From abcnews.com’s How to Cope With Annoying Co-Workers:

When someone makes a mess of the microwave, don’t say, “You’re such a pig.” Instead, try saying, “To keep the microwave clean for everyone, all of us must pay attention to wiping it down after each use. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case, so I’d appreciate it if you’d try to be more diligent about this.”

Honestly, who talks like that? I would tell them they trashed the microwave and the paper towels are over there. The premise of the article is still entertaining. Here is an annoying example from early in the article:

At one company I visited, WallSt.net, the employee gripe was aimed at CEO Albert Aimers. His offense: Parking his Mercedes in two spaces unlike the 400 other cars in the lot.

Wow, talk about a tin ear. You would think a modern-day CEO would be more in-tune than that example.

I once worked for a sales manager who would smack his chewing gum and speak in short sentences like Burt Reynolds in Smokey and the Bandit. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but you had to experience it. I’m getting irritated just writing about it so I better end it here.

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Selling Power offers up Forget Market Share; Go for the Profits in their sales management newsletter and it is a compelling read.

The problem with going after market share as a primary goal is that companies wind up sacrificing profitability in the process. When your whole marketing strategy is about preserving or increasing market share, it€™s easy to get wrapped up in aggressive bidding wars. And it€™s a downward spiral: customers learn to take advantage of that aggressiveness, demanding lower prices, which further erodes profits.

It is a slippery slope because in essence a discount in price immediately discounts your value distinction.  Businesses that not only articulate their value differentiation but also successfully defend it are the ones that grow…exponentially.

Here is a comment to make sales manager’s gag:

In other words €“ and here€™s the tough part for many managers to swallow €“ when a competitor threatens your position by offering lower prices for a similar product, your first move should not automatically be to jump in to undercut him. In many cases, it is far wiser simply to walk away.

Salespeople are tempted by the discount to close the deal (I can personally attest to it).  But in the long run, discounts lead to dilution of your value.  I have always been one to fancy market share through extraordinary offerings as opposed to greatly discounted products or services.

Read the story about Reuters in the article for a real-world example of this principle in action.

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Gen Y or Millennial candidates take a different approach to their job search.  If you weren’t sure of this or have yet to experience it, I give you the Pioneer Press’ The choosy generation:

They want to work for companies that offer nice salaries and clear career paths for advancement. But many are pushing for more. Work isn’t their life, they’re saying before they even begin working, and they’re searching for employers who offer flexible work schedules that allow them to maintain their personal pursuits. “Me time” is vital. So is volunteering in the community €” on company time.

We can attest to this trend as we have seen it first-hand.  This generation does take a bit of an entitlement mentality to their job search as the article explains.  However, this generation does offer some amazing talent that was simply not available in our generations.  Their wired ability leaps to mind.  This generation is the first to grow up with computers and the Internet and it shows in their abilities.  Yet, to land many of the talented ones, companies do need to take a new approach.  For instance:

“That comes in the form of significant vacation entitlements, in the form of imaginative alternative work programs which allow people to take leaves of absence, to work part-time, to job-share,” said Kernan.

The firm that is willing to consider these things will be ahead of the companies that require their employees to work a lock-step eight-hour workday, he said. “We are constantly looking at and tweaking all of our work-life related programs.”

That quote is from the 56 year-old managing partner of the Twin Cities’ branch of Pricewaterhouse Coopers.  Oh how times have changed.  One last point from the excellent article is the younger generation’s expectation to work with the management team.  Gen Y sees the company hierarchy in a relatively horizontal manner and expect the culture to reflect that view.

Today more than ever before, Slavitt is likely to field questions from job candidates about their potential level of exposure to company executives. “At a company with 5,500 people they would not be at all surprised to meet with me and others on the executive team and get that level of exposure,” Slavitt said.

Read the whole article.

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