It’s full of comedy and tragedy; sound and fury; happy and sad; friends and enemies; family and lovers; beauty and ugliness; pain and pleasure; joy and sorrow.
There was a time that LIFE was LIVED and wisdom gained through direct interaction with all of these and more—much, much more.
These days direct interaction has been replaced by a screen.
That’s not LIVING; I don’t know what it is, but it’s not LIFE.
I managed over 12,000 people at Groupon, most under the age of 25. One thing that surprised me was that many would arrive at orientation with minimal understanding of basic business wisdom. “Haven’t you read any business books? Good to Great? Winning? The One Minute Manager?” I’d ask. “Business books? Not really our thing,” was the typical response. I came to realize that there was a real need to present business wisdom in a format that is more accessible to the younger generation.Andrew Mason
While “most under the age of 25. (…) arrive at orientation with minimal understanding of basic business wisdom” surprised ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, it probably doesn’t surprise most seasoned managers.
Managers have always assumed there was a general business learning curve when hiring new grads, but what has changed is how steep it’s become.
One exasperated manager described it as “remedial orientation”—from showing up on time every day looking presentable, being ready to work and paying attention during meetings to not wearing an iPod/checking Facebook/playing Angry Birds in front of customers—much of what used to come under the heading of ‘common courtesy’ and ‘basic living skills’.
Mason’s solution is recording a “seven-song album of motivational business music.”
Reading business books has never been high on the list of most 22-year-olds, so what has changed?
My own view is that most of the time the need for remedial orientation can be traced back to parents and how they chose to raise their kids.
“When they discover the center of the universe, how many people you know will be disappointed that they are not it?” —Bernard Baily
How many of them have you interviewed? How many of your recent hires required remedial coaching to understand how the real world works?
It’s a well-known fact that actions and attitudes are contagious—yawn and others will start yawning, smile and they will smile—and entitlement, the attitude of “I am special, therefore I deserve…” is catching and not necessarily age-related.
You see it when you’re driving and shopping, but it’s most annoying at work.
More and more bosses are seeing that attitude and not just in their younger workers.
The deprived generation of the Depression raised the entitled generation of Boomers who raised the much entitled, very special generation of Millennials who are raising a yet more special, more entitled generation.
And so it goes.
But there is a kind of rough justice best captured in the attitude of ‘what goes around comes around’ or, more specifically, ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’.
Guess who will be hiring all these special kids in a decade or two.
It’s a sad commentary that when discussions turn to technical careers so many people immediately assume that means software/startup/consumer product monetized by advertising.
Today, I thought I’d introduce you to Millennial Matt Heverly, who heads the team driving NASA’s Curiosity as it explores Mars.
Yes, you drive by programming, but how much more exciting to work on a team that explores a planet than to build another social app.
And for those who think working for a large, semi-governmental corporation (Jet Propulsion Labs) means an uptight attitude you couldn’t be more wrong.
Bobak Ferdowsi, a flight director who sports a mohawk with red, white and blue streaks…
But it was the group’s esprit de corps that left the lasting impression. A spoof video, “We’re NASA and We Know It,” recorded to the beat of the song “Sexy and I Know It,” now has 2.4 million views on YouTube. Mr. Ferdowsi, now known online as Mohawk Guy, has 53,000 Twitter followers, up from a couple of hundred before the mission. People inside Building 264 here, part of the Space Flight Operations Facility, have long had a sense of humor about themselves — at one rocket launching, a group of scientists wore Spock ears.
It’s great to get kids involved in science and math, but they need to know that there are dozens of career paths out there that have depth and meaning and aren’t necessarily startups.
Just for fun, I’m posting the spoof, but you should also take a look at these videos of Mars.
And be sure to join me Friday for a look at the new, more solid direction of internet and software startups according to Sequoia Capital’s Jim Goetz.
Of those aged 19 to 29 who were surveyed, 47 percent work for companies with less than 100 employees, and 30 percent work for medium sized companies that have between 100 and 1,500 employees.
Or that they aren’t the top preference for larger companies.
Another study found that older, more established companies are less likely to hire younger people than are newer companies.
