Issue #44

In this issue:

Word to the Whys

Let parents bequeath to their children not riches, but the spirit of reverence.
Plato

The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey their children.
Edward, Duke of Windsor

He that does not bring up his son to some honest calling and employment, brings him up to be a thief.
Jewish Proverb

The trouble with parents is that by the time they are experienced, they are unemployed.
Author Unknown

Childhood is a sort of cocoon. If a healthy adult is to emerge parents must allow, even encourage their children to struggle, to make mistakes and learn from them and to pay a price for their own bad judgments and conduct.
Michael Josephson—Character Counts

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs.
Joan Didion—American novelist

The highest reward for a man`s toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it.
John Ruskin—English art critic (1819-1900)

I take a very practical view of raising children. I put a sign in each of their rooms: "Checkout Time is 18 years."
Erma Bombeck

Although he was my enemy, I have to admit that what he accomplished was a brilliant piece of strategy. First he hit me, then he kicked me, then he hit me again.
Jack Handey—author of Deep Thoughts

See Eric in Action! Click for a video preview of Eric's
dynamic, insightful presentation style.

Links of Note...

The answers are just a few clicks away...

Getting Them to Give a Damn: How to Get Your Front Line to Care About Your Bottom Line
the new book by Eric Chester reveals the management techniques that leading-edge employers are using to get these quirky, book-smart, and streetwise employees—Eric calls them 'kidployees'—to contribute in innovative and entrepreneurial ways.

Available May 1st. Pre-order your copy today!
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Helicopter Parents and the Crash and Burn Employees they're Creating

I'm writing this at 30,000 feet jetting to New York to tape an interview for an ABC News prime time special (set to air in June) on the topic of over-involved parents of coming-of-age children, dubbed 'helicopter parents.' Show producers have asked me to comment on how recent college grads raised by parents that have always "hovered over them" are making out in the real world, and specifically as they transition into careers.

As you might suspect, the diagnosis isn't pretty. And we're not talking about some insignificant number of emerging employees, either.

When asked to evaluate the knowledge base, raw skills, and the upside potential that their new Gen Why recruits bring to the job, leaders in all sectors of business and industry report that they are somewhere between satisfied and delighted. However, when asked about the maturity, responsibility, and overall capacity to cope with the pressures, deadlines, and rigorous demands of an entry-level career position in the present day, the comments take an immediate U-turn. Evidently, parental hovering has had a major impact on business and, as we continue to see a mass exodus of boomers into retirement, managers must brace for a large influx of street-wise, book-smart, techno savvy upstarts that have a propensity for being real-world deficient and workplace-challenged.

The managing partner in a PR firm recently told me, "When the (Gen Whys) are significantly challenged, instead of rolling up their shirtsleeves and grinding it out late into the evening, they think it's perfectly acceptable to go home and wait for someone else to come up with the solution the next day. Unfortunately for all of us, 'someone' has always been there to pull them out of the muck and when no one is standing by to throw them a rope, they're rendered helpless."

Every good parent wants their children to succeed, as well they should. The problem occurs when a parent shields their child from the consequences of their actions. Granted, no mom or dad wants their 6-month-old to experience the outcome of swallowing a thumbtack, and they surely don't want to see their 4-year-old fall and hurt himself when he is learning how to ride a bike. But to email her a daily 'to do' list while she is away at college? Houston, we have a problem.

So this begs the question, "When is it okay to take the training wheels off and let junior experience a bloody knee?"

For an alarming number of parents with children in high school, college, and even older, the answer is 'not yet.' Although they may no longer strap them into secure child-safety seats, fit them with bicycles and skating helmets, hand them trophies even when they lose, and ask them each night what they'd prefer for dinner, an alarming number of parents never stop trying to be the hero in their kids' lives, swooping down when danger lurks to rescue them from the big bad world. Even when that kid is no longer a kid.

From daily wake-up calls to their cell phones so they won't oversleep and miss class, to researching and writing term papers for them, to bringing them to a job interview and sitting in the waiting room for "moral support" (yes, a client told me this actually happened during the courting of a 24-year-old candidate), hovering parents truly believe they are helping their kids while they are protecting them from life's harsh realities and letting them learn the important-albeit painful lessons that are a prerequisite to independence and success.

Business leaders are clearly miffed. "I can't make them see that dress rehearsal is over and this is the stage that their life is played out on" is the way one recruiter for a large investment banking firm put it. "They are no longer allowed to retake the final exam, there is no acceptable number of tardies, and no one at home can call in for them and excuse a poor performance."

So while they may arrive at your doorstep with an impressive academic record, a dynamic skill set, and a list of qualifications that choke a horse, take a deeper look to see if they are still sporting training wheels. While inexperience should never preclude the right person from joining your team, it might now be a very good idea to double check your waiting room.

Take Away Idea for Whys Managers

While there are a growing number of twenty-something job candidates coming in to your workplace who remain tethered to hovering parents, the majority of Gen Whys are fiercely independent and can think for themselves. Still, it makes sense to know as much as you can about your new recruit's problem solving mindset before tendering an offer. Employment laws in most states prevent you from determining everything you might want to know about their family history, but you can use a variety of tools to assess how they respond in the times of challenge. While you'll want them to solve problems, coming up with the 'right answer' is not nearly as important to your organization's success as the process they used to get there.

Whys Cracks

EDUCATIONAL TV: After arresting a 14-year-old burglar who ripped off about 10 homes and 90 cars in just over a week, police in Seminole, FL, asked him how he did it. The unnamed teen said he learned it all by watching "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on TV. "He told us he doesn't watch it for enjoyment," said a detective, "he watches to learn how to commit crimes." (St. Petersburg Times)
...and you thought the V-Chip was just for cable channels.

"GIVE ME AN 'X'!"—Texas State Rep. Al Edwards wants school cheerleaders to cool it. "The way they're moving their bodies, it's not twirling or doing the splits," he complains. "Those majorettes are doing things that are sexual." He has proposed legislation to require cheerleading routines to be "family friendly." Schools that break the rules would have their funding cut. The proposal wasn't welcomed by all. Cheer competition officials say they already mark down suggestive routines. (Austin American-Statesman, wire services)
Lose a cheer competition but win a spot on the new Girls Gone Wild... Not the kind of thing a parent wants to tell their friends about.

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