Today was one of those days that reminds me how much our lives have changed in the past couple years. It was the last show of the play I have been working on and immediately following the show we had strike. A few years ago, the idea of hearding resistant kids to the car to go to the theatre to do something other than watch a movie wouldn't have entered my mind. Now its a common experience. Today's strike was an easy one. The theatre was less than a mile from home and I knew we'd be done in about an hour. Of course, this didn't deter the 13yo from his passive aggressive attempts to avoid participation. Something we've totally taken to bribery to combat and feel no pangs of regret at it. Teens are ..well ...teens, LOL. Anyway, in this case as Jon firmly coaxed the boy to get his shoes with a mix of gentle conversation and firm "You're going" statement. Jon then pulled me aside to ask me if i'd consider stopping off at circle K afterward to get the kids a drink as a thank you for their help. While we didn't advertise this fact in advance, I did reward them for helping me with ICEE's afterward. This simple act got me thinking about the issue of food, rewards and the whole millennial generation.
Snack time. The warm cookies mom had waiting for you after school. The feeling of belonging that the cookies and milk brought to you. The first thing my eight year old says when she gets into the car after school every day is "What's for snack?". She skips into the house, picks up her snack and settles in to complete her homework. Even the kids in the after school programs have snack before they do homework. Food and productivity are integrally tied together for us from the time we are very young.
The key difference between today's workforce and those in the past is that this process never stopped. Today's teachers incentivise classrooms with pizza parties and ice cream socials. Good citizenship, attendance and achieving personal goals are among the categories of behavior rewarded with free certificates provided by fast food and pizza companies in the community. These expectations have permeated into family life.
Food before productivity begins young and continues with you. What is increased employee satisfaction, higher employee output worth to you? Perhaps all it takes is a pantry stocked with microwave popcorn, bottled water and a soda fountain. Perhaps its a weekly company sponsored lunch or coupons to local restaurants employees can use on their own if they meet certain goals. Take a cue from childhood, feed your employees.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Lack of Eye Contact is Not Lack of Attentiveness
This afternoon as Jon and I were struggling with answering questions for a proposal I turned to the children. They think outside the box and if you can translate what they are saying they sometimes have some incredible insights. Our oldest, 13, was playing WOW in the family room where Jon and I were brainstorming. Now bear in mind he's 13. It's an age of passive agression at its best. An age that isn't into contributing to the family collective at all. However we still engage him as an exercise in inclusion. When we were completing the NASA RFI for their new online game, he was asked to answer the questions as we brainstormed them. I'll save his responses for his adulthood when he can appreciate the fact that he was part of the process. But I digress. Today we asked for his input. We wanted his insight on new media. It was an interesting vignette. He sat at his computer, typing away, ear bud in one ear, talking to his mother pacing behind him. Not once did he make eye contact. Not once did he turn around. And I didn't expect it. You see my son is quite effective at multitasking and I don't question his attentiveness based on his body language.
Millennials don't operate in the same mind set we do. My son wasn't being rude because he wasn't making eye contact. It was a casual conversation and I didn't ask for his full attention. It wasn't needed. Lack of eye contact does not mean lack of attentiveness. Not stopping to focus entirely on a speaker isn't intended as rudeness. Its most likely multitasking. You may consider it rude, and perhaps in some ways it is, however it is the way millennials operate.
My mind was still in brainstorm mode so I figured I'd engage our eight year old in the discussion. New media isn't something she "gets" but a discussion on how a pretend movie called Pretty Pretty Princess might end up on Club Penguin made perfect sense to her. We discussed the issue for a bit and after some struggles with defining space she basically decided it would be best to have a county fair on club penguin that would showcase movies. While we had our discussion she was playing nintendogs on her DS and watching Icarly on Nickelodeon. She did make eye contact with me but only as I paced in front of the television screen. I figured special event programming to showcase new content seemed a pretty good idea for what we were discussing so I took the idea to Jon.
