March, 2014 Archive

Are Great Jobs A Human Rights Issue? Now On Switch & Shift!

March 28, 2014• Life

revolution-fist

Today, our organizations are a lot of things…

They are the economic engines of the world. For example, did you know that of the top 150 economic entities in the world, 58% of those entities are corporations — not nations/countries?

They are the places where we occupy some most of our time. Where do we spend more of our life than at work? Nowhere.

They are the things that most prominently dictate the way we live. The way we dress, the amount of vacation we get to take, and the people we see most often — all determined primarily by our workplace.

Yes, our organizations are many things. One thing they are NOT, however — at least for most of us — is a center of wellbeing.

But does this really mean a great job is a “human rights issue”…?

I think so — find out why!

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Advice For My Daughter: ‘Real’ and ‘Tangible’ Are Not The Same

March 21, 2014• Legacy, Life

j-and-e

It took me a long time to truly grasp this one, but you’ll probably be much smarter than me.

Many people speak as though “real” things are the same as “tangible” things. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Here’s a quick list of things you don’t have to hold in your hands to feel how REAL they are:

  • A smile
  • The wind
  • Someone’s bad attitude
  • A melody
  • Laws/rules
  • Love
  • Hate
  • A great story

In fact, on my own “bad days” the story of what I believe to be true about the world feels like the only glue I have. The story I believe is that we’re here for a reason and that I’m surrounded by people who love me dearly. This story — not “real,” by any tangible standard — holds me together more than anything else.

And what’s more real than that?

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How To Work With Gen Y, Part 2

March 7, 2014• Leadership, Legacy

gen-y

One more thought on last week’s popular post:

This one is about Gen Y and “business results.”

We know the world of work is changing fast; perhaps faster than ever before, in all of human history. What we sometimes forget, in the haze of our frenetic busy-ness, is that this rapid pace means organizations who do not adapt their ways of working to the “early adopter” Gen Y crowd aren’t just being closed-minded, they are slowly rotting out the center of their own business.

For these folks, the “system failure” won’t happen today or tomorrow, but sooner than they realize these companies will simply be unable to “keep up” — much less lead — in the marketplace, because, in the name of getting a new generation to “pay their dues,” they’ve actually refused to do what all organizations/organisms must do to survive: evolve.

The future marketplace isn’t going to be less tech-savvy and less connected. It’s going to be much, much more of those things.

Our organizations NEED the skills and mindsets of these emerging leaders, probably quite desperately, whether we realize it or not.

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Don’t miss last week’s How To Work With Gen Y, Part 1! It’s even more incendiary than this one…

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