New DVD Release!
Be one of the first to review the Center’s new video resource, Generation Next: How Today’s Talent Transition Will Rock Tomorrow’s Workplace. This program is the next step in discovering how emerging contributors are changing the way we work. Filled with amusing insights and insightful stories, the video is designed to stimulate discussion between today’s twenty-somethings, sixty-somethings, and everyone in between. Click here to watch some excerpts and take advantage of the introductory price.
Will We Really Need to Transfer Knowledge?
Over the past couple of months, I have been researching for a book entitled, Common Sense by Friday: Fostering Critical Thinking in a Menu-Driven World. As I have interviewed managers in all sorts of industries, one thing has become abundantly clear: The transfer of knowledge from one generation to the other is taking place in ways that few could have foreseen five years ago.
Rather than waiting for the organization to implement a formal process, impatient young professionals are going directly to the web for the information they need. In some cases this means using a search engine, Wikipedia or a plethora of other instantly accessible resources. In others, it means polling their friends and even strangers for advice on how to handle a particular situation. If they do this enough, they begin to reach a level of expertise that may, over time, eliminate the need for their employer to implement a formal knowledge transfer effort. By the time the bureaucracy has gathered, verified, and codified the knowledge it values, many of these young contributors may have already acquired and applied what they need by other means.
Is this information gathering haphazard? Yes. Is this information comprehensive? No. Do these individuals run the risk of learning the wrong thing? Perhaps. But look at it this way, the knowledge they do acquire will enable them to begin on the tasks assigned and may even result in a more practical, cost efficient approach than the one institutionalized by the organization.
"Hogwash!" some might say. "These kids are just too impatient to let the organization impart its wisdom. They may be learning the wrong way to do something." On the other hand, these inquisitive souls may be inventing a new approach with the same outcome. Hmmmm…
Consider your firm. Where do you see young professionals applying solutions they have not been taught by the bureaucracy? If their outcome is the same, is there really harm? More importantly, might they be rendering conventional approaches to knowledge transfer irrelevant?
Another Special Note from Robert Wendover
THANKS TO ALL who have passed along the names of people they consider skilled at fostering critical thinking among others in the workplace. To date, I have received 63 referrals and interviewed about 25 people. (I will be scheduling additional interviews in the coming weeks.) As you recall, my new book is entitled, Common Sense by Friday: Fostering Critical Thinking in a Menu-Driven World. My goal is to interview approximately 150 leaders, managers, supervisors and educators from a WIDE variety of disciplines in order to gather as many diverse insights and strategies as possible.
As the sub-title explains, the book will provide readers with practical tips and insights for fostering confident problem solving among those now joining the workforce. It is politically incorrect these days to say anything negative about those under thirty. But the fact is many are struggling to thrive in the workplace. Our research indicates that young people tend to be uncomfortable outside of the menu-driven environment. They have underdeveloped critical thinking skills and lack self-confidence in their ability to cope with the ambiguous situations that life throws at everyone every day. Yes, there are many under 30 who display their brilliance. Sadly, these individuals are far outnumbered by those requiring constant direction, coaching and reassurance in spite of their formal education. To read the preface of the book, click here.
How you can help . . .
If you know someone who is effective at fostering critical thinking skills among others, I need you to send me their contact information so I can connect with them and find out their secrets. They don’t have to be identified in the book, although some may be willing. The important thing is that I get to interview them for about 30 minutes or so. The person you refer could be yourself!
In return for these connections, I will offer you these two special deals:
If you send me the name and contact information of a person who you believe excels at supervising those under 30, I’ll send you a $30 credit to use on any resource the Center offers. This includes webinars, videos, audios, books, and special reports. If I include the person you suggest in the book, I’ll send you a $200 credit toward anything the Center offers. (I plan to feature about 50 people.) Click here to send me your suggestions right now.
Bob Wendover
Case Study
Six months ago, I hired someone fresh out of college as a project manager within our manufacturing firm. While her biggest interest was in marketing, she took the job with the understanding that most of what she would do initially would be sales support. We agreed that over time, there would be opportunities for her in marketing projects.
It took her about 60 days to start asking about when the marketing projects would start coming her way. As with most large organizations, things just don’t happen that quickly. Other than this issue we have developed a good rapport. She’s hard worker and someone who keeps our reps organized. At the same time, she playfully zings me on a regular basis about how I’ve broken my "promise" to move her into marketing. While I try to take these comments in stride, it’s beginning to wear thin. I value her contribution and don’t want to lose her, but I have no room for her in marketing at this point. What do you suggest?
The behavior being displayed here is not unusual. As a society, we have imbued the emerging generation with impatience about everything because of our technology, consumer messages, and parenting. While you can "be all you can be," this gestation takes time. I would suggest three steps:
First, review with her the conversation you had at the beginning of her employment about possibilities for a move into marketing. I am assuming you made note of the meeting. Be careful not to be brusque about it, but she needs to acknowledge that 60 days is not the eternity it may seem to her.
Second, pull out the organizational chart and explain to her how people and resources are allocated. In supervising people, I always assume they have little understanding of how the overall organization functions, unless I have taken time to explain the details. Placing her in marketing will probably require the departure of someone else. In this economy, not likely for a while.
Finally, you might offer her an unpaid, yes unpaid, internship in the marketing department. She may have been a marketing major, but how much does she really understand the role and function of marketing within your firm? Serving as an intern will connect her with the people she would be working for and they with her. The contributions she makes as an intern would certainly give her a leg up on landing the next job available. Finally, she will discover what marketing is really about. She might even discover she doesn’t like it. If after all this, she "playfully zings" you about breaking your promise, you might playfully zing her back about how thin that tactic is wearing. To your success.
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