Is customer service a lost art form?
Posted On June 17, 2014
Much time is spent lamenting the work ethic of younger generations in the work force—they are disengaged, too attached to their social networks, not focused on the needs of their coworkers…they just don’t understand the way things work in the real world. And for years my argument has been you have to teach them. The same may be said of customer service. News stories and personal anecdotes tell a disturbing tale, especially in the professional services industry. Where Boomer and Mature workers valued and relied on face time and relationships, today’s workers value efficiency and technology. As a result, they… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Workplace
Nice group to be affiliated with.
Posted On June 16, 2014
I wasn’t aware until this morning after reading the article below that the audience for this conference last week managed on average $1 billion in retirement funds for their clients. Wow. I would have been much more nervous. But, as always, extraordinarily nice people. http://www.riabiz.com/a/4968982889103360/td-ameritrade-hosts-a-posh-billion-dollar-club-summit-at-a-seaside-ritz-carlton#.U55QxoAoqMw.twitter
Categories: Financial Services, Work
Waiting on the last row… Ready!
Posted On June 16, 2014
Quick change at the lectern means I have to have my notes, computer, dongle, and remote ready to go.
Categories: Uncategorized
Youngest Boomers initiated into AARP
Posted On June 12, 2014
We are almost halfway through 2014, which means that in six short months every member of the Boomer generation will have turned 50. Orange is the new black, 50 is the new 40. So when the membership cards arrive in their mailboxes, these new AARP recruits will be welcomed with promotions aimed at enticing them to enjoy their later years with deals that are anything but old. New benefits include concert ticket deals with Live Nation, among other travel and entertainment-oriented options. In a recent Associated Piece, and AARP spokesperson confirmed this is a shift from as recently as just… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Retirement, Succession Planning
Millennials march to a different beat, or is it different beats?
Posted On June 10, 2014
In a recent meeting, a high-level leader lamented the conundrum of managing the younger members of his team: “They want everything done so differently.” Same complaint, different person. But then he continued…“Each one of them wants to be dealt with differently. So I can’t have a way that I manage; I have to have a way that I manage him, a way that I manage her, and another way that I manage the next person. It’s exhausting.” And it can be. There are some similarities that cross personalities, and leaders certainly have the right to lay down some ground rules,… Read More
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Work, Workplace
Search funds: a fast track to the boss’s seat?
Posted On May 29, 2014
I was listening to NPR the other morning, and this story came on during the Planet Money segment. It tells of two young Harvard Business School grads who turned down job offers to instead solicit search funds, where investors back individuals in their efforts to search for a new business opportunity. Not very different from a private equity group paying a salary to deal finders, but different enough to take notice. These are young folks, Millennials, with very little business experience. Also, they are not just looking for leads on businesses ready for acquisition; they are looking for businesses to… Read More
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Generation Y / Millennials
Older and younger workers have similar interest in workplace flexibility
Posted On May 27, 2014
Technology has enabled a virtual world that Boomers and Matures never imagined, and one that Millennials and Xers have come to expect–especially in the white collar workplace. Why should someone be tied to a desk all day if their peers are not in the same office, or even the same time zone? What difference does it make if I work from 7-2, take a break to handle afterschool duties, and then resume working at home from 8-10, as long as I meet my deadlines? This unorthodox balance of the personal and the professional, and the underlying message that time has… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Matures, Workplace
Overheard at Wendy’s…
Posted On May 22, 2014
Child: May I please have a double cheeseburger, fries, a coke and a vanilla frosty. Mom: And he only wants ketchup on that burger. I’ll have… Child: (sigh) I am 13. Mom: So? Child: So, I can order for myself. Mom: Except you didn’t. You forgot to tell them how you want it. Child: But you don’t have to fix it for me. Mom: (pause) You know, you’re absolutely right. And with that 45-second exchange, faith in the next generation is restored. Perhaps iGen will arrive at the job site with a sense of responsibility and ownership after all (assuming… Read More
Categories: Generation X, iGen, Parenting
Ready or not, here they come…
Posted On May 13, 2014
iGeneration. Yes, they are only just entering their teen years, but if time is flying as fast in your house as it is in mine, you’ll agree that this generation is just around the corner and headed soon to a workplace near you. What are they going to bring the equation? There has not been a lot of research yet on this generation, after all they aren’t even eligible for summer jobs in most states, but there has been an abundance of conversation about the way they are being raised. If the study of the generations has taught me anything,… Read More
Categories: iGen, Parenting
Millennials and Boomers may work alike, but they don’t vote alike. Or do they?
Posted On May 8, 2014
I am frequently asked whether the differences in the generations are true differences or simply differences between ages. It is also a common belief that individuals grow more conservative as they grow older, however statistics do not necessarily bear that one out. The Pew Research Center recently reviewed 30 years of voting trends, comparing the percent of young (age 18-29) and older (age 65+) voters who voted democratic in each election between 1972 and 2012. With the exception of the 1972 Nixon election and the 2008 and 2012 elections of Barack Obama, the gap between the ages has only been… Read More
Categories: Baby Boomers, Generation Y / Millennials, Voting Behavior