Dream comes True - An underdog Wins

World loves an underdog yet till the underdog is sure of winning not many take cognizance. This is true for many of us football lovers who followed the English Premier league this year. 

Leicester City or the Foxes are the champions- New and more importantly first time. Their best result I am told was to be ranked 2 in 1929.  What happened yesterday is a story that happens once is many many years but am sure will be spoken about for many more decades to come. After all 87 years is a long wait to move from best of no 2 to be the champions finally! Before the Harvard's or the Insead's get into trying to know what happened and more importantly how it happened and write case studies I want to share with you a few things that as per me clearly stand out.

• Focus on task at hand – Last year fearing relegation Raneri focused on the task of saving the club from relegation as he took over. He just worked to ensure the club won 7 of its last 9 matches and lived to play in the league this season. Clear lets ‘save the day first’ attitude achieved by going about focusing what to do immediately.

• Build the Dream step by step – I confess I don’t know if, when the season started Raneri had the vision of winning the league but I hope like all coaches he did have it as a dream.  If what I have read can be believed (I am quite trusting of the press here) Raneri first focused on beating the relegation this year. Once that was achieved and during the journey club had defeated some big names did the team actually started to believe they could be in the top 5. When they realized there was a wave they went about riding it as nonchalantly as possible by doing all the right things. A journey of small steps to achieve the dream

• Execute day in and day out – Excellence is not a flash in the pan. It is doing the things right every time. The team did just that. They came out, played like a unit, were brilliant at the basics and whenever a crack appeared whether in their defense or attack it was quietly filled and everyone focused on the job at hand.  

• Team is bigger than an individual – We have seen it so many times (India world cup win 1983) that a group of passionate, determined individuals come together and create history. Same happened here. No big signings, no big names, no big egos and no big dramas just one common purpose and it seemed they had lot of fun playing together.

• Don’t listen to the Naysayers – When Raneri was sacked from Chelsea in 2004 club owner Abramovich claimed to have seen in the future by predicting that Raneri would never win a title in his lifetime. When a lot was written about the great coaches Raneri was talked about a man who was in the game for many decades but had a bare trophy cabinet with nothing to show for. Yet the same man has come from behind to win it all in form of one of the biggest prize game has.

This is the romance of the sport and this victory is magical. Many of us followed the club week on week from it’s a flash in the pan, to disbelief, to it can happen, to its happening and finally to Yeah it has happened set of emotions. A lot will change for Leicester city in next 12 months starting from I don’t think they will be champions next year and will also not be fighting relegation anytime in near future. Their key players like Vardy will be bought by the big boys I mean clubs with deep pockets. Raneri will in a few years be back at another top club / national team. But that is for tomorrow.

Today is all about celebrating, romancing the dream, applauding the victors, believing that fairy tales happen and wishing the team all the very best as they take their rightful place in the Champions League.

Raneri and Boys take a Bow, for you have reinforced in people like me the belief that miracles happen and dreams do come true however impossible they may seem in the beginning. Thank you for that. 

Re-WiRiNg the rules of EnGaGeMeNt

People entering the work force in last decade have forced organizations to think out of the box to engage and connect with them.  Today’s diverse workforce comprises of four different generations namely; Veterans (entering workforce around 1945), Baby boomers (1960), Gen X (1980) and Gen Y (2000). Most Veterans have retired, baby boomers are on the verge of retirement and Gen X likely to retire in another decade or so making Gen Y future of work force.  It is estimated that Gen Y will make 75% of Global Work Force by 2030.

Till date organizations have been dependent on lucrative compensation packages, flexible work arrangements, management support and developmental programs to engage work force. In ever changing organizational fabric there is a shift in outlook and expectations regarding values, ethos, culture and career aspirations. The youth today, in addition to the above mentioned qualities also expects empathy and an intellectual connect from its employer. At the same time, there are ample opportunities available for talents across industries making retention number one priority for most CEO and HR heads.

In this era of digital activism the young talent is adept at using internet technologies. Some are digital natives and some digital adapters but for all bogging, tweeting, sharing ideas and collaborating over internet for solution is an everyday phenomenon.

Given this, it is important to understand that work life balance has now evolved into work life integration wherein employee needs the option to decide from where to work and when to work. This makes it imperative for organizations to adopt latest trends be it access to office intranet, work platforms from remote locations, or BYOD: Bring your own device. Similarly in today’s era, where everyone is hard pressed on time, having tele- presence in office for meetings across locations present a good option of saving employee travel time. Another option is using Skype or Google hangout to conduct meetings, these again provide flexibility in a manner that employee can be a part from home, café etc. Apart from leveraging technology, social media tools can also present an opportunity to develop HR programs which suit the employees’ needs and help develop a bond between the organization and its workforce. As most studies reflect, the attention span of any student is about 2.5 hours. Given this, our Learning & Development programs must change from full day programs to smaller bite sized, customized online learning modules. Organizations must use web chats, video/content sharing to deploy training modules. 

