The second semester of my junior year of college, I was taking Reporting 2, one of the required classes for a journalism degree. By the end of the semester I had almost failed the class and unwittingly created an opportunity that is affecting my life on a daily basis.

I wasn’t giving the class my all. In fact, it’s fair to say that I was screwing up royally. The few assignments I did turn in were half-assed caricatures of good work, and I was barely even going to class. I’m still amazed that I didn’t fail the class altogether.

The professor suggested to the class that we submit columns to The Denver Post’s Colorado Voices feature. The program is an opportunity for writers who typically wouldn’t get published in the Post to run a few columns in the paper. My professor said it was a good way to write a few pieces and build a portfolio.

But I didn’t want to take her advice. I was practically failing her class, and despite knowing that my situation was of my own creation, I wasn’t shy about telling people that I wasn’t fond of this professor because we “didn’t see eye-to-eye.”  I resisted the suggestion until my father called me and suggested the exact same thing that evening.

Then I knew I had to do it. Information from one good source can be a fluke. But two… on the same day? Yeah, that’s a sign.

So, I wrote a couple columns and e-mailed them to the Post. A month or so passed, and I got a call from the Post, informing me that I had been selected for the Voices panel.  My editor and I met and she guided me through the process of selecting topics and writing them.

One of my columns was about Generation Y. It raised a few eyebrows, which didn’t surprise me, given that its lede was:

“All right, baby boomers, let’s get one thing straight: If I’m going to be paying for your Social Security, I’d like a lot less lip from you on the way in which I’m going to do it.”

I got a score of angry e-mails from people who thought I was an impertinent brat. I even got one from a writer who said that I had insulted half of living Americans, and all of the dead ones.

But one of the e-mails I got didn’t contain insults or disagreements. It had a job offer. That job offer turned into a job. That job parlayed into a role in the new company the boss man was building. And that role is growing and changing today.

I never thought I’d be working for a start-up, pinching pennies, holding my breath on go-to-market day, equally excited and terrified. I had assumed that guarantees were given when you completed your degree. If you’d told me that I’d be a part of a new national movement to foster work ethic in teens and young adults, I’d have laughed in your face.

But here I am.

All because of that class. All because I made that one choice, and it turned a small opportunity into another which turned into another and another and became something I couldn’t have imagined when I was skipping class and avoiding work. I don’t believe that screwing up that class has improved my situation today, but I know that class was a turning point in my life.

The lesson I learned about opportunities that day was two-fold:

First, they multiply. Accepting one opportunity always creates at  least two more.

Second, they multiply in unexpected ways. You may know what you’re missing when you pass up a given opportunity, but you’ll never know what other opportunities it may have created that you’ll miss.

In the spirit of opportunities, I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to check out The A Game. We regularly hear employers complain that teens and young adults lack work ethic. Our goal is to change that.

Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to try to tackle three jobs at once, but I tell people I’m a stubborn bastard who doesn’t like quitting. Of course, that’s a load of crap - I’ll give up on a 5K if I’m not in the mood. The truth is I have problems saying “no” to people. And when they’re offering me money… let’s just say that “yes” is a comfortable answer.

Before I continue, I want you to know that I’m not even operating on the pretense that this is about managing Generation Y. It’s a very personal statement about my experiences that I hope can shed a little light on my life - and hopefully teach you a bit about someone you know who is like me.

I never thought I’d find myself working so much as two jobs at once, as I’d always maintained that one job was one too many. But time makes fools of us all.

It all started with graduation. Yes, graduation. That gilded moment when you’re supposed to move from the low-paid world of “student” and into the high paid world of “career man.”  At least that’s what schools tell you when you apply. The reality is that there’s a step between those two stages of life, and it’s more like a staircase when you graduate in the middle of a speculative bust. (On the bright side, sub-prime mortgages sound cooler than tulips.)

When I graduated, I found myself working for the family business. It wasn’t my ideal job, but I had already made peace with the fact that no one was going to pay me ungodly amounts of money to sip drinks from a coconut. About a month after I started there, I was recruited by a friend working at a restaurant. I was a little hesitant to tackle the extra obligations, but I would be working with a good friend, and the looming threat of student loans, debt to mom & dad, car payments, insurance, and the reality that I have to save for retirement all suggested that supplemental income was a good idea.

