The BIGG Successs Show
Are Twenty Somethings Getting A Bad Rap?
Do young people today want the rewards without the effort? How can Baby Boomer managers motivate Gen Y? Listen and read more...
Welcome to our 20-second big success show. Today we'll answer the question, are 20 something's getting a bad rap. The Big Success Show with George and Mary Lynn. We're hearing a lot of talk about 20 something's these days from employers, and I have two guest speakers a semester in my class. Entrepreneurial Finance at the U of I. Right, and I should say we have more than two speakers, but two out of the four entrepreneurs who spoke, mentioned entitlement of 20-somethings, the entitlement attitude. And I was a little surprised, I guess, because, you know, one was in his 30s, but the other one was actually in his 20s, and he's talking about 20-somethings feeling entitled. And I was having lunch with a baby boomer just the other day, and she manages a business, and she was complaining about the 20-somethings at her business at kind of a lazy work ethic. I have to be handheld, ask to do extra work, and just terrible with customer service. But I think you've got to ask yourself, you know, is this just overgeneralization? Well, there's that, but obviously there is an issue because it keeps coming up. Well, but when I say baby boomers, let's take that as an example, because that's a group I kind of relate to, you know. As I say, baby boomers, what do you think of? Hippies. Hippies, right, I mean the thing is, but all baby boomers weren't hippies, right? Right, right. I think we've got to be careful that we're not taking a small part of the population and applying those traits to everybody. It does seem to be that the longer you're in the workforce, and the more bumps and bruises and do's you've had to pay, the more cynical you get, especially for the younger generations that are coming up. So let's just try to offer a tip to both managers and 20-somethings to help make life easier on both sides and to help both sides see each other a little bit better. As a manager, how can you get 20-somethings to be more productive? Pay them more. No, I'm kidding. Actually, you know, study after study after study is showing that the two things that employees want more than anything, more than money is recognition for a job well done, and to feel like they're part of something bigger. As an example, I remember this young woman who was talking about her first day on the job, and her boss brought her back to her office and said, "We're so glad to have you here." Wow. What we do, yeah, wow. You shouldn't just have her immediately start reading a manual or watch a video orientation? She actually talked to her. The point is, this was part of a housing authority, and she said, "What we do here makes a huge difference in people's lives. We put them into shelter so that they don't sleep outside, so that they're able to take care of their kids and all of that, and you are going to be a major part of this." And this young woman with tears in her eyes actually was recounting this story, and she said, "I couldn't wait to get to work." And every single day, and this was just in summer internship while she was in college, but she loved that job. So every manager can look at their business, see how they are helping other people, and make sure that their employees are on board with that, let them know that they're being a part of that. That's right. All right, so how about a 20-something, because you've got this negative perception now. Obviously, it's out there. People think that you're going to be a slacker. How can you turn that negative into a positive? Well, I think the first thing to do is to understand it ain't going away. I mean, it's going to be around for some time, right? And so, what I would say is, look at things that successful people have done in the past, and then replicate it. One thing successful people do, they often get there a little bit earlier and stay a little later. You know, next semester, if you're in a college school, study 15 minutes longer, you'll see what a difference it makes. Most of work may be 15 minutes before everybody else. See what a difference it makes. It will get noticed. And even if this job is just a stepping stone job for you, even if your heart and soul isn't completely into this job, you still have to do that because what you can do is create a raving fan of your current employer. That's right. And who knows what new skills you're going to learn because you are putting in that extra effort. And if you can't be trusted with a little, nobody will ever trust you with a lot. And if you do that, opportunity will present itself, but again, only if you step forward. That's right. And there's a great story of that from an old book, "Think and Grow Rich." Fantastic book. Everybody should read it by Napoleon Hill. And it's about a guy named Edwin C. Barnes who thought his way into a partnership with Thomas Addison. -Thought his way in. -Thought his way in. But here's what happened. He started working for Addison and he just had, you know, the menial job, but he kept looking for that opportunity. He kept stepping up to prove that he would be the person to give that responsibility to. And it reached a point one day where Addison had an invention that he loved, but none of his salespeople did. And Edwin Barnes stepped up and said, "I'll sell it." And because of that, he ended up as a partner of Thomas Addison. See, he didn't sit around and go, "Oh, I'm bored. I hate this job." -That's right. -He said, "Wait a minute. What can I do?" -And found that opportunity. -Yep. All right, so let's review our discussion. Today we talked about 20-some things and whether or not they're getting a bad rap. And of course, we talked about maybe it's overgeneralization. Be careful of that. But then make sure that with 20-some things, with 80-some things, make all your employees feel like they're part of something bigger. And if you are a 20-something, turn this negative into a positive. Give a little bit more and your opportunity will present itself. And you can find a written summary of today's show on our blog at Big Success. That's bigwith2gsuccess.com, and obviously there's a lot more to discuss on this issue. Leave us a comment. Send us your thoughts at biginfo@bigsuccess.com so we can continue this conversation in another show. And let's get our big quote for the day, George. Our quote today is by Roger Stalback, the great quarterback, and he said, "There are no traffic jams along the extra mile." That is so true, isn't it? Being in Dallas, he probably knows about traffic jams. Just remember to give all you've got, and you'll get more than you can imagine. And our next show, we're going to talk about the communication debate. You know, I often wonder, "Is it better to email this person or should I just call him?" So we're going to talk about email, phone, or FaceTime. Face-to-face conversation, what are you talking about? What a concept. Until then, here's to your big success. The Big Success Show at B-I-G-G Success.com [MUSIC] [BLANK_AUDIO]