Into the Woods We Go

In August our new start up, Myndsparc, took residence at the Thunderbird Global Entrepreneurship Incubator on the campus of the internationally recognized Thunderbird School of Global Management. As a new company we are committed a new corporate norm. One that is Gen Y friendly. This includes virtual offices, cloud computing and the flexibility of schedule that ensures that as we grow our employee base we are able to help our employees effectively balance work/life.

One of the benefits we receive as a resident of the Thunderbird Incubator is a student intern on the business side of the company. We are working with other local educational institutions for other intens on the technical side. It's a harrowing process, interviewing interns. At the undergraduate level many are so nervous its difficult to get a real sense of who they are and what they can do, at the graduate level, we've encountered many who do not view the process as a "real" interview process.

These are some of the things we've discovered through this process:

1. We only work with interns from schools with formal internship/externship programs. We want to know its a part of their learning process and not just a job to kill time.
2. We have discovered that email communication works better than phone calls for original contacts. This works well for our corporate model as well so it has become the adopted norm for scheduling interviews (remember we are tech company).
3. By the time they get to the face to face interview we know their qualifications, if they have any. We are more concerned about whether they will fit into the corporate culture than if they know the skills we will need in advance. We embrace the training component of the internship and welcome the opportunity to find a diamond in the rough.

In early childhood we used to teach the importance of "the process" over "the product". Seems everything grows up.

The Millennials Are Coming!

Morley Safer broke the news on CBS in November, The Millennials Are Coming!http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3486473n I don't know what to say except, "I'm sorry." Everything Mr. Shafer observed on 6o Minutesis true; and, well, its partly my fault.

Perhaps if I give you a little historical perspective it will help you understand why I feel apartially responsible for the issues todays companies are facing as a new generation of workers begin their professional lives. It really began in the late sixties and early seventies when America became a transient society. No longer was there an opportunity for children to observe a varity of parenting skills in a communal setting. We moved away from our families and our tight knit neighborhoods and the result was a generation without strong parenting role models. By the late eighties and early nineties we were faced with a parenting generation who were without a strong sense of what it meant to parent.

Who did they turn to for guidance? The authorities--pediatricians, teachers, and parent educators. It wasn't a bad decision. They were given the best advice the field had to offer--the cutting edge theories of the time. Those issues included self-esteem building that typically translated noncompetition and universal reward practices; equity education which tended to shift focus back to self-esteem and the practice of universal rewards; and portfolio assessment which typically translated to focusing on individual growth rather than performance against the group that amazingly enough tied to equity education that low and behold ultimately tied to self-esteem. Are you detecting a pattern here?

I was one of the "experts" to whom parents turned. When they asked my advice, I promoted the concept of noncompetitive environments that rewarded children for simply showing up, after all we wanted to promote self-esteem. I led the charge defining acceptance and the many facets of encouragement. I am the one who told parents they needed to advocate for their child's best interests. The result of the advice given to parents by myself and a myriad of other well meaning education and child development experts? I'm proud to say its a generation with a very strong sense of self. Unfortunately, it is also a generation who was never really given an opportunity to experience the failure that fosters wisdom. Furthermore they are partnered with their own highly trained advocates who have no qualms about asserting their wings via telephone, email and even at times in person. You haven't just gained an employee, you've gained a mother.

However, there is good news. What works at four, works at fourteen and twenty-four. The techiques we used in classrooms to build community can translate to the boardroom. If you're willing to give it a try. So roll up your sleeves, and instead of attending an effective management workshop attend a parenting class. You'll be amazed what you discover about yourself, your children ..oh and your new employees.