And soon I was working 50 to 60 hours each week between the two jobs. Sure, they were a bit of a strange mix: Pre-employment evaluations for public safety agencies by day, frying up falafel by night. But what the hell, right? I could make my car payments, and I could afford to go out for beers with the guys. Life was good.

As I soon found, though, working that much is exhausting. I started to forget what feeling well-rested felt like and got used to hammering through, regardless of how tired I was. Ironically, what little R & R time I had was spent engaged in activities that were not particularly restful. When you’re up all night at the bars Friday and Saturday, it’s hard to feel well-rested come Monday.

But I felt it was worth the exhaustion and unusual schedule - I was learning a lot. So, over the next few months as my work situation evolved, I decided to go with the flow. I jettisoned the restaurant job for a job in retail loss prevention. After a year at my dad’s office, I started with Generation Why, where my responsibilities have steadily increased. Earlier this year I began working with a photo company - I shoot photos, do paperwork, and I’ve recently been trying to drum up more sales for the company.

And I thought I was tired before.

Some days I ask if it’s all worth it. I tell myself that I’m developing dozens of different skills in incredibly varied settings. I mean, when you spend your morning telling eight-year-olds how to pose for photos and your evenings telling shoplifters to “gimme my stuff back,” you’re stretching your interpersonal boundaries. Not to mention time management, balancing the needs of different offices, prioritizing, and learning how to say “no.”

But as valuable as developing life skills can be, there are days when I wonder how I’m going to put it all to use. And when I wonder if I’ll ever use it, I inevitably wonder if this is worth it. The long days. The  impact on my social life. The amount of time I spend doing things I don’t want to do versus the small amount of time I spend doing the things I want to do.

I’ve never been this exhausted. And while I know that I’m the most skilled, competent, and motivated that I’ve ever been in my entire life, there are days I’d trade it all for one less time-consuming job that pays a whole lot more.

Your turn:

Ever worked a whole lot? What did it teach you? Was it worth it?

Have you ever wondered why Generation Y thinks it can change all the rules? Look no further than this:

On Friday, YPulse’s meredith reported that an MTV Sticky report on European youth included an exercise in which the researchers asked 100 European teens to “‘challenge, criticize, and collectively re-write the 10 Commandments’ as a way of reflecting generational change.”

Yikes.

I’m a fan of generational change. I think that on the whole we move forward as a society with each generation, and that Generation Y has great things to offer the world. But this particular exercise is not an example of the kind of generational change that can invigorate a team, revolutionize a workplace, or commit to an incredible cause. No, this exercise is a perfect example of the pathetic, self-indulgent bullshit Generation Y was raised on.

Whether you believe in God or not, and wherever you stand on the propriety of displaying the commandments on public property, you have to find this galling. To tell you the truth, I’m surprised that this fires me up as much as it does. I haven’t been to church since I was in high school. I enjoy watching South Park, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and other irreverent comedy almost as much I enjoy making fun of people to their faces.  But for whatever reason, when I read this, I could feel my blood pressure spike.

And it didn’t get any better when I read the new 10 Commandments:

1. Have faith in yourself.
2. Respect your parents.
3. Be honest.
4. Take responsibility for your own life.
5. Live life to the fullest and be passionate.
6. Keep your promises.
7. Work hard to succeed but not to the detriment of others.
8. Be tolerant of others’ differences.
9. Be happy and optimistic, even in adversity.
10. Create, don’t destroy.

None of these seem like terrible advice, but do you notice anything missing from that list?

Rule #1 is now: “Have faith in yourself.” The number one priority on this list is Me. Me, me, me. The list doesn’t acknowledge, or even mention in passing, the concept that there is something greater than one’s self - be it a higher moral order, overarching societal utility, or God. But why would it? It’s the result of a group of young people being asked “If you could make your own rules, how would they look?” So, it’s no surprise that the rules are self-serving.

What is surprising is that people feign shock when young people ask why they have to show up on time. As a growing generation, Generation Y was taught that questioning norms was a good and natural thing to do. We were taught time and again the myriad ways in which our ancestors and elders were morally deficient. And as we grew, new technologies were making it possible to question behaviors that had, up to that time, been considered fundamental to the workplace.

It’s too late to change that fact. It’s too late to raise Generation Y again.

