about what would really impress them? What makes you special and distinctive? Our judges are all senior people and you need to think about your entry from their perspective. In many cases we see entries prepared by junior members of the team who can miss key selling points. The best entries have input from someone at Board level.
- Phone a friend. The events team working on the awards are happy to talk through draft entries and are always willing to give guidance. So if you want to try something a bit different, and would like our thoughts on that before you submit your entry give us a call – we’ll do our best to give you a sensible steer.
- Good presentation pays dividends. You are not judged on how pretty your entry looks, but busy judges are inevitably attracted to easy-to-read, neatly laid out entries. Some of the better submissions include simple, summary bullet points. The best presented entries often incorporate a range of small photographs, clever charts or graphs and other visual material that make it very easy to absorb and digest.
- Boast - don’t be modest! Your positive opening words are crucial - so begin with the end! This is the hook which will encourage those judging to delve deeper. Don’t ramble; get to the point, every word should count. Be proud of what you have done, this is one time when it is absolutely right to boast. Testimonials are very powerful too as is evidence of the impact of what has been achieved on business results.
- Enjoy - don’t forget to enjoy the process!