I will be the first to admit that I am somewhat of a book junkie…I read every day, and I am totally in love with the one-click settings at Amazon.  I feel such a sense of accoplishment when I click on 2-Day One Click–FREE.  I then get even more of a thrill when the UPS man delivers the book to my front door (and my dogs Max and Rosie love it too…gives them something to do as they try to eat him up).

But…the reality is that most of the books on my bookshelf are  *&^).   I flip through them, and I feel like I’ve read them all before. 

But last summer, I found a book that I will go to my grave with:  Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.  The book came into my life, and I don’t think I’ve been the same since.  Hmmm…maybe I know it’s because I no longer have to try to give my kids career advice (try is the operative word here, because I am the worst on career advice, and I certainly don’t try to give career advice to age 20-somethings or even 30-somethings).

It dawned on me in the middle of reading this book (fabulous!  fun to read!  smart!) that I now had someone who was practical, wise and down to earth (and young) who was providing daily advice to young careerists and could help my kids (who stay in their heads a LOT) with making decisions about their careers.   Ann is a sophomore at Duke U. Katie is at Wofford College and Jack will be attending the University of North Carolina this fall (but he is already saying he is majoring in golf and girls, so I don’t know how much Jack will be into the whole career advice thing, but he may surprise me).  They don’t know Penelope (and I don’t really know her…I interviewed her one day, and we have exchanged e-mails), but Ann and Katie are now reading her blog regularly (and of course you all know that I read it too), and we are discussing what she has to say (and we all agree that  her ideas about career, biz and life are spot on…Ann and Katie are both very practical, hard working and down to earth, so her views line up with my daughters’ perspectives).   And, as we all know, Gen Y does not listen to Baby Boomers, especially when they are their parents.

Penelope and a group of young professionals opened the BrazenCareerist.com site last week, and Penelope blogged today about how she got back on track after a few days away from her blog.   I forwarded this post on to Ann and Katie this afternoon…just in case they missed it. 

Now, becaus of the BrazenCareerist site,  my daughters (and my network, because I have told everyone about it) have been introduced to a host of young career/biz advisors…such great stuff.  And, as someone who is committed to making sure that young emerging leaders have access to the most current information possible, I want to thank Penelope for taking the week off to get this site up and running.  It’s really great stuff and is already having a positive impact on the young careerists in my life.

So…here comes Gen Y…just a taste of what they can do.  Very inspiring…reminds me of their parents in the 60s.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvDAiWWuvRg[/youtube]

Check out the comments on Rural Votes blog

Millennial Leaders

Jaclyn Schiff is a journalist based in Washington, D.C. She is a full-time writer for a Web site that focuses on global health issues. She has published articles (often about issues of interest to Gen. Y) in a variety of print and online publications.  She recently mentioned our work in her Employee Evolution News.

Millennial Leaders

Ryan Allis is one of those young entrepreneurs who at age 14 was busy building a web design company while his peers were trying to figure out how to date the hottest girl on their middle school or high school campus.

He is only 23, and he is building a mega company iContact. A great article appeared about Ryan today in the Raleigh News and Observer: CEO, 23 shares tips on start ups

We will be featuring Ryan on Y-Talk Radio on February 23 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. You don’t want to miss this call!

He also has a new book coming out…Zero to One Million: How I Built My Company to $1 Million in Sales . . . and How You Can, Too

So…make sure to mark your calendar for Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. 

As you know, we are always on the look-out for cool Gen Y leaders.

One that has grabbed my attention and warmed my heart is the story of Smooshi and Phil.

Smooshi is a 5-year old female walrus at Marineland in Niagra Falls.  Phil is Phil Demers, age 29, who is her trainer. 

At 18 months of age, Smooshi bonded to Phil as if he was her mother.  The two have made the news, and the story is really incredible and is baffling to animal behaviorists.

To get a dose of inspiration, visit the 2 on MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/smooshiandphil

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 

Great blog entry from Mike Masterson.  Mike is a top sales director for IBM and is also a great coach!  So here you go:

Check it out - What do you think? The Millenials Are Coming… A new generation wave is coming

By Mike Masterson

Here’s my opinion

I think there are a variety of dynamics at play here which will make it a lively topic for a long time. As you know - the attitudes towards the Gen Y profile comes from many lenses and causes - contribution from corporate america, from parents, media, society, economic, and from the influence of the peer groups from all generations - most importantly from each own. And in each perspective we sit - it truly depends on what the Gen Y individual learned in their own cycle of influence.

Read the full post here.

By Bea Fields

Jason Dorsey, who is featured in Chapter 20 of Millennial Leaders, was featured on 60 Minutes last night in the segment called Here Come the Millennials. It was a great segment, and I want to congratulate you Jason! Great job!

To see the segment go to CBS’ 60 Minutes Website

The comments on the CBS website have been very negative.  I have commented one time…just tried to add a new comment to the CBS site, and their system is not working.  So, I want to say this:

Blaming Generation Y for being entitled, lazy and narcissistic does nothing to help our communication across Generations.  As Baby Boomers, we have raised our kids to think they can “be it all” or “do it all”, and we have built them up to expect the unachievable.  We have told them since they could walk and talk that “You are special” and “You have to be competitive…you have to get the Ivy League Scholarship”.  Jason Dorsey, a top Gen Y Leader even said so on the show last night.

So where does the responsibility fall?  I believe that if Boomers want to see something different happen in our families and workplace, we have to take the first step…to get in there and learn from Gen Y and help lead them.  To blame Gen Y and call them names simply points the finger back to Boomers to say “This is how you raised your kids”.

The Boomers (and I am a Baby Boomer, so I am “entitled” to say this) who are complaining are at the root of the problem, and I don’t say that lightly.  How did we feel when the Silent Generation was up in arms about our cry of “freedom, sex, drugs and rock music”?  Our parents were saying the same thing about us!  And, we turned around and used this same sense of entitlement and indomitable self esteem to raise, teach and coach Gen Y.   As I have always said “If you spot it…you got it!”  Gen Y is simply a more tech savvy, more enhanced version of the Baby Boomer Generation.

And…on the work ethic.  Why would Gen Y want to work 60 hours a week like Dad or Mom…who worked and worked only to get laid off or fired (or end up in the hospital with a heart attack)?   Maybe Gen Y has this whole thing figured out.

This issue is not about Gen Y.  This issue is about the clashing of mindsets between Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y, which is how our world evolves…this is not 1970 or even 1980.  This is the year 2007, and the world has changed and is changing.  Things are going to look  even more different as the next generation comes on board (and Generation Y might not “get” the next generation just like Boomers don’t “get” Gen Y).  So, if you really want to see this situation improve, then get in there and do something about it.  You can start by looking at what behaviors you are enabling (are you running to the principal every time something happens?  Are you calling your son’s employer to find out why he didn’t get a raise?)  It’s time that we all grow up and support Gen Y in becoming the best leaders they can become for our future.  And by all means…stop calling them names and resisting their efforts…that does nothing but make things worse!

Jason Dorsey, who is featured in Chapter 20 of Millennial Leaders, was featured on 60 Minutes tonight in the segment called Here Come the Millennials. It was a great segment, and I want to congratulate you Jason! Great job!

To see the segment go to CBS’ 60 Minutes Website