I had the opportunity last night to interview Ryan Coleman of TheNextForce.com.

Nextforce, LLC and TheNextforce.com was founded and is edited by Ryan Coleman. Ryan got his first taste of the business at 18 when he started a small novelty business with a high school friend. He then found himself generating creative ideas and marketing tactics that helped small businesses gain a competitive edge. Ryan completed his MBA in 2007 with his research focused on creativity in the workplace. This exploration of the history of ideas lead him to question the future of the workplace and how technology and the next generation was going to effect the way business is conducted.

Being a member of Generation Y, Ryan personally experienced the challenges that faced this generation. He started asking the question: “What’s Your Story?” to members of Gen Y and the response overwhelmed him. His next venture was born.

Ryan has spoken to thousands of students and consulted companies on ways to attract, engage and retain the next generation of the workplace. He prides himself on his ability to connect the seemingly unconnected.

During this interview, we discuss how companies can leverage online social media to attract the rock stars of the world.  We also explore what young careerists need to consider as they are setting out to find a career that they love.

Listen to the interview below

Contact Ryan directly at coleman at thenextforce dot com

 

 Interview with Ryan Coleman [40:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

During the months of June, July and August, we surveyed 320 Generation Y careerists, ranging in age from 21-27 years of age. In the survey, we asked a few questions about leadership and what Gen Ys are looking for in a leader.

Question Number 6 was this:

If you stay with a company, what factors cause you to want to stay?

Top Answer: Number 1: Great work environment (positive, upbeat, fun, attractive, high tech, energetic and supportive)

2: Great people (great boss, great manager, great co-workers, great friends at work)

3: Opportunity for career development, growth and ongoing training

4: Money (most clarified this by saying they wanted pay to be in line with their talents and skills)

5: Opportunities for promotion/advancement in the company

6: Happiness at work (loving my job and being happy with it)

7: To know that I am doing work that is meaningful and is making an impact on the greater world

8: Job security

9: Great benefits (vacation, health insurance)

10: Strong leadership (vision, integrity, trust and inspiration at the top of the company)

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan Allis last night on the topic of business, his life as a social entrepreneur and his success. I can see why Ryan and i-Contact are so successful.

If you are someone who is in search of a top contact management system that is top-notch and affordable, I encourage you to visit i-Contact today and sign up! I get absolutely nothing from sending you over there other than the pleasure of connecting you to a super-sharp young businessman and one of the fastest growing companies in the country.

Listen to the audio interview with Ryan below…he has some wonderful advice on how to be successful in business.

 

 Ryan Allis Interview: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

During the months of June, July and August, we surveyed 320 Generation Y careerists, ranging in age from 21-27 years of age. In the survey, we asked a few questions about leadership and what Gen Ys are looking for in a leader.

Question Number 5 was this:

When you leave a company, what one thing causes you to leave?

I hear every day that Gen Y leaves because of money or because they love to job hop…so, these responses may surprise you (please know that this survey was completely anonymous:)

Top Answer: 1: Weak Leadership (Leaders are blamers, whiners, disrespectful and lack vision)

2: Money

3: Lack of opportunity for professional growth

4: Lack of opportunity for advancement in the company

5: Better offer or opportunity with another company

6: Lack of acknowledgment for a job well done from bosses and managers

7: Work and work environment are boring

8: Lack of ethics in the company

9: Work culture is not fun and exciting

10: The work has no meaning

If you believe your organization is being affected by any of the above behaviors, please send me an e-mail to beafields@beafields.com, and we can discuss a 360 Degree assessment for your organization.

Pick up a copy of Millennial Leaders today 

Maximizing the Millennial
By: Scott Asai

I’ve heard enough stereotypes and complaints about dealing with the younger worker that I could write a book. Maybe a shift in perspective will change your reactive ways to proactive methods. Try these 3 simple steps the next time you are engaged with a worker under the age of 30.

1) Understand: Don’t assume the younger worker knows what you expect of them. They have a different work ethic, goals and communication style. Read into the stereotypes and try to see the world from their perspective. If you put yourself in their shoes, I’m sure things will improve dramatically.

2) Relate: After you have learned what makes a “Millennial” tick, try communicating on topics they actually care about. You’d be surprised how much progress is made relationally when you have reached some common ground. Just like a salesperson tries to speak to a client’s “agenda”, approach the younger worker the same way. Who knows, you might even gain some trust and respect!

3) Motivate: Since the beginning of time, regardless of age, humans have always been more motivated to make an effort towards the things that they want. It’s not as easy as dangling more money in front of them (although it wouldn’t hurt), but be creative based on what you’ve learned from your prior conversations. One example is to play into their desire for “work/life balance.” Simply put, work is a means to support their personal endeavors. Knowing this, reward superior performance with some time off. To a Millennial, this means time off to spend on their hobbies (and a “cool” boss).

