I am sick of hearing that Gen Y is too demanding. Yes, they expect to be paid well. Yes they expect good benefits!. But is this really unreasonable. Hey buddy, the world has changed. Just take a look at Free Agents in Sports. Not all of them are Gen Y. Times have changed. According to a survey by CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive, 80+% of Gen Y feel a sense of entitlement.

My advice. Forget asking the question of whether or not they are worth it. Just make the call and decide whether you want to keep up to date with the latest technological and internet trends. Unless it is in your blood, it is too difficult to try and catch up.
And you see us older folks trying to catch up all the time — just walk around your office and watch how people type on the keyboard. If they use that chop-sticks style — using just their index finger on both hands – you know they trying to keep up with the Jones Yers!

So join the 15% of companies who have modified their hiring and compensation policies. 15% — that is pathetic! That is almost as bad as not giving a woman maternity leave.

So stop the old music and get iTuned in!

 WorkForce.com recently had a good article that focused on recruiting Gen Yers and instead of describing training programs and mentor programs, it discussed the importance of having a good damn website. One that is ‘fast and engaging.’.. one with which they will not get bored. So it is important to add a bit of interactivity, such as YouTube Videos. In fact, “sstreaming videos are good not only for acquainting a candidate with what it is like to work within a company but also for showing diversity within the organization.”

Tonight I had dinner with a representative of a company that planned to hire professionals to create their recruiting videos. That is absolutely ridiculous and their perspective Gen Yers will call them on it. Hell, I would call them on it. Why not let your employees create their own and then help them put them on the website to help recruit.

 Ironically, us folks in the USA are a little behind in using interactive technologies to recruit Gen Y. Asia and Europe are a head of us. They use text messaging more than we do. Sometimes I wonder if our Fortune 500 companies are afraid of change. Why have so many of them been afraid to take the plunge and use Facebook or Myspace for recruiting? Or why haven’t they had their employees who are Gen Yers involved in recruiting and providing feedback on the company’s image and marketing. Why not have them help determine if the company website appears to Gen Y.

I grew up saying ‘I want my MAPPO’ (Oatmeal) and then started saying ‘Want my MTV!’.  Today, Gen Y is saying ‘I want my M-Commerce.’ Yes, these guys and gals are shopping off their cell phones. Sometimes even hitting their cell phone key pad behind their back. They do a search and find on their phones… and it is interesting to note that the iPhone now is responsible for over 1% of overall web traffic. One thing that is a bit different is that they leverage social networks while they surf and shop off their phone. Ironically, there are many companies – retailers, etailers, etc. – that are not ready for this.

And it’s not only a retailing issue, but also an online banking issue too.  Last May, Celentreported that mobile banking will impact  35% of U.S. households with banking accounts using mobile phones by 2010. Right now, Mobile banking is being used by less than 1% of the US population. Hard to imagine that 2010 is just 2 years away.

• VeriSign And Visa Team Up For Mobile Banking
• Citibank Gets Into Mobile Banking - Citi Mobile Gives You Account Access On Your Phone 

The big boys, the Fortune 1000 companies, still do not get it. Recently, I was invited to attend an ‘Idea Jam’ — a big meeting where everyone brainstorms together to come up with some really cool ideas. The facilitator show us a power point slide with three questions, each one marked Q1, Q2 or Q3. Then he told us to look break into teams and try and answer one of the questions. He wanted us to follow the following process: write 10 or so proposed answers or solutions on index cards, then share your answers with your teammates and then come up with a final list of 5 ideas.

Well, since I am a baby boomer trying to learn about Gen Y, I partnered with 3 recent college graduates. I noticed each of them had (and were the probably the only ones in  a room of 30 + people) lap tops. Each one had a look of confusion when it came to thinking about how to use the index cards. Each one decided to type their list on their lap top. Within minutes, the facilitator reminded them to the use the index cards.

