Issue #26

• Trick FOR Treat
• Whys Cracks
• The Buzz

Word to the Whys

"You can make a happy person into a good worker, but not necessarily the other way around."
~ Gordon Segal, Founder, Crate & Barrel

"Don't throw away your friendship with your teenager over behavior that has no great moral significance. There will be plenty of real issues that require you to stand like a rock. Save your big guns for those crucial confrontations."
~ Dr. James C. Dobson, Founder, Focus on the Family

"Recognition, rewards, and positive reinforcements really do work!"
~ Dr. Ken Blanchard - Co-Author of The One Minute Manager

"People often say that this or that person has not yet found him- self. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates."
~ Thomas Szasz, Professor of Psychiatry, University of New York

"The only people who work this hard are people who want to."
~ Jon Mittelhauser, a Netscape founding engineer

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Employing Generation Why by Eric Chester is being called the quintessential guide to recruiting, hiring, training, motivating and retaining the emerging workforce.

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"Trick FOR Treat?"

Trick or Treat... Or is it really just Treat?

America's second biggest holiday is fast approaching, and retailers are expecting huge sales. And if you're thinking that I'm referring to Thanksgiving, guess again; it's Halloween.

Halloween is a holiday with roots steeped rich in Celtic, Roman Catholic, and Protestant tradition. The ritual of Trick-or-Treating can be traced back centuries ago when children would adorn hand-made ceremonial costumes and go from door-to-door in their villages entertaining their neighbors with songs, skits, and dances. If they performed well, the neighboring villager might then reward them with some bread, fruit, or nuts. This pushed the kids to do their very best knowing that they would have to do something to get something - i.e., "a trick FOR a treat."

Fast forward. Your doorbell will begin ringing about dusk late next week and a handful of costumed kids will be gathered on your porch, shouting "Trick-or-treat!" However, unlike the villagers of days gone by, you don't really have much of a choice. If you politely ask them to do something to entertain you as compensation for the jumbo-sized Snickers you're about to place in their sack, you'll either get a visit from your friendly neighborhood police, or your house will be marked for some "unscheduled exterior decorating."

Today's youth simply aren't wired with a Trick FOR Treat mentality. They aren't even thinking Trick OR Treat. They just want the treat; and the bigger - the quicker - the simpler - the better. They probably won't even acknowledge your gift with a simple "thank you!" Nope. It's all about entitlement, and you owe them a freebie!

It's this kind of "Show me the money!" thinking that's making things really tough for managers.

So you have two choices:

1. Live in the past and hope that someday, the work ethic fairy comes back and sprinkles magic dust on your young work force to get them to put your company's needs before their own.

2. Find new and improved ways to spread the treats, keeping your organization's pathway to performance paved with plenty of perks so as to keep your people producing at peak efficiency. (Pardon the P's!)

It's the classic old school vs. new school approach to employee management. The old school style may still be effective with boomers and perhaps even a few mature X'ers, but it is an automatic disconnect with Gen Whys. To tap into their incredible potential, you have to appeal to their TREAT! mentality and be always ready to recognize, reward, and reinforce on the spot. Failure to do so will only guarantee one result -- that your young talent will soon be doing the trick for your competitors.

For some great ideas on proven recognition and reward programs, devour these books and resources:

• Send Flowers to the Living by TJ Schier
• 1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson
• Employing Generation Why by Eric Chester

Whys Cracks

The Name Game

A survey of British companies finds that many businesses can't afford to give employees raises, so they're giving them stuffy-sounding job titles instead. A receptionist might be called the "Head of Verbal Telecommunications", a restroom janitor "Technical Sanitation Assistant", and a window cleaner a "Optical Illuminator Enhancer". An employment agency spokesman says such "up-titling" is helpful, since "people view a grander title as recognition of their contribution to the organization and feel more committed as a result."

Up title a Gen Why in lieu of a raise and they'll tell you to take your title and put it up your *&(^_$#@!

The Name Game - Part II

A report by an Australian newspaper finds an increasing trend of American parents naming their children after popular commercial brand names. Case in point: Timberland, now age 3. "His daddy insisted on it because Timberlands were the pride of his wardrobe," says the boy's mother. "The alternative was Reebok. I wanted Kevin." A search of Social Security records found that in the year 2000 alone, 49 children were named Canon and 24 named Unique. Other names given to children that year include Mercedes, Jaguar, Chanel, Camry and Lexus.

"If you can't afford something you want, make one at home!"

The Buzz

What do your colleagues have to say about LIVE Generation Why Presentations?

"Our management team is already finding creative ways to implement the ideas generated from the Generation Why presentation and subsequent workshop ."

~John Spano, HR Director, Muvico Theaters, Inc.