Also, professional networking websites like LinkedIn provide opportunity for organizations to internally know, understand and then leverage skills, qualifications and experiences of current employees to search better opportunities for them across functions within the company. This concept is a clear example of HR looking outside –in for talent development and management of its current workforce.  This could be a game changer in engaging work force, improving productivity and retention.

Going back to Maslows theory of motivation, self-esteem and appreciation are strong motivational forces. Workforce today is no different; they want to share their achievements and recognition's with the world. For employers, therefore, reward & recognition programs have to take a next generational leap by starting to recognize employees over social media. This will boost their self image and desire to showcase to the world. An endorsement of their LinkedIn profile will go long way to build their bond with the organization.

I, personally am against censorship of social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and Linked In in office as this tends to suffocate employees, and weakens their bond and loyalty with the organizations.  The risk of misuse of these liberties by employees can be taken care by formulating strong and effective policies.

Workforce today demands clear direction, accessibility to technology, instant feedback and instant gratification making work a means to an end. Achievement of this end be it personal goal, professional achievement, community objective is critical in retention of employee and organizations have no choice but to embrace technology to make it happen.

Parts of this article were published in Times Ascent 

Mentoring: Reverse is the new forward

Mentoring: Reverse is the new forward

Today while watching the India Vs South Africa match my 11 year old son asked me “how come all of a sudden Paytm has become so big?" The question took me back a couple of year’s when my son then 7 year old asked me for my credit card so that he could buy an online game when till that day I had not paid online to buy an application. Upon being pushed by him and questioned ‘why not’ I decided to learn about online payments and challenged self to let go of my old notions shrouded in fear of online fraud. Once I embarked on journey of online payment there was no looking back and am sure that has been a similar story for many of us. 

It made me search and learn the new ways of doing thing and a whole new world opened up which unlocked many new idea beyond digital world and into my own domain of Human Resources. In my line of work I also needed to understand how my internal and external stakeholders were changing and what was it that was important for them. I knew time had come to acknowledge that I needed a young person to guide me. I unofficially appointed my young colleague as my mentor and thus began my journey.

Reverse mentoring is a topic which excites many and at the same time eludes many. My own reverse mentoring experience has clearly showed to me that days of traditional mentorship where in information flow was unidirectional with older or senior person telling younger or junior person how to succeed and helping the mentee to network with few other seniors folks are over. Today’s business challenges need young millennia’s ideas. These cannot be overlooked and reverse mentoring is one of the ways to bring those ideas in forefront with perspective.

If you are still reading, it clearly means you are interested in the idea. Before you embark on the journey, let me list a few pointers from my experience for you to consider:

Need to be ready- Mentee (senior person) has to know that it is not only about learning but can be an opportunity to solve real world problems in non-traditional ways. It requires for mentee to be open to being challenged and also to be able to critically view his/ her approach to things and thoughts. Simply put “mentee should be ready to be pushed out of one’s comfort zone”

Choose a Curious Mind as Mentor- Pick up bright people with curious bent of mind who display voracious quest for knowledge. People who are good at sharing and take pleasure from discussions. Someone who is not afraid to ask the old mentee “to dissolve the box let alone break it”.

Be Honest – Both the parties needs to be absolutely clear of what they are in for and why. It is important to talk about differences since different generations have different views, paradigms and even different communication styles. State the rules of engagement ‘openly’ and work towards establishing ‘trust’

Business Challenge- One has to be cognizant of the fact that this relationship needs to bring in ideas to solve business challenge. Mentoring needs to be productive, add value and build new perspectives for both otherwise this has potential to very quickly degenerate into a fad that is good to talk about

Be prepared to teach- Ensure mentee  teaches the mentor (young person) through his / her experience, build perspective for the young mentor thus benefiting both. This can be done by putting ideas into systems thinking without judging and shutting down. Ensure that young mentor gets business knowledge, learns how to distill it, values the connections and is able to build the picture by translating the information into valuable strategic capability

Don’t make it too formal- Start with a conversation and build into a relationship characterized by respect, sharing and fun. Remember it is not another HR exercise focused on documenting, capturing ideas in a format etc. for then you run a risk of over structuring it and killing the essence

Cut the Ego- Ensure ego is cut down by both Mentors and Mentee. Mentee should let go of the “I know it all , been there done it attitude” and Mentor should not become vain by virtue of teaching a senior leader . It is never about us versus them from either persons perspective

Your organization does not have a formal program? It doesn’t matter. A sure but small first step is to take time to hang out with young people. Ask them those questions you are struggling with and listen. You might just be surprised. 

