Millennial Miscomm

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I’ve read a plethora of articles on millennials, from topics covering how to work with millennials, to the changing face of the workforce and adapting to the millennial work ethic. A new generation of business professionals brings with it a variety of significant implications. Employers must respond with answers to two questions: how can we attract millennials and stay competitive? How can we capitalize on the changing workforce to do better business?

So, I get it. Everyone wants to learn more about the mysterious and unique creature that is “the millennial.” As a millennial, I appreciate the curiosity and adulation. Millennials bring to the table a whole new world of social media expertise, highly connected networks, and experience with new technologies. However, if you’re responding to the changing workforce by simply accepting millennial demands, you’re doing it wrong!

In case you missed it, millennials are considered the “entitlement generation.” We’re children of baby-boomer, helicopter parents who all received participation trophies whether we finished first or fifteenth in competitions. We expect immediate, if not instant, gratification in most settings (apologies if this page took longer than 2 seconds to load). Is this a culture that employers want to accommodate? How low can you limbo before you fall on your behind?

Full disclosure: I’m gainfully employed at an economic development organization where I manage social media, a website, and wear whatever hat that needs a good head.

I wish not to criticize my fellow millennials, but rather to break the mold and release the stigma. When we read and agree with these articles on working with millennials, written by experts (or even millennials!), we feed the entitlement beast. We give millennials the security blanket they expect! Ushering in a younger workforce is a two-way street. Why not ask millennials to adapt to what works now? Is it so radical to think that millennials could learn a thing or two from their predecessors? I don’t always agree with establishmentarianism. However, as we shape-shift as a knee-jerk reaction to change, we discount the establishment even if it’s successful. It would be a shame to rob the younger generations of the knowledge gathered from experienced businesspeople.

I propose only to welcome change with experience. Maintain an outgoing lane of knowledge exchange so that the broader cross-generational workforce can benefit. Millennials need maturation. Baby boomers need rejuvenation. Seems mutually compatible, right?

I’ll leave you with a quote from American economist and author, Thomas Sowell: “Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good.”

Millennials, let’s learn from the wise generations before us. Just because the change we bring may sound good doesn’t mean it’s gonna work.

IT Forecast: Clouds Have Formed, Raining Innovation

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Originally published by the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County in Northwest Economic Insight – Oct. 2014

Seattle’s moniker “Cloud City” has gained more and more traction in recent months as our region affirms itself as an international hub of cloud computing. The strength of our region’s information technology economy is evident in the continued prowess of major tech players, startup growth and investment, and the concentration of tech talent in King County. The unforeseen virtue of the IT industry is its transferability.

It begins with education. A graduate with a computer science degree isn’t confined to the IT industry. That graduate can apply his or her skills to just about every industry. Aerospace, clean technology, life sciences, and fashion all employ large IT departments working on a variety of projects, like digital fabrication, medical devices, and app development. The computer science degree becomes more and more transferable as industries see opportunity in adopting new technologies.

What’s truly exciting about IT transferability is the enabling of collaboration. In our region’s strongest industries, a unique nexus is formed with IT. These intersections drive the collaborative innovation we see in our region. Our airplanes are built more precisely, our buildings are more energy-efficient, and our medical devices are using cutting edge wearable technology to monitor our health (and can be fashionable to boot!). IT has even managed to overhaul the historically non-tech industries to adapt to changing consumer behavior (note how you’re reading this story today). The cloud alone has contributed to much of this collaboration as it has transformed communications, the workplace, and how we do business.

Not only have we confirmed the vitality of the local IT sector, we have transferred that vitality to the rest of our region’s economy. Think of this in terms of an old adage: a rising tide lifts all boats. Clouds have formed and tech innovation has rained down all around us. Let’s continue to ride the IT wave!

Seattle’s Growing IT Industry

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Editor’s Note: Originally published by the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County as part of their Northwest Economic Insight – July 2014.

Information Technology: Growing our own for a growing industry

Information Technology (IT) is rapidly becoming one of King County’s most exciting and impactful sectors. From increases in videogames and software development, to big data and cloud computing, King County is solidifying its reputation as a world hub of IT.

The New York Times recently deemed Seattle as the “New Center of a Tech Boom” as local companies flex their tech muscles. Microsoft and Amazon are key players in the boom, attracting high-skilled talent and convincing other dominant tech companies to open up shop in King County. Most recently, HP decided to bring its cloud computing business to Pioneer Square. These recent developments are contributing to Seattle’s newfound reputation as “Cloud City.”

