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“It's not about you!” |
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Rick Warren |
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Dear Glenn,
I manage a small investment
firm where we try to promote a team environment.
Because of our size, we must work closely, communicate
well, and cross-train most of the positions.
However,
the younger employees all seem to have similar habits.
They'll drink coffee, but don't want to make it.
They keep messages and other work correspondence on
their desk until you walk by, versus delivering it to
you (including the bosses messages and reports). They change their lunch hour to meet their needs/wants
without consulting others or insuring phone and job
coverage.
Is this laziness,
or a form of entitlement (i.e.
I have a college degree and don't do those types of
jobs)? How do I handle it? They seem like small issues, but
it's very frustrating.
Karen
in Milwaukee
Dear Karen,
Last year I was offered my
own reality TV show (I turned it down, but that's
another story).
In
the first episode, the director had me going into an
investment firm in downtown London, where they were
experiencing everything you described with their younger
employees (with the addition of them goofing off on
Facebook all day).
The problem is the generation gap. Baby Boomers and
Gen-X entered the workforce believing we would have to
pay our dues to climb the ladder.
Generation Y was raised being told how special and
important they are.
Consequently, sociologists tell us
that when they enter the workforce, they expect to
immediately be treated as equals to senior level
employees who've been there for years. They don't
believe they should have to do menial tasks because they
have an over exaggerated sense of self-importance.
This is such a huge challenge for managers that we
introduced an entire audio program on it this year. You
can find it by clicking on this link:
How
to Manage the Different Generations.
Thanks for your question.
Glenn In Nashville
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On October 20, I'll turn 46. Unlike most adults, I still get as excited about birthdays as I did when I was
6.
One reason is because I always celebrate in grand fashion.
This year my birthday party is in the French Quarter of New Orleans.
(You're invited to join us for Bananas Foster at Brennan's,
Oysters Rockefeller at Commander's Palace and
Antoine's, or Beignets at Cafe Du Monde if you happen to be
there next week).
We also have an annual contest to see how many M&M's I can get my
subscribers to send (I looove M&M's).
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Swimming with the dolphins in on
my 45th birthday in Cancun, Mexico
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My 40th birthday in
Las Vegas
with a
rented Ferrari
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Flying a World War II fighter plane
on my
37th birthday
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October 20 is also the one day of the year when there are no
calories in anything I eat (it's my birthday, so I get to make
up the rules).
But the biggest reason I love birthdays is because I’m such a HUGE fan of Rick
Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. It contains the
greatest sentence ever written -
“It’s not about you!"
The purpose of my
life is to serve others…for 364 days a year.
Birthdays are the one day of the year that I can say “It’s all about ME, ME, ME”
and feel no guilt.
I’m so
big on this that I close the entire company on my birthday, and all my employees get it as an
additional paid holiday. (I also give them their birthdays off as an additional paid
holiday).
While it's a nice thing to do,
it's also a smart business principle.
I've always been a generous employer, but the goal of my business is not
to create great jobs for employees -- it's to make as large of a
profit as I can.
In order to accomplish this,
I need three things:
1. The highest quality employees
2. The
lowest turnover possible
3. To keep
my employees functioning at peak performance levels
Celebrating my
employees' birthdays helps accomplish this by sending two important messages.
One is that they matter. I pay attention,
and I care about them.
The second is that they serve the
company, which in turn serves our customers.
By actually
encouraging everyone to be selfish for one day of the year, I get a higher level of
commitment to my company and my customers throughout the rest
of the year.
We all need a little "me time"
once in a while. But between kids, high-maintenance
employees, and sometimes high-maintenance spouses, it's
rare that many people get much of it.
So celebrate birthdays, and do it in a big way.
It could be the
least expensive investment you ever make into improving your
team's performance.
To
Your Success,
P.S. Send those M&M's (with peanuts, please) to:
Glenn Shepard,
Birthday Boy
113
Space Park South
Nashville, TN 37211
Click
here to see some of the birthday greetings starting to come in from
around the world
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