But as business owners, managers, and co-workers, we don’t have to accept the notion that everything is open to revision.

• Yes, technology has revolutionized the way we deal with customers. No, customer service will never cease to be important.
• Yes, the measure of a man is his character. No, people will not trust you if you dress like a bum.
• Yes, previous generations have held beliefs about race, religion, and gender. No, that does not mean that murder or adultery will ever be acceptable.
• Yes, I want you to work with me to find reasonable terms of employment. No, the terms on which I employ you are not negotiable once you’ve agreed to them.

Ask yourself which of your company’s rules are negotiable, and which ones aren’t. Be as flexible and accommodating as you can on the flexible ones.

But don’t give an inch on the others.

Friday afternoon as I was sitting in the office, I caught an exchange  that got me wondering if despite all our immodesty and confidence that perhaps Gen Y has a soft spot for criticism, particularly when it comes to blogging.

It all began with this tweet:

@AlexJMann: You know “Gen Y” blogging has become a farce when the unemployed are giving career advice. It brings irony to a whole new level.

And then the fireworks started:

[Note: I've cleaned out the RTs and @replies to make this a bit more readable.]

@CarlosMic: Amen!

@BlakeSunshine: I think that’s a pretty unfair generalization. I’m a Gen-Y blogger with a real job too.

@JRMoreau: Agreed. I think that’s a pretty unfair generalization.

@ImNickArmstrong: Agreed. Hucksters abound, but that sort of generalization is bone stupid, Alex.

@Carol_Phillips: I agree as well [with JR, Nick, and Blake]

@AlexJMann: Blake, You have a job. Great, you’re not my target. The unemployed kid writing career top ten lists–I’ll call bullshit every time.

@BlakeSunshine: Fair enough, but don’t call all Gen-Y blogging a farce

Holy cow!

So what do we think, folks? Is this an example of a generation that is overly sensitive about criticisms of its own norms while it doesn’t hesitate to tear down the norms of previous generations? Or is it a fair defense against an unreasonable charge?

Updates!:

Blake Sunshine shared her take on her blog.

Carol Phillips offered up a couple great posts on generation Y’s perception of itself here and here.

This isn’t so much a technique for managing Generation Y as it is a helpful hint for effectively using technology (a quality that can come in handy when managing Generation Y):

Once, the CCTV system at my security job broke down, and we had to fix it. After two hours of disassembling and reassembling every component of the system, powering it off and on, and unplugging and re-plugging every single connection along the way, the thing still wouldn’t work.

The rest of the group stepped outside for a minute, so I took the opportunity to Google the error message and the brand of the camera system. Sure enough, the first result contained instructions for solving the problem. Within two minutes, I had the system up and running.

The cool thing about this fix is that anyone can do it. You don’t need training or tech-know-how, you just need internet access and a good feel for the search terms that will return useful results.

Now, I often hear that Gen Y is tech savvy.  And frequently enough, this translates into the youngest in the store or the office getting called each time a computer crashes, a phone doesn’t work, or the Tivo won’t program correctly. But that doesn’t mean that we know how to fix everything right off the bat. Sometimes, we just know which terms to plug into a search engine.

Next time you’ve got a broken piece of technology on your hands, give this a shot before you call up a Gen Y employee or one of your kids. Best case scenario, you fix the problem and can teach the young guns how it’s done next time the problem comes up. Worst case scenario, you’ve taken two minutes and learned how not to solve the problem.

My last post got some great comments - I encourage you to give them a read. I was a little surprised, though, that no one bit on my (theoretically) provocative question of

If you don’t reward your employees for doing something, are you telling your Gen Y employees that the value of that task was zero?

We’ve got a pretty cool group out there. I had expected to at least see the word “entitled” make an appearance. But it didn’t, which suggests that maybe my expectations of the managers and supervisors out there need a little adjusting.

That said, my view on this particular question is that you run the danger of creating the “zero value perception” when you aren’t clear in the delivery of your rewards. Certainly, there exists a perception that Generation Y needs a cookie just for showing up on time, but you will ultimately set the norms in your workplace. If your employees learn that rewards are for going the extra mile, they’ll value them. The problem comes when they think that showing up on time is going an extra mile. When you hire new employees, establish clear expectations and tie those to their pay very explicitly. You’re paying these people X dollars/hour, and you should make sure that they know that money is the reward for meeting the bare minimum standards. I might go so far as to use a written “employment contract” that makes this painfully clear.