In the end all I can say is that reverse mentoring is an opportunity to co-create something that will potentially be superior in value.

* Parts of this post have been published in Economic times as part of a self-authored article by me. 

Beer & Football or Football & Beer ?

Friday 6 June at  Marlyebone café , Baker street , London around 7 pm 5 guys were having a discussion on football world cup about to begin in a few days. 4 of the 5 were second generation British, what I mean is one was Indian origin, two Chinese Malaysian, one American who lived in Australia for a long time yet all were British citizen. 5^th person was an Indian visiting London. All 4 British citizen were realistic to agree they will not win and kept on discussing challenges their team faced including educating the visitor that Bale did not play for England but for welsh.  Upon being challenged by the Indian visitor that England’s chances of reaching last 16 were bleak they all came together in national pride to challenge the Indian and conversation went something like this:

“Where is India in the world cup?”

“India does not play football, we are not a football crazy nation. We are a cricket crazy nation and we are the world champs”

“Oh really! Anyways we also won in 1966”

“That was 66 dude! We won in last cricket world cup”

“Ok, Ok . We will make it to the quarters. I am absolutely sure”. This making to quarter final made them agree more in national pride than confidence in the team.

“Wanna bet that you will not make it?”

 “Sure done. Next time be ready to pay for the bet.” Post this usual banter we all moved to the next beer.

If you have not guessed, that Indian visitor was me. On the flight back I replayed that conversation and was clearly surprised not by their reaction but with the thought how England had been able to unite them in pride for the team. That I thought was the magic of football and the most followed game in the world. I started to think.

As life takes turns, you grow up , get a job , get married , some again get married , have kids , travel the world, earn name and fame and hopefully money , some get old and some always remain young  thus many things change but among few things that remain constant is the team /s you follow and support be it any sport.

When your team wins you are ecstatic, when it loses you come to work next day, shrug your shoulders say few inane things and get on with life. Yet next time you are in front of the TV set cheering it on and life goes on. Life is going to come to a standstill for many millions around the world beginning 12 June and will turn in ecstasy or pain depending upon how their team does and finally on 12 July everyone will move on. 

Football is supposedly the most followed game in the world so emotions will run high. Even if their country is not playing people have their favorites and passion flows. Fandom is much much bigger than the game itself.

This blog is my analysis of teams and people who matter and a tribute to the fandom of football from a guy whose country has not qualified for many many years and does not look like it will for at least next 20 years. What the heck! Who says I have no right to opine on it anyways.

What better place to begin than current champions Spain. I think their Hero is their Coach Vincente Del Bosque. The man who is known for Tiki Taka style but ensures his team has more to offer. He is the man who has worked hard to unite Spain and its many clubs into a national force. He has brought the Catalans, Basques and Castilians to play for ‘La roja’. Inesta did score the winning goal in last final but the person behind it was Del Bosque. Man who has been able to get Xavi and Cassilas to recognize strength of friendship in national team above the animosity of Barca and Real Madrid.

If I talk about Spain and its clubs How can one not talk about Messi? I surely think he is the ‘Messiah’ Argentine is looking towards for salvation. Their best player since Maradona but has a looked a pale shadow of his great self in last one year. Some say he is keeping his best for the big stage, others feel he did not play his best because he is not wanting to be injured and stories go on. No doubt Messi is great because you do not win 4 ballons D’OR and that too consecutively. What will be important to see is how he along with Aguero, Di Maria, and Higuain is able to create the magic that Argentinians love in their heros and football. If these four fail team has not much to offer and we are staring at a national mourning in the South American nation.

Next I want to mention man who has been I feel for years ignored and never got his due- Andrea Pirlo. The Italian who was the architect of 2006 Italian victory at 35 this is surely his time to take the centre stage. He has won the world cup so knows about the madness and also knows this is his last chance. The man who plays to pass and set up shots for others will surely want to ensure he gets the free kick to seal it off. After all he practices the free kick leaving nothing to chance. Italy can never be ruled out in the WC no matter how bad the team is and this time they look to have a balanced squad and the effervescent Mario Balotelli. So rule them out at your own peril.

