I had the honor of interviewing Menahcem Wecker last night. Menachem is the Assistant Director of Public Affairs for Publications and Media of International Affairs, The George Washington University. Listen in to this discussion on the topic of the convergence of religion and art. So fascinating! To learn more about Menachem and his work, visit his blog: http://iconia.canonist.com/

Great post from February by Tammy Erickson on Harvard Business Review 

Here is my comment in response:

Wonderful post Tammy.

I have interviewed over 100 Generation Y business leaders and entrepreneurs over the last 18 months, and I am a mother of three Generation Y young adults.  I have found each Gen Y I have spoken with to be giving, civic minded and quite caring for their peers and our world.  They are craving mentoring and guidance from adults, and many are hiring older, wiser mentors to meet that need.

As a parent, I am the first to admit that I raised my children on a healthy dose of self esteem and praise, as many Gen Yers have.  My question is “Isn’t this what we all want?”  Simply because Gen Y has been vocal about what they need and want in career and life doesn’t make them narcissistic.  In my opinion, it makes them quite smart.

I believe that we need Gen Y’s self esteem, creativity and technological savvy to guide us into the future.  And, I believe that Gen Y’s confidence may be just what we need to navigate the rocky roads we are traveling right now in our world.

Interesting post by Jimmy Biblarz on Gen Y.

I agree that way too often each generation is labeled with names that don’t do any of us a bit of good.  To me, Generation Y is the savviest, most knowledgeable civic-minded generation in our world right now.  Let’s drop the labels and start embracing this generation!

If you want to be inspired by 100 Generation Y leaders, check out 100 Young Americans by Michael Franzini.  It is a beautiful book which represents the diversity in our teenage population America.  The website offers videos and images and the book is available through Amazon.com.

Millennial Leaders 

“Forget stories about tension and misunderstandings. Y’s and Boomers are finding that they enjoy spending time together—and learning from each other.”

Read the full article here on Business Week. 

I had the pleasure to interview Greg Varnum tonight on Y Talk Radio. Greg is 25 years old and is the Acting Executive Director for the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. NYAC is the national LGBT organization working with both youth and organizations to maximize the talents that young people have and to help them develop their talents for the future.

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Jacci Schiff is an amazing Gen Y leader.  She hit the streets two weeks ago in Washington D.C. for Y Talk Radio to ask a few Gen Y’s about their views on the state of the economy.  Really insightful interview. Download the interview here.

Jacci is a pro with interview style podcasts and pulled this great snippet together in less than a week.  So, check out what she is up to.  And…if you are interested in having a professionally done audio interview like this one, contact Jacci through the Schiff Report.

The podcast below includes the above linked interview and a few other thoughts from Jacci about Gen Y and the state of the economy from a recent interview on Y Talk.  Thanks Jacci for all you are doing!

Millennials are telling their employers they want to give back…they don’t want to leave their values at home.

So…companies are doing it right.  They are giving Gen Y the opportunity to get paid to volunteer…and the company gets in on the good stuff as well.

Check out the article on WSJ: The Latest Office Perk:  Getting Paid to Volunteer 

Millennial Leaders 

An article appeared on the AP yesterday about Yoani Sanchez who is the author for the Blog Generacion Y in Cuba.  The site, which grabs 1 million visitors daily, offers visitors uncensored views about the Cuban government.  Yoani is actually a Gen X (she was born in 1975), and the blog is named Generacion Y after people whose names begin in Y, but this story is an interesting one and worth checking out.  Sanchez does offer insights into teen life in Cuba as well as some great rants.  The English translation version is here. 

I have to admit that I am impressed with a few of the clever ads McDonald’s has been using recently to get with the times. To me, these ads seem to be targeting Millennials.

They have a new billboard that invites you to “sort your head out” using a puzzle that challenges you to sort out the model’s head and invites you to purchase their large coffee. As we know, Gen Y loves a challenging experience.

The other two focus on the 24/7 drive-through feature (big for Gen Y) and a clever ad enticing you in the door by letting you know Wi-Fi is now available.

And, finally, they are now offering a singing contest for the restaurant crew and managers.

Now…if we can just get them to cut back on the grease.

Check all out on trendhunter.com.