“Ah ha,” I can hear you thinking, “That proves I’m hiring the right talent.”
Are you sure?
Or does it just prove you are hiring deep within your own comfort zone, as are those in large companies?
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Brian LaFaille is young; just 12 months out of school and into the workforce, yet the attitude he recommends for other newbies is one managers at any level would, metaphorically speaking, kill to have on their team.
Additionally, many (all?) of the 10 lessons he says he learned in his first year have gone unlearned by people with 10, 20 even 30 times his experience.
Haven’t learned of just forgotten; either way they are the lessons and actions of the best employees, whether in a startup or a Fortune 25 Corporation.
Most are self explanatory, but Brian’s detailed explanation of each is worth reading.
Take Advantage of the Seasoned Veterans Around You (or the don’t-know-any-better newbies –Miki)
Every so often I read something that seems to fly in the face of accepted practice or is contrary to previous expert information.
For example
According to the media it’s a given that the young, college educated, both students and recent alumni, are focused on following their passions, but, as the saying goes, it ain’t necessarily so.
…91 percent of college students and 95 percent of Millennials (here referring to college graduates between ages of 21 and 32) said that being financially secure was either essential or very important to them.
Our conscious mind is pretty good at following rules, but our unconscious mind—our ability to “think without attention”—can handle a larger amount of information.
“Guilt-prone people tend to carry a strong sense of responsibility to others, and that responsibility makes other people see them as leaders,”says Becky Schaumberg, a doctoral candidate in organizational behavior who conducted the research with Francis Flynn, the Paul E. Holden Professor of Organizational Behavior.
If you were publishing something you wanted people to remember would you choose a simple font or a fancy one that was more difficult to read? If you said ‘simple’ you’d be wrong.
Fancy fonts might be harder to read, but the messages they convey are easier to recall, according to boffins at Princeton and Indiana Universities.
Speaking of publishing; does freedom of speech mean you can use any words you want on the Net with impunity? Maybe, but words like ‘leak’, ‘flu’ and ‘gas’ could put you on a watch list.
The Department of Homeland Security has been forced to release a list of keywords and phrases it uses to monitor social networking sites and online media for signs of terrorist or other threats against the U.S.
The links I’m sharing today are meant to be taken personally. They are about you and others in your world, so you may want to share them.
A couple of weeks ago I pointed you to a discussion that HBS professor Jim Heskett had initiated questioning the 24/7 style of today’s work. The forum is closed and Heskett has summarized the results based on comments that are well worth reading.
“There is a lot wrong with the way we work… (…) But ultimately the primary culprit is us.”
Following that came an essay on busyness to which I really related. Busy seems to be the new black, but you may want to consider varying your wardrobe.
They’re busy because of their own ambition or drive or anxiety, because they’re addicted to busyness and dread what they might have to face in its absence.
Now take a look at why living optimistically (not touchy-feely everything is wonderful) has real health benefits and the follow-up real-world example.
“…optimism is not about being positive so much as it is about being motivated and persistent.”
Years ago I wrote Being “Special” Can Ruin Your Children’s Lives and then watched as Millennials graduated college and entered the workforce with no clue that there was more to it than showing up and trying. In a high school commencement speech the speaker told students that they were neither special nor exceptional, but that did not change their value (you can see the entire speech here).
I wonder if there is any room for the ordinary any more, for the child or teenager — or adult —…who will be a good citizen but won’t set the world on fire.
— we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement,” he told the students and parents. “We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole.”
Personally, I believe there is not only plenty of room, but also great need.
We are of enormous value in our own world as well as the world at large.
As you may have guessed there is no unifying theme today; just some very interesting stuff.
According to the media today’s college grad wants to either start a company or work in a startup, but is that really true? An article in the The Brown Daily Herald says otherwise, but obviously, the external media probably knows more than an internal college paper.
Of the 67 percent of Brown graduates who entered the workforce after graduation in 2011, 20 percent — 171 students — worked in either consulting or finance. Teach for America was the top employer of graduates, followed by Google and Goldman Sachs.
