As a Gen Xer, this article caught my attention on the Selling Power website.  Some of the points from the article:

Do remember this group has an entrepreneurial spirit. “They are individualists,” says Fishman. “Treat them as independent agents. They like to be in charge of things. If you have 100 people at your sales meeting, you have 100 entrepreneurs there.”

Don’t hire motivational speakers. “This is not a group that needs to be motivated,” says Fishman. “They don’t like spin, hype, or touchy-feely. They want something that they can take back to the office that will help them sell. Sharpen their skills; that’s what they’re there for. Give them tactical information.”

We are not an easy generation to manage - I speak from my own experience.  I am not manageable, just ask Lee.  The entrepreneurial mindset is fairly prevalent amongst many of my Gen X friends so I think there is something to that statement.

We are a bit of a cynical group and spin does not play well with us.  However, I’m wondering if there is a generation where spin is enjoyed?  Motivational speakers are disdainful so I am with the author on that topic too.

Sweeping generalizations are always a bit risky when trying to categorize such a large sample (i.e. an entire generation).  However, I think these types of articles do help open up cross-generation discussions so there is value to them.  The greater importance is to understand selling/communication styles and to identify your own preferences.  This knowledge does more to open up communication than any other item we have found.

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I haven’t heard that description used for Gen Y until I read this BusinessWeek.com article - Netting the Net Generation.  The article is a good read for managers who have Gen Y employees.  Some of the information is fairly common, but I thought this point was well stated:

However, don’t assume this technologically sophisticated generation is made up of solitary video game players. Generation Y is highly relationship-oriented and uses a wide range of media and technology to connect with others. They expect to experience this in the workplace as well. Give them opportunities to engage and share ideas and to work on new things. Traditional behaviors that define power as possession of knowledge to be doled out sparingly are anathema, and failing to encourage openness and the sharing of information will turn this generation off.

We often assume technology equals isolation, but that is not necessarily true today.  In fact, it is probably the polar opposite.  This younger generation uses technology in ways that are new to those of us in the older generations.  That is a subtle, but important point when managing Gen Y.

Their willingness to change jobs is a trend we see every day in our sourcing activities.  Their approach to work has placed a new pressure on managers when it comes to retention.  This pressure will only increase as Gen Y expands in the workforce.

The managers who figure out how to manage them will be in the highest demand.  One place to start is here:

Their loyalty is strengthened by timely, open, and honest course correction that occurs on a continuing basis, not just once a year. This may require some updating of the counseling and performance management skills of your line management, and perhaps the performance management processes themselves. Young people have less patience, and job-hopping is prevalent; help prevent it by giving them the chance to soar inside your own organization.

That is sound advice for managing any generation, but it is paramount for increasing retention among your Gen Y employees.

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BusinessWeek.com offers up a scathing discussion of Gen Y in Getting to Know Gen Why.  I’m no expert on Gen Y, but this article takes them out to the woodshed (had to throw in an old school saying).

What you hear is: “They don’t want to pay their dues, play by the rules, or give their best to any project unless they are sure it will get them a promotion, a raise, or some kind of recognition. And then if they aren’t totally happy, or if you look at them wrong, they’ll bolt for the next job!”

And this:

Today’s students memorize names, dates, and algebraic equations, but they graduate having no concept of the importance of showing up for work on time, dressing professionally, following instructions, bringing their best to work every day, etc.

To be fair, I truly agree with this one:

Many parents have coddled their kids, made excuses for their poor behavior and performance and focused far too much on their self-esteem. Today, every kid on a sports team gets a trophy for being on the team. They haven’t been taught how important real work is to success.

My son played soccer last year and the adults didn’t keep score (the kids did so in their heads).  No matter how lopsided the score, the adults would say it ended up tied.  I find this approach moronic.  This approach forfeits many life lessons that are much tougher to learn at an older age.  I would rather my kids learn some of these lessons during an insignificant soccer game instead of a later time - like their first job out of college.

Lastly, a good piece of advice concerning this young generation:

These kids are street smart and know they need lots of skills to impress their next employer and get to the next level, but they’re used to information being presented to them with high-speed graphics and an adrenaline rush. As you might imagine, training as it now stands must be completely reinvented.

