Do You Agree? Several reasonably consistent comments, in one form or another, are being made by business leaders. One is, “My employees treat our customers the way we treat our employees.” Another is, “Customers first is wrong. It’s employees first. Then the employees will take good care of our customers.” Also, of course, there’s the ancient mantra still spoken today, …
Lack of Clarity: There are several posts on this blog that relate some thoughts I have about complexity and how our businesses are affected by the external forces in a global market. What I’m thinking about this time, however, is the opportunity we can find in that complexity. Starting close to home, we are finding our workforce is multigenerational and …
Millennials Not long ago, I was reading one of the many, many articles about Millennials. It was stated that Millennials will change their careers at least four times during their work lives. That seemed pretty significant to me. Until I thought about my own career path. While my corporate career was always in semiconductor businesses, I reinvented myself many times …
Worth at Work: I hear a lot of discussion among the Generation X and Baby Boomer business leaders about how to handle those “pesky” Millennials. I’m not quite sure why this is such a mystery to people. “Is my work worthy of my sense of purpose, or is it really just a means to an end, a step on my personal …
I’ll be frank, I don’t understand the question that comes up so frequently in my circles — “How do we manage the Millennials?” To me, it seems really straightforward. Somehow, people have confused themselves. You manage projects, you lead people. Try leading Millennials instead of managing them. Managing vs Leading There are several ways of distinguishing between leading and managing. The …
Low Tech <Nerd Alert> I have “always” enjoyed the challenges of technology. Well, at least since the time I was twelve or so and went to “work” at my father’s boiler construction company during summer breaks. The technology was decidedly “low” tech—pipe wrenches, pneumatic drills, heavy electric machines for threading pipe, acetylene torches, electric arc welders, and the like. But …
I attended a networking meeting not long ago. It’s one I frequently attend. There are many senior executives at this meeting, some are employers, some are working executives and some are folks in transition. It’s always an interesting group. For the second time in a row though, the question of “What is wrong with the Millennial generation?” came up. I mentor …
Things are changing rapidly. Not only are our workers younger, so are our customers. The accelerating pace of change means that to survive we will be updating, tweaking, throwing out and rebuilding our business models, processes and perceived “truths.” Yes, for many of us, our most cherished beliefs are being called into question. I’ve written elsewhere about how I think …