Nadira Hira writes The Gig (great blog by the way) for Fortune. Great blog post on Gen Y forces the green issue today. Hira points out that companies are using the green movement as a great attraction point for hiring Gen Y.

I have been talking with my daughters about this very question. Ann, my daughter who is a sophomore at Duke has chosen public policy as a major and is considering environmental law, because she really believes that she and her Gen Y colleagues are going to have no other choice but to make some very bold moves in the direction of taking care of the environment. So…the post is good food for thought.

Harvard Business Review has some really great conversation starters.

Crisis Communications and American Airlines Posted by Kathy Bloomgarden on April 17 is a wonderful read on communicating during a crisis.  She focuses on the recent challenge with American Airlines and offers some very sound suggestions that we can all learn from.

Some fresh faces…Gen Y’s who are making a significant mark on the biz world…Just expect more of this to come!

Congratulations!

Faces of the Future 

Interesting blog post by Tammy Erickson, discussion leader for Harvard Business Review.

Recruiting Today: What Are You Promising Top Job Candidates 

There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about CW’s president of entertainment, Dawn Ostroff, shutting down the streaming videos of Gossip Girl. The show was being watched online by hundreds of thousands of Gen Y’s. I am a Boomer, and I watch the show the way boomers watch…on television. But…Gen Y is changing this. They love downloading shows online and watching them at their leisure and several hundred thousand young viewers have been downloading GG over the last few months.

This is just one example of a move that might not have been so wise for this unique viewing demographic. Gen Y is going to watch online (my Gen Y kids watch Grey’s Anatomy and American Idol online following the show…their schedules usually don’t allow them the flexibility to stop what they’re doing to tune in each week). And…it looks like the television viewing ratings are only up by about 1% since Ostroff made the decision to pull the show off the web.

See what WIRED has to say about all.

This blog post Gen Y Workplace Demands Can Help You Retain Boomers On The Verge of Retirement on CollegeRecruiter.com offers a concise but fresh perspective on Gen Y’s demands in the workplace…that their desire for flexibility, teamwork and fun are some of the same values that can keep boomers in the door.

As I am going around the county, I am answering the same question about “Why do we need to change…this sounds like pandering to Gen Y?” I just disagree with this question…which comes across as a negative comment.

Each time we usher a new generation into the workforce, the way work is done and the values at play are going to change. Each generation has a different world view, which shapes their values. So, we can either change to adapt to the largest workforce (Gen Y), or they will change it for us over the next few years.

I also believe that Gen Y is getting a few things right here. As humans, we need more flex time. People are burned out from working 60 hours a week. We need a rewards and recognition program…humans are craving acknowledgement, and they just don’t seem to get enough pats on the back. We need better team communication…it will save us so much time, money and energy. We need more fun and laughter…fun reduces stress, and we are all way too uptight as it is (just look around at all of the analysis paralysis and need for perfection…it is just ridiculous!)

So…rather than look at Gen Y’s requests as pandering, let’s look at the bigger picture…how can our lives and work be more satisfying by shifting to meet the needs of Gen Y? I think that we would all be much happier if we stopped whining and started implementing a few of their ideas. They are our future! It’s time to start working with Gen Y and stop resisting their efforts.