Issue #32

In this issue:

• Knock Me Over With a Feather
• Whys Cracks
• Thought for Today
• Whys Up Web Link
• WhysNews Archive

Word to the Whys

"Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing."
John Andrew Holmes - Noted author and philosopher

"A child is a temporarily disabled and stunted version of a larger person, whom you will someday know. Your job is to help them overcome the disabilities associated with their size and inexperience so that they get on with being that larger person."
Barbara Ehrenreich, social activist and writer

"We build people. And these people are building a great company."
Motto of the Southwestern Company

"The country needs and demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (1882-1945), 32nd US President

"Young minds generally hate to be idle. All the care then should be that their busy humor should be constantly employed in something that is of use to them."
John Locke, English philosopher (1632-1704)

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."
Conrad Hilton, Founder of Hilton Hotels

"If a kid gets an answer right on a test, tell them it was just a lucky guess. That way, they develop a natural 'lucky' feeling."
Jack Handey, Author of Deep Thoughts

See Eric in Action! Click for a video preview of Eric's
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Links of Note...

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The answers are just a few clicks away...

THOUGHT FOR TODAY
Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?

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

Order your copy today! Available in hard copy, paperback and video.

WHYS UP WEB LINK
So you know what resonates with Gen Why: www.subservientchicken.com

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Knock Me Over With a Feather
Just When We Were Beginning to Understand

Last month's Whys News profiled the innovative methods the US Army is using to get buy-in from a record number of Generation Why recruits. But is it possible for a company to get a similar degree of buy-in from civilian Gen Whys?

Put yourself in the hot seat of a tough assignment. Imagine trying to recruit a sales staff of 3,000-plus 18-23 year-olds from the nation's finest colleges and universities, asking them to work an entire summer from their last final exam to the opening day of fall semester. To complicate your assignment, you're recruiting for a job that encourages a six-day, eighty-hour workweek, averaging thirteen hours per day, with no time off for holidays or a summer vacation. Your recruits will be required to attend a week-long intensive training program - unpaid and at their own expense - and, at the conclusion of that training, they will be relocated to another city or town for the entire summer. They will have no choice of city and probably will not find out exactly where they're going until after they have completed training. Further, your recruits must pay for all their own travel, food, and living expenses, and secure their own living arrangements within a few days of relocation.

For you to have any chance of success, you'd have to be recruiting for the NBA, a prime time sitcom, or a boy band, right?

Not even close.

The positions you're seeking to fill are door-to-door sales, offering straight commission and no base salary.

As one who closely examines the trends and traits of post-Generation X'ers, I would have thought this absurd, if not entirely impossible. But last week, my 19-year-old son, Zac, phoned home from college and informed me about his summer plans.

This year, the Southwestern Company interviewed more than 30,000 top college students across the country and selected fewer than 3,500 for its legendary summer sales program. Headquartered in Nashville, this 136-year-old book distribution company has always relied exclusively on college students to sell its academic reference books by knocking on residential doors throughout the summer months. Southwestern's sales have never been stronger, and the talent pool has never been deeper.

Zac is a classic Gen Why; in fact, his mug is prominently featured on the cover of my book, Employing Generation Why. He's a great kid and a Dean's list student who makes his father very proud. But Zac's never been drawn to hard work, long days, or personal rejection. The fact that he's willingly and knowingly sprinting towards all three this summer absolutely fascinates me.

What is it about the Southwestern concept that appeals to Zac and tens of thousands of others like him? How can this company (and the Army) continue to attract and retain huge numbers of the best and the brightest, while other companies and organizations offering more money, perks, and comfort turn these same kids off?

I believe the answers lie in these common denominators:

1. Honesty - Southwestern has recruits sign an agreement fully disclosing 66 items detailing the downside aspects of the job. They tell them going in that this is, without question, the most difficult summer job in America. In a world where they have so often been deceived, Gen Whys are drawn to those who shoot straight with no bull and zero hype.

2. Challenge - Boomers tend to think that today's kids are inherently lazy, and would rather play video games than work. In reality, Gen Whys find the daunting challenge and adventure represented by Southwestern and the Army quite compelling. When faced with the choice of assigning them a difficult task that requires thought and effort or a monotonous easy one, opt for the one that challenges and inspires.

3. Guidance - We have been taught that Gen Whys resist structure and authority. In reality, they've grown up in a relaxed society that has left them thirsty for discipline and principled leadership. Don't shy away from being bold and decisive, but don't bark commands simply to show them who's in charge.

4. Delayed Gratification - This one really throws us. We may think that Gen Whys are only focused on the present and are not concerned about the future. In reality, most Gen Whys realize they need more than a classroom education to succeed in a global marketplace. They also realize that the key to success lies in the fusion of skills, character, and experience, and they are attracted to opportunities that present a chance for the development of all three. Consistently demonstrate through story and example how present short-term sacrifice can lead to future long-term growth and prosperity, no matter what path they eventually select for themselves.

The takeaway for exceptional leaders is this:
Never compromise integrity or procedure for the sake of filling positions or appearing hip to Gen Why. Once they get a whiff of soft leadership, a lack of ethics or standards, or any hint of incongruity, you've forever lost their buy-in. And that will cost you dearly in the long-term.

Whys Cracks

Boy, Girl, Neither, or All of the Above: Members of the next incoming freshman class at Brown University will enjoy a new option when it comes to on-campus housing: what the school calls a "gender-neutral option." Students selecting that option will live in a dorm with "lockable bathrooms for use by one person." While we all like our privacy, just what kind of student requires these special accommodations? The answer: The newest fashionable minority on college campuses, "transgender students." - Charles Colson, Breakpoint

But a cool way to get some privacy in a crowded dorm, heh?

Scared Straight by Stupidity - In Garfield County, Nebraska, Sheriff Larry Donner was invited to Burwell High School by his teacher wife to speak to students. He passed around his handcuffs for the students to see, and as a demonstration, cuffed student senior Seth Barrett. But when he tried to release Barrett, the key broke off in the lock. No fear: Donner took the boy to a local welder and had the cuffs cut off -- with a plasma torch. Then the sheriff had to take the boy for treatment of third-degree burns. "The theme of the resulting lawsuit is 'What were you thinking?'", says attorney Maren Chaloupka, who has filed suit against the sheriff's office, the school, and the welding shop on Barrett's behalf. - Lincoln Journal Star

"Now put your bullet back in your pocket, Barney."