Next, Tien Tzuo, CEO of Zuora, shares great career wisdom from Larry Ellison, Marc Benioff and Scott Thompson, the CEO’s of Oracle, Salesforce.com and Yahoo
Larry Ellison, Oracle founder/CEO: “Sometimes, you need to piss off the boss.”
Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com founder/CEO: “Break the glass ceiling in your head.”
Scott Thompson, Yahoo CEO: “Your job is to make people successful”
Those who favor a meatier subject should read new research from Michael C. Jensen, the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, on the impact of integrity in the real world.
Behavior that lacks integrity leads to value destruction. This paper analyzes some common beliefs, actions, and activities in finance that are inconsistent with being a person or a firm of integrity. Each of these beliefs leads to a system that lacks integrity, i.e., one that is not whole and complete and therefore creates unworkability and destroys value.
How do the magazines treat your personal information when you subscribe? Do you have value to them beyond the price of your subscription? That’s what a reporter wondered, so she did an informal test to find out.
“It is revenue-producing for a publisher to collect subscribers’ information and sell it,” said Paul Stephens, the director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer group in San Diego. “It’s just information that is very valuable to advertisers who want to target individuals based on their interests.”
Now that you’ve eaten your meat and veggies here’s a goody for dessert. It’s the best version I’ve seen of images set to Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire. Turn up your speakers, go to full screen and enjoy!
Today we look at some interesting commentary on the state of the talent force (I positively detest the term ‘human capital’); some new and some seriously old.
Companies frequently hire from the outside based on the idea that new blood is good for the organization, but is it?
According to Wharton management professor Matthew Bidwell, “external hires” get significantly lower performance evaluations for their first two years on the job than do internal workers who are promoted into similar jobs. They also have higher exit rates, and they are paid “substantially more.” About 18% to 20% more.
Have you wondered if the job market will ever turn for more than the young tech-enabled? Maybe not quickly enough, but time does move on and demographics will not be denied.
A Human Capital Zeitgeist, is emerging as companies big and small are getting smacked with the realization that talent management is SO critical to competing in a volatile marketplace, they might actually have to throw a bit more respect at the “human” in the human capital equation.
This demographic time bomb isn’t new; it was recognized more than a decade ago, but managers’ ability to recognize, attract and retain talent has escalated dramatically, with the economic crash more like an attack of hiccups, than an actual change.
McKinsey declared the start of “the war for talent” in 1997. It has turned out to be a more or less permanent conflict. Revisiting their earlier work in 2001, the management consultants stated: “The war for talent will persist for at least the next two decades. The forces that are causing it are deep and powerful. The war for talent is a business reality.”
Do you believe that happy employees perform better? Not everyone agrees, although I freely admit I’m on the pro side of that argument.
Productivity measures across national economies have captivated the attention of policy makers and executives alike. Ultimately, though, the source of productivity is the individual knowledge workers who get things done every day. And the evidence is clear: People perform better when they’re happier. OR Happy employees tend to enjoy the status quo so much that they might resist changes to it. This is hardly a recipe for success in today’s world, where agility and embracing change are essentials for success.
Of course, no discussion of productivity can take place without including Elton Mayo and the Hawthorne Effect. Impressive experiments, since they are as relevant today as they were nearly a century ago.
What he found however was that work satisfaction depended to a large extent on the informal social pattern of the work group. … He concluded that people’s work performance is dependent on both social issues and job content.
Finally, no commentary on people and the workplace would be complete without something on the Millennials; the demographic the media and pundits keep insisting are completely different from preceding generations—but are they really?
“For the past 12 years, I have studied the so-called generation gap through empirical research, and have found that stereotypes of millennials in the workplace are inconsistent at best and destructive at worst.” –Jennifer J. Deal, senior research scientist, Center for Creative Leadership
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
While “most under the age of 25. (…) arrive at orientation with minimal understanding of basic business wisdom” surprised ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason, it probably doesn’t surprise most seasoned managers.
A Friday series exploring Startups and the people who make them go. Read all If the Shoe Fits posts 
Brian LaFaille is young; just 12 months out of school and into the workforce, yet the 
Every so often I read something that seems to fly in the face of accepted practice or is contrary to previous expert information.