I’ll write one of these tonight and post a .pdf of what I imagine tomorrow.

I’m sitting in the Gen Why offices on a sunny afternoon as I type this, drafting a document on providing feedback to teenagers, but right now I need a break. So, rather than continuing to think about the Teenage Feedback Report Card we’re working on, I wanted to write about something else: music.

I’m a huge music fan. When I work at the office, I listen to mp3s on my laptop. When I drive, I listen to mixed CDs that  I have slaved over. When I workout, I listen to my iPod. When I read in bed at night, I put on the stereo. Silence bothers me. And while I may be an extreme case, I know that music is an important part of life for most people found in my age bracket.

So, today, I wanted to take a quick look at a couple songs, and the lessons that those songs taught me about my bosses.

The song: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” by Guns ‘N Roses.

(I know that this is originally a Bob Dylan song, by the way, but we were listening to Axl sing it.)

The experience: My boss came into the back of the house while I was washing dishes, shut the stereo off, and took it away because he was so sick of Axl “murdering a Dylan classic.” About ten minutes later, he came in, plugged the stereo back in, and apologized for being childish.

The lesson: I was initially pretty upset. After all, I was the one in the back of the house slaving over the sanitizer, so the way I saw it, I should be the one choosing the tunes. At first, I thought I was going to learn that my boss was  a jerk. When he came in to apologize, though, I learned that he was willing to do the right thing, even if it took him a few minutes. I ended learning a bit more about him because I saw him react to something that I’m also passionate about. He doesn’t get any points for style, but I commend him for being willing to share something about himself with his employees.

The song: “Ninja Rap” by Vanilla Ice

The experience: At my retail loss prevention job, we straight-up love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. How much so? Well, in our office, we’ve got a white board with pictures of each of us drawn up as a ninja turtle and our statistics listed next to our turtle drawings. (I’m Michelangelo, if you’re wondering.) In spite of this light-hearted take on our jobs - or perhaps because of it - we’ve been excelling this year. We’ve held the traveling trophy for being the best store in the district for two months straight. So it seemed only natural one day when our boss downloaded “Ninja Rap” and we began dancing in the office to celebrate our performance.

The lesson: Two distinct lessons here: First, I find the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles highly motivational. They were a major part of the pop culture landscape of my childhood, and so it just makes sense to want to be more like one. Might not hold for my entire generation, but most guys my age are likely more into the Ninja Turtles than you’d think. Second, our relationship with our manager is excellent; he knows what would motivate and reward us. Think about this: with a $0.99 download from the iTunes store, he was able to provide an extremely cool reward to the entire office.

If you’ve carefully considered your goals and decided that using social media is a good way to help you build relationships with your Gen Y employees, there are a number of different strategies that you can use. Doubtless, there are thousands of strategies out there, but here are three effective strategies that can start you down the road.

Before I hit those, I’ll again emphasize that the best way to determine what’s best for your staff is to ask them. They know what they’ll respond to and what they won’t, and they won’t hesitate to tell you if you ask.

1. Create a group on an existing social network.

Rather than simply adding your Millennials as friends, create a group for your staff. Whether it’s on Facebook (the network with which I’m most familiar because I use it most) or MySpace or another that your staff prefers, let the group be a place where they can interact with each other. If you’re really brave, let it be a place where they can provide you with honest feedback, so that you can work to manage them more effectively.

2. Create a social network of your own.

Starbucks has created its own internal social network, as have a number of other large companies. But you don’t need a Starbucks Grande Size Budget to do this. Go to ning.com, and you can create a network with just a few clicks. Much like the group, this will allow your staff a place to interact that is their own. Be warned, though, not all young people are looking for another social network to join, and this option can become time-consuming on your end.

3. Start an internal blog

Rather than using social networks, create an internal blog. Then, rather than dealing with profiles (and the inevitable inappropriate pictures, quotes, etc.), you can simply post an idea or a thought or something as a blog post, and then allow employees to comment on it. Blogs can be password protected, so you can set up the blog so that it is password protected, thus allowing you to limit the conversation to your staff. A blog on WordPress is free and easy to use.