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If you are truly looking for frustration inspiration today, check out this article from Forbes.com - How To Make A Million Before You Turn 20.  Yup, the article profiles of 5 different teenage millionaires.

I thought the second person was amazing:

Cameron Johnson truly took that perspective to heart, parlaying one hit into the next. Back in 1994, when he was just 9, Johnson launched his first business out of his home in Virginia, making invitations for his parents’ holiday party. By the seasoned age of 11, Johnson had saved up several thousand dollars selling greeting cards. He called his company Cheers and Tears.

But the little guy didn’t stop there. At age 12, Johnson offered his younger sister $100 for her collection of 30 Ty Beanie Babies, all the rage at that time. The young entrepreneur quickly earned 10 times that amount by selling the dolls on eBay. Smelling potential, he contacted Ty and began purchasing the dolls at wholesale with the aim of selling them on eBay and on his Cheers and Tears Web site.

He bought his little sister’s collection of Beanie Babies.  Now that is an entrepreneur!  There is far more to his story if you read the article, but this may sum it up best:

“I was 15 years old and receiving checks between $300,000 and $400,000 per month,” says Johnson. At 19, he sold the company name and software (but not the customer database) to an undisclosed buyer. Says Johnson, “Before my high school graduation, my combined assets were worth more than $1 million.”

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The principle of owning vs. renting is powerful especially when it comes to an employee’s job.  Ownership of a job is a fickle thing.  Yet, I have worked for managers who assigned responsibility and provided enough autonomy to allow me to excel in my role.  The younger generations seem to relish this approach even more than my Gen X group.

ManageSmarter.com offers up an article with a clear title - Padlocking the Revolving Door on Turnover.  There are 4 good points to support the article’s title, but one stands out clearly:

• Foster a sense of ownership within employees. The old encouragement to “act like you own it” is good advice. The challenge is making the adage practical. It is difficult to build a sense of ownership when the plans, activities, and details are dictated to you. Managers need to find ways to actively engage employees in contributing ideas to plans, activities and outcomes. The more employees share in the rewards of success and are supported in turning failures into learning and growth opportunities, the more they can build a sense of ownership for their projects and become fully engaged in providing successful outcomes consistently.

Don’t underestimate the importance of this approach.  Few employees, though there are some, want to work under dictatorial management.  The key point I see in this ownership approach is that it provides a path to growth for the employee.  Gen Y craves this career track as have the generations that preceded them.  The difference is that many Gen Y employees will simply leave the company to gain more skills at a different employer.

This fact leads back to the premise that people tend to remain in place when they own while they have a tendency to move around more when they rent.  Keep that in mind as you develop your team in hopes of greater retention.

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I haven’t heard that moniker until now - “Google Generation.”  These are kids born after 1993 so they are a handful of year away from hitting the workplace.  Yet, there is some interesting research out there that debunks some conventional wisdom and reinforces others.

First the debunking (emphasis mine):

It’s true that young people prefer interactive systems to passive ones and that they are generally competent with technology, but it’s not true that students today are “expert searchers.” In fact, the report calls this “a dangerous myth.” Knowing how to use Facebook doesn’t make one an Internet search god, and the report concludes that a literature review shows no movement (either good or bad) in young people’s information skills over the last several decades. Choosing good search terms is a special problem for younger users.

Michael Benidt call your office.

Now the accurate conventional wisdom:

• They like to cut-and-paste. “There is a lot of anecdotal evidence and plagiarism is a serious issue.”
• They prefer visual information over text. “But text is still important… For library interfaces, there is evidence that multimedia can quickly lose its appeal, providing short-term novelty.”
• They multitask all the time. “It is likely that being exposed to online media early in life may help to develop good parallel processing skills.”

I think “multitasking” is one of the fuzziest words in current business lexicon.  I suspect there are some people who can juggle many tasks for a short period with average to slightly above average success.  However, the expansion of this ability to be something more than it is leads to the multitasking myth.

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And you thought Gen Y was the gadget-driven, totally connect generation.  I was utterly shocked by this Online Media Daily story:

The Nielsen Co. released the findings of an in-depth study on the mobile media and cross-media behavior of U.S. “tweens” (ages 8-12). The report estimates that: 35% of tweens own a mobile phone, 20% of tweens have used text messaging, and 21% of tweens have used ring & answer tones.

