Don't Look Back

You Can Lead Generation Y to Water but...

My newsletter this week contained tips for dealing with Generation Y entry level employees.  If you are a Boomer or Gen X er, you may be frustrated in dealing with the "Y's" if you don't study what things are important to them. 

The saavy employer knows that good managment is supported with good leadership.

Seth Burgess of  Equimax emailed the following note today after reading the newsletter.  He gave me permission to post it here. 

Hi Doug,

Great article on Youthful Employees.  I love the line:

If you've been spending too much time in the shallow end of the think tank of your business, take your thinking to a deeper level. 

Maybe you received and had time to read my article a year or more ago about being a "coach and cheerleader" for your employees.  Unfortunately, I got some angry replies from the people who most need to hear this.  They seemed to think that being a coach and cheerleader meant no longer being the boss.  It's the same with horses and people.  These folks don't seem to understand that leadership is an art that does best when you are in touch with and can accurately read the people or horses you are leading.

Keep up the great work!

Seth

Leadership is key to getting what you want from people and horses.  Well said, Seth.

Horse Manure Management

In a recent phone conversation with Peter Moon of O2 Compost, he informed me that keeping in compliance with building codes and planning boards isn't as simple as it used to be.  Many towns and counties are requiring Manure Management Plans from horse owners.  Even a two horse farm can be required to submit a Manure Management Plan.

I think of manure management as getting it picked up out of stalls and pens.  That is just half the story now.  Where will it be spread or composted and how are questions that need answering, too.

If you're new to the idea of composting your horse manure check out Peter's site:  http://www.o2compost.com/  He is an expert in the subject.

Hiring the Class of 2008

I attended our eighth grader's Moving Up Day program last week.  It's a middle school annual event for commemorating passage from middle school to high school in September.  This was my fifth moving up day ceremony.  They have all been very similar.

On stage and in the audience were bright- eyed energetic kids who were enthusiastic about their futures and had demonstrated their abilities to follow guidance and produce results.  Their excitement and attitudes were refreshing.

I'm not quite sure what happens in high school, but I'll guess hormones, Facebook and negativism are contributors to some dampened work ethics. 

If your younger new hires in you business show up with an "I'm entitled" attitude, you shouldn't be surprised.   

Your challenge is choosing employees who have a good work ethic first, then consider other qualities. Wouldn't you rather train job skills than train work ethic and attitude?

We (all of us over 22) helped shape the attitude. 

I'm entitled means:

It's normal to:

• show up late for work
• whine about how hard you work and how little you get paid
• quit without notice
• ignore the experience of coworkers
• feel sorry for yourself that starting at the top wasn't possible
• believe the lottery ticket is your answer to financial wealth

Granted, these items have been around for close to forever, but the complaints weren't heard so openly by supervisory employees and the boss.  Unlike some of the generations before them, they aren't willing to shut up, suck it up and get the job done for the sake of honest work ethic.

I wish I could bottle that middle school attitude and sell it back to them six years later as an overpriced energy drink.