With the extraordinary reach of social media (sites like Facebook or MySpace, blogs, or Twitter) in Generation Y, there is no question that these tools can be used to build connections with Millennial employees. But before you ever sign on to a social networking site for your work purposes, there are three things YOU SHOULD CONSIDER VERY CAREFULLY:

1. Do you really want a look at this person’s private life? As tech-savvy as Gen Y can be, they can be pretty naive in terms of privacy. I know I’ve had more than one regrettable picture show up on Facebook after a wild Friday night. If you don’t want to think about your young employees making stupid decisions, of if you can’t handle finding out what they say about their jobs when they’re not there, don’t even sign up.

2. What will other people think about the actions you take? Ask yourself this: If I were a 16-year-old girl’s parent, how would I feel about her 35-year-old manager adding her as a friend on MySpace? How would your HR manager feel about it?

3. Exactly what are you looking to accomplish? Remember, the purpose of this exercise is to focus on building relationships with your young employees so you can manage them more effectively. If they feel like you’re spying on them, or if you’re spending time but getting no ROI, this isn’t something you should be doing.

The other day, I was asked a great question on Twitter by Gary Thill, the editor of Aquatics International Magazine (Check him out on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aquaticsintl). Mr. Thill had asked what the twitterverse thought was important in managing Gen Y, and I told him that building genuine relationships with employees is what I would point to as priority number one. Then he asked me:

“Since Gen Yers communicate so much through texting, and social media, how do you build relationships?”

That there is an insightful question. And one that is very difficult to answer in a mere 140 characters, so I figured I’d give it its due with a blog post. In fact, it’s going to be a two-part answer, with today’s post focusing on what I want from that relationship and my next couple posts focusing on the ways that new technology can change that game.

My generation is redefining the concept of “relationships” as we go through our daily digital lives. We don’t need face-time to feel like we’ve got a relationship with someone. Part of the cause of this change is technological. Courtesy of tools like Facebook or Twitter, I can know what people in faraway places are doing at any given second, see pictures or videos of their most embarrassing moments, and converse with them in real time. All of this without ever going to Singapore, Sydney, Madison, or wherever. I can learn more about someone with 10 minutes looking at his Facebook profile than I might be able to in a 10 minute conversation with him.

Consequently, I don’t feel the need to physically meet people in order to get to know them. Certainly there are people I am interested in seeing on a more than digital basis, and I derive considerably more satisfaction from those interactions than I do from my Facebook friends.

I’m also very comfortable categorizing my relationships and treating them differently. Some are for work, some for school, some for day-to-day friendship. Each requires a different level of engagement on my part, and I expect a different level of engagement from each.

When it comes to the work relationships, then, what am I looking for? Certainly it’s a little different with each boss, each job, and each co-worker, but there are a few things I always look to get out of a work relationship, whether I get them digitally or in person.

First, I want to be respected for the work I do. And, no, I don’t consider my paycheck “respect” for what I do. It is what you give me in exchange for doing my job. A part of our relationship as an employer and employee, I need you to include (a) some sort of congratulations for doing well and (b) include a picture of the difference I make for your business. I’ve never enjoyed working for a boss who didn’t let me know that my successes were appreciated, and who didn’t help me understand how those successes fit into the bigger picture.

Second, I want to be valued for who I am. I understand that as a front-line worker for a billion dollar corporation, I am small cog in a very big machine. But as my day-to-day manager, I don’t want you to treat me like a replaceable part to a machine. I’m a person, and I’d like to be treated accordingly. Take an interest in my welfare, ask about my hobbies or my family, discuss one of our common interests with me.

Third, I need you to lead me. Yes, I want to know when I’m doing well. But at work I need someone who knows the way and who will put me back on the correct path if I stray from it. Bosses who are so interested in being my friend that they allow me to make mistakes can create one of two situations: (a) I consistently mess up, and feel good about the work I do until some sort of crushing reality check comes when I get a new boss or talk to an honest co-worker; or (b) Boss eventually gets so fed up with my incompetence, and explodes at me for having problems the boss should have been fixing in the first place. Both of these have the same end result: our relationship ends badly.

If you can bring those three elements to a workplace relationship with me, we’ll get along quite nicely.

I’d like to conclude by re-posing the question that I’ll be addressing in my next few posts: How can a boss bring this kind of management to the table in an age when texting and social media seem to be the norm for communicating?