As the IT sector continues to create more and more jobs, educational institutions and organizations are working hard to fill them with bright graduates. University of Washington is a proven leader in computer science and engineering education, while DigiPen Institute of Technologyremains a top game development institution. Other local institutions with prominent technology degrees include Bellevue College, Lake Washington Institute of Technology, and Art Institute of Seattle. However, tech education doesn’t start at higher-ed. Local organizations, includingWashington STEM and Code.org, are focused on computer science education in K-12 systems by developing curriculum and building training tools to help young students learn the basics of coding (one of the fundamentals of computer science).

Although the large corporations are taking the lion’s share of credit for elevating the IT sector, tech jobs are sprouting up in small and midsize businesses across all sectors. At the Technology Alliance’s State of Technology Luncheon, the organization released data from a recent study that shows technology-based employment accounts for over 268,000 jobs in King County. Job growth in IT shows no signs of slowing as local tech powerhouses expand their reach and national companies take advantage of the rare talent pool that exists here.

 

Busy Is The New Lazy

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Before we get started, I want to ask you a quick question: how’s work?

By the end of this post, perhaps you’ll understand why I, more often than not, can answer that question right now.

We’ve all engaged in a conversation about work, listening [hopefully] and responding as needed. If you follow the normal protocols, you can walk away having learned something new or discovered new opportunities. However, somewhere along the line, the normal protocols changed on us.

Now, It seems as though you’re lucky if you can pull enough teeth to glean any valuable knowledge from a work conversation. Why is that? “How’s work?” is a question that elicits boastful monologues, drama-ridden gossip, and/or vengeful workplace war stories. We’re given full license to brag, celebrate, vent, and complain! However, we’re no longer taking advantage of this gratuitous opportunity.

Instead, we’re substituting our otherwise engaging response with a single word: busy. Expression can be added, occasionally, with an extended vowel or emphasized syllable: “buuuusy,” for example. Perhaps, a heavy sigh and a head-shake can be included for dramatic effect.

Since when can one word, no matter how dramatic and expressive, articulate the thing we spend most of our hours awake doing? Well, since we got lazy. It’s easy to reduce all of the things we do [or should be doing] at work to a generic answer. This saves time and requires minimal effort. Most importantly, it makes you sound important. That’s why we do it, right? Myself included. What paints a better picture of busyness and importance than not even having the time to fully explain your work?!

This sounds like a solid communications strategy until you realize that every working professional with any semblance of a workload does that exact same thing.

My point is this: as soon as “busy” became en vogue as a work status, its ubiquity across conversations demeaned its true meaning. Being busy is now so subjective and relative that no one knows what that really means.

Today, I’m deeming the word “busy” a cliche. It’s a lazy attempt at sounding important. And, it’s a conversation-killer [a major pet peeve of mine]! Next time someone asks you about work, offer that person a worthy response that facilitates a dialogue. Don’t leave him or her hanging with a vague, meaningless remark that may actually work counter to your intentions. Converse. Share. Learn.

On the flip side, at least you now know how to end a drawn-out exchange with a service provider trying to sell things you don’t need.

I should get going, I’m busy.

Hey, You. How About Some Good Juju?

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In casual conversation, I frequently run into references of “bad juju.”  In most instances the reference is reactionary, conveying the sheer negativity of an unfortunate occurrence. We’ve all made or heard the reference. Frankly, I’m sick of my beloved nickname, Juju, being restricted to connotations of hardship and misfortunate.

I’m here to bring you nothing but Good Juju.

It’s time to change the status quo. I’ve created an ecosystem where bad juju ceases to exist and is replaced by only that which is positive, wishful, and, well…good. The only business in which I choose to engage is positive. My business brings Good Juju.

Good Juju Consulting is a sanctuary where brands discover their Good Juju, enabled by integrated marketing communications that create connections and build relationships. This is what will keep your audience engaged, whether you’re communicating with consumers, employees, key stakeholders, or the greater community. Good Juju stands by one simple truth: communicate value to succeed. Let’s eliminate all of the bad juju that exists in the forecast and proactively uncover some Good Juju.

No, this is not a “Hello, World” blog post. This is more than that. Consider this a, “pleasure to meet you and thanks for stopping by” post. Take a look around. Hang out for a while. Connect with me and let me know your thoughts! And remember, this is only the introduction. Stay tuned for what’s to be written.