Let’s not approach the younger worker with fear or apprehension. Understand who you are working with and change the ways you do things. You may think these suggestions are quite “soft” which is correct, but they are also effective. We all want increased productivity, but the “means” to achieve that have changed with the generations. Stop caring so much about the “how” and be concerned about the ‘bottom line.’ Like it or not, in 5 - 10 years the younger workers will be our managers. The reality is: we need them, more than they need us!

Scott Asai is a Career and Corporate Coach who specifically coaches Generation Y careerists. For more information on “Maximizing the Millennial” contact Scott at (310) 295-0046 or visit his website: www.growingforward.net

I recently talked with Michael O’Brien with HR Executive Magazine about the new survey, Millennials at Work: Myths vs. Reality, released by New York-based advertising agency JWT.  The study is a great read, so check it out.

O’Brien has written a short article, Misunderstood Millennials that may be of interest to those of you working in the HR field.

“Now that members of Generation Y are graduating from college and entering the workforce, they’re bringing with them a slew of technology demands. In fact, in many cases, they research the technology portfolios of potential employers before agreeing to schedule job interviews.”

The point that stood out for me in this article is that many Millennials are saying they are reluctant to work for employers who are not incorporating Web 2.0 into their daily operations.

Get the full article on Computer World

Now, exclusive research by Personnel Today and Ipsos Mori, sponsored by voucher provider Love2reward, has shown that perks aren’t quite as important as everyone thought…the research shows that cash is, ultimately, king.

Read the full article here.

Interesting post today on CARRERALISM on how generational differences have evolved over the last year.

I am seeing one of two things:

Category A: Leaders who are embracing Gen Y and learning from their knowledge and

Category B: Leaders who are digging their heels in, saying they are not going to change to make way for this new generation.

In my observation, the companies who are pulling ahead are in category A.  As a matter of fact, if you are in Category B, and you aren’t already making some very significant changes to make way for this huge demographic of workers, I’m not convinced you can “catch up”.  I suppose anything is possible, but if you are in  Category B, just know that there are a LOT of great companies in the first category who are beating the pants off you while you sit and dig your heels in deeper.

We cannot stop change. We cannot stop human evolution. We cannot stop new, young minds from coming into our workforce . In the article referenced above, I want to draw attention to this one point made (worth careful consideration):

“Have your coaching and communication skills inventoried to determined how prepared you are to coach Gen Y and integrate them into your multi-generational team. Then, get the appropriate resources and training to develop/enhance your skills. “

I see people trying to coach Gen Y. Hey…I have an idea…let them coach you! Watch how they coach you, and then…go try on what works with another Gen Y. You might just learn a thing or two.

“A global study, The State of Employee Engagement 2008 (http://www.blessingwhite.com/research), finds that Generation Y employees are the least engaged in the workplace on four continents. The new report was issued by Princeton consultants BlessingWhite (http://www.BlessingWhite.com).”

The press release on the report can be found here, and the one finding that I believe is most important is this:

“Conversely, disengaged employees often feel underutilized, are the most disconnected from the organization’s strategy, and may indulge in contagious negativity, warned Rice. “Left to themselves disengaged workers are likely to look for their next job, or worse collect a paycheck while complaining and not producing. If they can’t be coached or encouraged to higher levels of engagement, their exit benefits everyone, including themselves.”

As I am going around the country, I am hearing from Millennials that they feel they are bored and disconnected from their companies, because their employers don’t believe they are capable of taking on challenging, big projects.  This is a serious mistake, as our Gen Y’s are so very talented and capable, and their skill sets are beyond anything we can imagine for ourselves.  It is almost a form of projection from senior leaders.

When working in the direction of getting your Gen Y’s more engaged at work, I encourage all senior leaders to ask these 5 questions:

1) What type of work would most challenge you here for our company?

2) What do you find most meaningful in life, and how can we help you get that sense of meaning here, on this team?

3) If you could take all of the available resources from our company and use them to come up with a new product or service that would have a positive impact on the world, what would you create?

4) What are the hidden talents and skills you have not used in the past that you would like to use here (this could be a creative art, skill of public speaking, brainstorming, etc.)

5) What type of career do you most want to develop out over the next few years, and how can we help you achieve that?

Once you have the answers to those questions, take as many steps as you can to implement what your Gen Y’s most want, and I believe you will find them much more engaged at work.  The tools we used in the past to keep employees engaged (perks, pats on the back) work short-term, but in the long run, your Millennials need to come to work knowing that they are using everything they’ve got to help make a difference in your company, community and greater world.