• MILLENNIALS WILL SOON RULE THE WORLD. New research by Deloitte, based on 2,400 college students & working millennial professionals, found that: (1) “70% are less interested in running your company than running their own; (2) They are impatient, want new jobs or assignments every 12 – 24 months, and won’t necessarily wait 3 to 5 years for promotion; (3) They demand ‘transparency,’ looking for openness, inclusiveness and diversity in leadership; (4) They expect rapid career growth, are willing to embark on short-term assignments, and do not expect to work for a single employer for decades; (5) They expect to be evaluated ‘fairly’ – based on performance, not tenure; (6) They don’t care about succession & career plans, preferring to move around… with defined structure & role boundaries less important than ‘project-based’ rules and strategies; (7) Raised with access to peers & friends online, all the time, they are happy to operate in a culture where support comes from many mentors; (8) They thrive on innovation & change… but value stability and job security.” Employers who fail to accommodate this Generation Y perspective should prepare for the consequences. [FORBES.COM- Sep 12, 13]
  • EFFECTIVELY RECRUITING GOOD TALENT begins with a Job Description which is appealing as well as realistic. Basic elements are critical – including responsibilities, qualifications, opportunity – but postings also need to be creative, since the “goal is not to appeal to as many candidates as possible, but to the right candidates… Focus should be on Company needs, not wants… with descriptions tailored to future, as well as current needs… The message should (1) Quantifiably illustrate skills & competencies wanted; (2) Avoid generic, innocuous language that appeals to a broad, untargeted audience; and (3) Speak to the culture & unique environment which will draw-in or weed-out whether or not a candidate will thrive.” DCG can help develop this piece of marketing collateral. [OPEN VIEW PTRS – Sep 18, 13]
  • BEWARE THE ‘HOUSING REBOUND’ HYPE. “Foreclosures are still at the 2008 level with some 7.3% of all outstanding mortgage loans delinquent (past-due but not yet in foreclosure proceedings), the highest level in 35 years… According to Zillow Research, 44% of American homeowners don’t have enough equity to qualify for another home loan… The speculator/investor crowd, which accounted for about a third of all purchases over the last 18 months, is starting to pull back… And a Pew Research study just found that 36% of young adults (age 18 – 31), a record number and key demographic of home buyers, are living with parents, which hardly bodes well for a meaningful bump in housing sales… Combined with a weak employment situation – 14% of working-age adults either unemployed, underemployed, or given up looking… and newly- created jobs coming from low-paying sectors of the economy” – optimism that housing prices are on a major sustainable rebound is far from certain. [FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE REPORT – Sep 13]
  • ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS REPORT FEELING “EXTREMELY STRESSED OUT,” reports a 2012 survey by the American Psychological Ass’n, stemming from increasing global complexity, personal worlds becoming increasingly complicated, and pressure to perform intensifying. Some new strategies for managing stress begin at wake-up: (1) Since right-brain creative thoughts emerge best when we are “groggiest, before coffee, when unfocused and the brain’s frontal inhibitory mechanisms are at their weakest,” allow a daily 15-minute buffer to “let your mind wander”; (2) Do any type of morning exercise. Various researchers have found that 17-minutes a day (two hours weekly) reduced stress in up to 61% of people who do so, and that “people who exercise prior to stressful encounters report lower spikes in blood pressure during the encounter because their blood vessels are relaxed”; (3) In the shower or on the way to work, “shift focus to major priorities of the day ahead… and overplan your day by 50%. While ‘to do’ lists might cause stress in the short term, they create a healthy sense of pressure to achieve more focus… A project tends to expand with the time allocated to it, so give yourself one thing to do and it’ll take all day – but give yourself twelve things and you’ll get nine done.” [BEST LIFE – Fall/Winter 13]
  • THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Technology marches on – good or bad! Stadium food & drink vendors will soon be another vanished breed thanks to technology. A digital app in use at Yankee Stadium, and soon across America, now allows

    Smartphone scan of the QR code on seatback in front, boots up the concession menu for quick ordering with MasterCard billing, then provides runner delivery right to the game seat. Meanwhile, on Game Day, the Dallas Cowboys stadium consumes more electricity – with air conditioning, massive scoreboard, etc – than the nation of Liberia with 3.7 million people.