While text-messaging and ringtones remain the most pervasive non-voice functions on the phone, other content such as downloaded wallpapers, music, games and Internet access also rank high among tweens. According to Nielsen, 5% of tweens access the Internet over their phone each month. While 41% of tween mobile Internet users say they do so while commuting or traveling (to school, for example), mobile content such as the Internet is also a social medium for this audience: 26% of tween mobile Internet users say they access the Web while at a friend’s house, and 17% say they do so at social events.

As the father of a “tween” I am surprised that this many kids (my old school name for them) have a cell phone yet alone access to the Internet.  And they are texting already?  I can’t help but think this upcoming generation, combined with future technological advancements, will someday make Gen Y look like stodgy old dinosaurs.

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From Recruiting.com:

7 Tips for Recruiting Gen-Y

1. Offer generous referral bonuses.
2. Consider different geographies.
3. Keep ‘em moving.
4. Tlk 2 them.
5. Get flexible.
6. Community service.
7. Think beyond the short term.

Shelley Solheim, CMP Channel

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I was reading through the latest Herman Trend Report this morning about the new souped up cubicles that are being developed by IBM and Steelcase.  Yes, it sounds similar to customizing a Yugo, but there actually are some interesting ideas geared towards Millennial workers.

For instance:

Two new technologies facilitate people working in collaboration: “MyTeam” uses sensor data to connect team members and to broadcast availability awareness. One touch opens the preferred communication channel, whether it is e-mail, phone, or instant message. Their Everywhere Displays projector transforms any surface into a touch-screen.

Rather than gathering around a monitor, participants working together may project their work onto tables or walls. Users may interact with the system through simple gestures, detected through vision technology.

The thought of any surface becoming a touch-screen is amazing.  Anyway, I enjoyed this paragraph the most:

Further adding to the experience, the BlueSpace occupant will have unprecedented control over his/her physical environment. The BlueScreen information panel provides touch-screen control of the lighting and temperature in the workspace. In addition, the space can sense and automatically adjust the environment to meet the physical preferences linked to identification badge.

I have worked in numerous offices where wars have broken out over the thermostat.  One company, in particular, had to install those goofy looking, lockable plastic covers over the thermostat and tell everyone that the maintenance manager was in charge of the setting.  Having a cube that adjusts the temp for the individual seems like an excellent idea.

On a marketing note, many of us are old enough to remember the phrase “blue screen of death” from the earlier versions of Windows.  Honestly, it wasn’t that long ago.  I’m chuckling at the “BlueScreen” information panel.  My Pavlovian reaction to a blue screen is to launch expletives and start banging the keyboard.  Apparently Gen Y hasn’t experienced such training.

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The latest Q4 hiring survey is out, this time from CareerBuilder and USAToday. From the press release with my emphasis:

The survey, titled “Q4 2007 Job Forecast,” was conducted from August 10 through September 4, 2007 of more than 2,700 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies. “Given the housing slump and tight credit market, caution is to be expected when it comes to hiring in the fourth quarter,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.com. “While employers are keeping a watchful eye on economic indicators, they are still planning to expand staffs at a steady pace and are actively competing for qualified labor. Forty-four percent of employers said they currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates.” One-in-four employers (27 percent) report they will add new employees in the fourth quarter. Six percent expect a decrease in staff levels while 62 percent anticipate no change and five percent are unsure.

Don’t you love how every piece of economic news is accompanied by the “housing slump and tight credit market” precursor? We moved 2.5 years ago because we knew the torrid housing market was starting to slow down. 2.5 years ago. These reports characterize the housing slump as if it is breaking news when in actuality it is more like reporting on a glacier’s movement.

I will refrain from launching on the stereotypical economic reporting of the mainstream media and instead focus on the fact that 44% of the surveyed employers have open positions and no qualified candidates. Almost half of the 2,700 companies cannot fill openings today - is it any wonder only 1 in 4 are going to expand hiring this quarter. They can’t fill their open positions today.

This aspect of the story is the story.

The ramifications of this immediate need provides a real threat to the economy. A shrinking labor pool (i.e. Baby Boomer retirement) combined with an expanding economy will put constraints on business growth. I would like to read a story based on that angle and the possible solutions for it.

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