I just sat there and watched the events before me. First of all, when dealing with Gen Y, don’t tell them what process they should take. Just tell them the goal and the desired outcome. Let them decide how to get there. Secondly, don’t ask them to use an old school technology like index cards (which are probably only used these days for learning another some vocabulary or reading mom’s old recipe).

If only the facilitator had asked Gen Yers if his recommended approach to the brainstorming session made sense or had told them that the desired outcome was 5 recommendeds from the Idea Jam.

I read a lot of books, and most don’t really affect me.  I’ve read them all before (or it seems like I’ve read them all before).  But there is one book that I cannot put down and is waking me up in the middle of the night:  Navigating the Badlands:  Thriving in the Decade of Radical Transformation by Mary O’Hara Devereaux. 

Devereaux is a futurist, and she and her colleagues point out in the book that we are about 50 years into a 75-year stretch of turbulence (probably one of the most turbulent times in history).  During this 75 year stretch, some people will move forward in the world, and some just won’t, and participation in innovation and new approaches to leadership is not optional…it will be required in order to move ahead.

I won’t go into all the details about the book, but the one thing I want to point out is that Devereaux believes (and I agree with this position, because it is already happening) that the majority of tomorrow’s knowledge workers will come from Generation Y and that most will come from China and India.  A deep understanding of cultural and generational issues is critical to success as we navigate through this rough terrain. 

If you have not read the book, pick up a copy.  Until then, I want to provide you with a few steps to take to start moving in the direction of being able to move through these times:

1) Stop trying to resist the chaos in the world.  Chaos is a sign of innovation and growth.  The more you resist chaos, the more you will stay stuck, the more exhausted and frustrated you will be.

2) Start reading everything you can get your hands on about the next generation of leaders (both Gen X, Gen Y and about Tweens).  If you are going to lead, you have to know who your future followers are and what makes them tick.

3) Act daily.  Get up each day and take 3 big action steps every day in the direction of growth.   Drop your perfectionism and move on.

4) Do the right thing.  In this day and age, the public is watching every move you make.  When in doubt, step back and make sure that you are making an honest, truthful decision.

5) Stop spending time or doing business with people who don’t share your values or who are stuck in the past.  Design your personal and professional relationships based on your core values and by all means, don’t do business with people who lie, cheat or steal your stuff (including taking your ideas and claiming them as your own).

6) Move forward or just get out of the way.  If you are stuck, stop trying to get other people who want to move forward caught up in your old ways of thinking and living.  If you are one of these people, you will know it, because the people around you will be pushing you away (trying to get you out of their forward path).

7) Innovate constantly.  This means that you will need to be taking risks, and I don’t mean draining your bank account.  Write new ideas, take a stand for something innovative.  Be irreverent.   Try a new approach…do something creative and then put it out to the world

8)  Listen to the clashes and complaints.  Inside a clash or complaint is an answer to growth.  Don’t fight a complaint…listen to it and find out what message you need to learn.

Millennial Leaders

As we move into 2008, there are some important trends to consider. Trend Watching.com has some great information on this topic.  If you purchase their report, you can learn more about the details of all or just go grab the highlights of the 2008 briefing here.

The one trend that I want to talk about today has to do with Gen Y and the expectations they hold.  I had some conversations this week with James Sun, Arel Moodie and Bert Gervais of The PlaceFinder and Scott Neuberger and Josh Kowitt of CollegeBoxes.com, and they all pointed out the incredible expectations held by younger consumers and how to grow your business based on meeting customer demands and addressing their complaints.  (Yes…we have been discussing this for the last two years, and Dr. Jean Twenge and Dr. Carolyn Martin also point to this in their work). 

Here is the deal…as the quality  of products and servcies continues to improve and customer service continues to get quicker and the experience gets greater, the more young consumers expect…it takes better quality, quicker service and a greater experience to keep Gen Y’s attention (or to get it in the first place).   And…it is going to be critical in 2008 for business owners to think seriously about how to start reaching this growing demographic of consumers.  In order to make this happen, both corporate and business leaders will be called to look not only inside their industries but outside their own industries in order to bring super cool products to this audience.  If you only stay inside your industry, you will develop copycat versions of what your indsutry is doing, and Gen Y will get bored very quickly.  As an example, the Trend Watching report highlights companies like Philips and Swarovski who are combining efforts to bring high end data transport tools to users so that they can have an “experience” of first class: http://www.active-crystals.com. From the public’s eye, these two companies don’t seem to have a great deal in common, yet they did what the trendsetters are suggesting…to get out there and combine efforts to bring a brand new cool product to the public.