My daughter's behaviors aren't a great deal different than some of your new employees. As children they played video games, watched television and texted one another. Its a skill you'll come to appreciate. They juggle multiple prioritites really well. However, something has to give and that something is eye contact. Don't expect them to stop what they are doing to carry on a conversation with them. Don't be offended when the text while in a meeting. I've seen young people in ER with head injuries text faster than most of us oldies will ever hope to. If you want their attention ask for it. They won't be offended. Just remember being idle isn't in their nature so if your are asking for extended periods its akin to hearding cats or preschoolers.
Millennials don't operate in the same mind set we do. My son wasn't being rude because he wasn't making eye contact. It was a casual conversation and I didn't ask for his full attention. It wasn't needed. Lack of eye contact does not mean lack of attentiveness. Not stopping to focus entirely on a speaker isn't intended as rudeness. Its most likely multitasking. You may consider it rude, and perhaps in some ways it is, however it is the way millennials operate.
My mind was still in brainstorm mode so I figured I'd engage our eight year old in the discussion. New media isn't something she "gets" but a discussion on how a pretend movie called Pretty Pretty Princess might end up on Club Penguin made perfect sense to her. We discussed the issue for a bit and after some struggles with defining space she basically decided it would be best to have a county fair on club penguin that would showcase movies. While we had our discussion she was playing nintendogs on her DS and watching Icarly on Nickelodeon. She did make eye contact with me but only as I paced in front of the television screen. I figured special event programming to showcase new content seemed a pretty good idea for what we were discussing so I took the idea to Jon.
My daughter's behaviors aren't a great deal different than some of your new employees. As children they played video games, watched television and texted one another. Its a skill you'll come to appreciate. They juggle multiple prioritites really well. However, something has to give and that something is eye contact. Don't expect them to stop what they are doing to carry on a conversation with them. Don't be offended when the text while in a meeting. I've seen young people in ER with head injuries text faster than most of us oldies will ever hope to. If you want their attention ask for it. They won't be offended. Just remember being idle isn't in their nature so if your are asking for extended periods its akin to hearding cats or preschoolers.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Its About Who You Are Not WHO You Are
When they were young they were taught to keep themselves safe. They were taught that they had the right to say no to an authority figure. It made sense. We wanted to protect them from child predators and the best way to do that was to ensure that as children they didn't blindly follow authority. They were taught to question it. They were taught respect was earned.
This is the key to truly being successful with the new workforce. It doesn't matter if you are in the mailroom or the boardroom, your authority will not be respected because of your title. This generation is managed in the context of relationship not the org chart. Its about who you are not WHO you are.
In practice this can be a challenge to accepted management practices. It means stepping outside the box that views employee socialization as counterproductive to efficiency. Opportunities for connection aren't team building in the old terms of corporate retreats and company picnics. They are instead daily opportunities for human connection. Its about building relationships. It can be as simple as encouraging the water cooler conversations that have been discouraged for so long. However, some companies have gone further. They have embraced the playfulness of their employees as a benefit by hosting weekly video game tournaments, providing onsite basketball courts and giving managers the opportunity to take their teams to the opening of blockbuster films. The resources available to support employee relationship building vary based on the company. What is universal is a committment to allowing employees to build genuine relationships with on another and with the management team.
Sure, there will be those who take advantage. There will be days when, just as their parents did, you wonder if you haven't allowed it all to go to the dogs. There will be times when you question whether you are crossing a line. Their parents struggled with how to be a parent and not a friend; and you'll struggle with how to be a manager and not a buddy. However, you'll gain their respect and that's what is necessary to create a productive workforce in the era of millennial employees.
This is the key to truly being successful with the new workforce. It doesn't matter if you are in the mailroom or the boardroom, your authority will not be respected because of your title. This generation is managed in the context of relationship not the org chart. Its about who you are not WHO you are.
In practice this can be a challenge to accepted management practices. It means stepping outside the box that views employee socialization as counterproductive to efficiency. Opportunities for connection aren't team building in the old terms of corporate retreats and company picnics. They are instead daily opportunities for human connection. Its about building relationships. It can be as simple as encouraging the water cooler conversations that have been discouraged for so long. However, some companies have gone further. They have embraced the playfulness of their employees as a benefit by hosting weekly video game tournaments, providing onsite basketball courts and giving managers the opportunity to take their teams to the opening of blockbuster films. The resources available to support employee relationship building vary based on the company. What is universal is a committment to allowing employees to build genuine relationships with on another and with the management team.
Sure, there will be those who take advantage. There will be days when, just as their parents did, you wonder if you haven't allowed it all to go to the dogs. There will be times when you question whether you are crossing a line. Their parents struggled with how to be a parent and not a friend; and you'll struggle with how to be a manager and not a buddy. However, you'll gain their respect and that's what is necessary to create a productive workforce in the era of millennial employees.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Gary Gygax Dies
Gary Gygax, died on Tuesday and while it has very little to do with topic of this particular blog, I feel compelled to say goodbye.
Gary Gygax died Tuesday. You might not know his name, but I'm certain you are familiar with his legacy. Gary Gygax was a co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons. Some might say he was the father of role playing games. He definately made a mark on an entire generation. Without the framework created by Gygax and his peers we wouldn't have the video game, the online game, the MMO.
Gygax left another legacy as well. One not so easily quantified. Dungeons and Dragons created a generation of critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. Those who played his games learned the importance of teamwork, the ability to see a project through to the end and the dramatic difference between short term problem solving skills and long term problem solving skills. In some ways it was a workforce development tool for the unknowing. Within the context of the game, participants learned many things--the value of negotiation; a keen sense of how our choices reflect our inner moral core. I doubt Gygax and his friends ever considered the soft skills development inherent in the game.
D&D spawned an entire cottage industry. Specialty stores, conventions and publications created jobs and outlets for enthusiasts. My first retail sales experiences were related to D&D, when I'd cover the small game store I frequented in exchange for product instead of a paycheck. The first Magazine I published was focused in part on the cottage game industry of the 90s. The first fundraiser I chaired a game marathon for children's charities.
The game industry have given me some of my fondest memories. A phone call from Tracy Hickman asking if he could attend a little convention we were chairing in Flagstaff. Meeting Peter Atkins, the founder of Wizards of the Coast, on his driving tour across country to introduce Magic: The Card Game at Gen Con effectively creating a whole new game genre. Beta testing the very first set of life action role playing rules for White Wolf. The little experiences that define a lifetime.
Thank you Gary, you will be sorely missed.
Gary Gygax died Tuesday. You might not know his name, but I'm certain you are familiar with his legacy. Gary Gygax was a co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons. Some might say he was the father of role playing games. He definately made a mark on an entire generation. Without the framework created by Gygax and his peers we wouldn't have the video game, the online game, the MMO.
Gygax left another legacy as well. One not so easily quantified. Dungeons and Dragons created a generation of critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. Those who played his games learned the importance of teamwork, the ability to see a project through to the end and the dramatic difference between short term problem solving skills and long term problem solving skills. In some ways it was a workforce development tool for the unknowing. Within the context of the game, participants learned many things--the value of negotiation; a keen sense of how our choices reflect our inner moral core. I doubt Gygax and his friends ever considered the soft skills development inherent in the game.
D&D spawned an entire cottage industry. Specialty stores, conventions and publications created jobs and outlets for enthusiasts. My first retail sales experiences were related to D&D, when I'd cover the small game store I frequented in exchange for product instead of a paycheck. The first Magazine I published was focused in part on the cottage game industry of the 90s. The first fundraiser I chaired a game marathon for children's charities.
The game industry have given me some of my fondest memories. A phone call from Tracy Hickman asking if he could attend a little convention we were chairing in Flagstaff. Meeting Peter Atkins, the founder of Wizards of the Coast, on his driving tour across country to introduce Magic: The Card Game at Gen Con effectively creating a whole new game genre. Beta testing the very first set of life action role playing rules for White Wolf. The little experiences that define a lifetime.
Thank you Gary, you will be sorely missed.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
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.
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.
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