So…to help you out with this, here is what our Gen Y experts and authors suggest you do:

1) Develop an open network (lots of variety in your network, all ages from all corners of the globe and a variety of industries) to help you expand your reach into markets you may not have considered with a new approach you may not have considered (some people call this a blue ocean strategy from the book
Blue Ocean Strategy)

2) Attend a wide variety of events (from art to music to hiking to snowboarding activities) to see what’s really going on in the world…not just what’s going on in your world!

3) Watch a wide variety of movies (movies can really stir an idea…watch the hard ones, funny ones, tough ones and dark ones).

4) Read a wide variety of journals (I read an article on Fuel Efficient Fishing yesterday in Sport Fishing Magazine…really has me thinking differently).

5) Take a camera along one day and photograph 50 shots you have never taken.  When you look behind a camera and something you have never studied before, the mind opens up.

6) Interview 20 people who you find interesting (but who you know nothing about).  Talking to people and learning about them is really amazing and can bring new, fresh thinking into your business.

7) And finally…get out there and spend time with young leaders between the ages of 18-30.  Listen to their stories and their language…you will learn so much about what the future holds for business and life.

http://MillennialLeaders.com.

A new survey by CareerBuilder.com points to more pronounced generational gaps in communications styles and job expectations in the workplace. Titled “Gen Y at Work,” the survey was conducted from June 1 to June 13, 2007 among 2,546 hiring managers and Human Resource professionals across all industries.

Nearly half (49 percent) of employers surveyed said the biggest gap in communication styles between Generation Y workers (employees 29 years old or younger) and workers older than them is that Gen Y workers communicate more through technology than in person. Another one-in-four (25 percent) say they have a different frame of reference, especially in terms of pop culture.

In terms of job expectations, 87 percent of all hiring managers and HR professionals say some or most Gen Y workers feel more entitled in terms of compensation, benefits and career advancement than older generations. Seventy-three percent of hiring managers and HR professionals ages 25 to 29 share this sentiment. Employers provided the following examples:

– 74 percent of employers say Gen Y workers expect to be paid more
– 61 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have flexible work schedules
– 56 percent say Gen Y workers expect to be promoted within a year
– 50 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have more vacation or personal
time
– 37 percent say Gen Y workers expect to have access to state-of-the-art
technology

Over half (55 percent) of employers over the age of 35 feel Gen Y workers have a more difficult time taking direction or responding to authority than other generations of workers.

“Generation Y workers are an important segment of the workforce and literally the future of companies and organizations,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. “They grew up in a technology-driven world where standards and norms have changed and often operate under different perspectives than older co-workers. As companies cultures evolve with each generation, you see all workers benefiting from a variety of viewpoints and work styles.”

Fifteen percent of employers said they changed or implemented new policies or programs to accommodate Gen Y workers — changes, Haefner points out, that would have likely benefited workers of all ages. Examples include:

– More flexible work schedules (57 percent);
– More recognition programs (33 percent);
– More access to state-of-the-art technology (26 percent);
– Increased salaries and bonuses (26 percent);
– More ongoing education programs (24 percent);
– Paying for cell phones, blackberries, etc. (20 percent);
– More telecommuting options (18 percent);
– More vacation time (11 percent).

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the US by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 2,546 US employers (employed full time, not self employed; with involvement in hiring decisions), ages 18 and over within US between June 1 and June 13, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of U.S. employers, and propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

With a pure probability sample of 2,546, one could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-2 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies. However that does not take other sources of error into account. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no theoretical sampling error can be calculated. A full methodology is available upon request.