Cristiano Ronaldo! My Favorite footballer. If he continues to be in the form that has been all season then all Portugal have to do is let him weave the magic. There will be a few grumpy faces made for the camera, few growls of pumping the adrenalin, few looks to opponents , many pleads with umpires on being wronged but then what is football without its share of Drama and who better than Ronaldo and what better a stage then a WC in Brazil. Imagine having a team of Ronaldo, Pepe, Alves, Patricio, Nani, and not being a tournament Favorite. That has been the story of Portugal. Falter to deceive at the big stage.

That takes me Neymar Junior and Brazil. Next Pele? I don’t know but at 22 he is surely an outstanding talent and the only reason or hope that Brazil remains excited about this WC. If he wins it for Brazil all protest that we have been watching on TV will have been forgotten. He plays as a Brazilian with his dribbles and amazing ball skills and of course style. Being awarded Golden Ball in Confederations cup and winning it at home for his country ensures that he keeps Brazil as a big favorite in this WC too like it has been in many others.  

England. They still have to overcome 2 things before they can be champions. One they have to wake up and realize that this is 2014 and not 1966 anymore. Second they have to realize Penalty shootout are a part of the game and they can win a shootout. For a team that has lost six out of seven shoot outs in almost all major tournaments it is natural to be in fear. When supporters talk about goals and heroes and Rooney and even 1966, the heart misses the beat to ask “what if it goes into penalty shootout”. I am sticking my neck out to say they will not make it beyond group stage. If they make it to the Quarters its time Queen declared a national holiday.

I don’t think I can write about all teams and before you run out of patience (if not already) let me sum up a few other teams.

Germany looks to be most well balanced team with experience and youth and have been preparing hard but this is South America. Do they have it in them? They will have to dig in deep and give it their all. Joachim Loew has a big task at hand but never say never. It’s the Fatherland.

France without Ribery is not an exciting proposition but they have Benzema , Giroud and other players to take them the distance. It’s a wait and watch for them.

Netherlands were runners up last year and face Spain in their first match. Robben and Van Persie will have to set the tone if their campaign has to impress.

Next I was thinking who will be the surprise package this year. Well there quite a few contenders in Colombia, Belgium, Russia and Bosnia – Herzegovina. Watch out for Belgium this time.

So in the end what does all this come to? I think two words: National Redemption. 

Any team that wins it will in some way or other redeem itself and the nation in this time where every country has very little to give it hope and rare moments for people to come together and celebrate their nationhood. 

Fandom will translate finally into Nationdom! That is a good reason to cheer. For people like me we will cheer for a hope that someday India will participate. Till then let the beer flow...

Thank you: Kunal, Daniel, David and Alan for great evening guys and for giving me my first blog of 2014. 

20 Things l will remember 2013 for

Disclaimer: These are my personal views (in no particular order) and only in context of our very own India.

1. Shiela Killer (Oh!)  I mean Arvind Kejriwal for making a dream come true. Who would have imagined him as CM of Delhi and that too as a singing CM? He swept Delhi and imagination of the nation. Huge burden on his shoulders as he walks into 2014
2. India’s mission to mars. I was in UK and everyone was talking about it. Felt so proud to be an Indian. For once Mangal was shubh
3. RaghuRam Rajan as RBI governor. He is a man over a billion people have expectations from. He showed the world he is a man of his own and will walk the right path. Ekla chalo raghu for in 2014 you may have a new master who will want Lakshmi puja before you present your policy
4. Who can forget the #Feku vs #Pappu debate? Young generation learnt a new word in ‘Shehzada’, though many still do not what it means including the prince himself
5. Supreme Court taking 2 steps back and disappointing millions of Indians by overruling the high court verdict on 377. What was heartening was straight men and women standing up for LGBT friends and family. India never turned gay / lesbian in last 4 years my lords so please pull out the ear plugs and listen to the Pope at least
6. Sachin Tendulkar first sportsperson to get a Bharat Ratna. Forget all the controversy and comparisons (Other may not have got it, but that was never was good enough reason not to give him). His speech was moving too and I got to meet him in person with my kids
7. Return of the Master. Infosys got NRN back and just let go of anyone who was someone at infy. Now they are the only one looking for a successor as all other companies got leaders from them
8. Rahul Gandhi for clearly telling us he got the wrong genes of the family. He made rolling up sleeves a joke. No leader today in corporate India uses the phrase anymore
9. For the Devyani case. No matter which side you are on , you will agree that for once India stood up to be counted for its citizen. Yet all this could not get Dr MMS to open his mouth, thus when Obama called him he did not say anything and Obama thought he was upset
10. For Deepika Padukone to reinforce the belief that practice makes perfect. She made bad dialogue delivery look good and set the screen on fire. She was the Actor of the year and got Ranveer to expose more than her in Ram- leela
11. Narendra Modi for sidelining LK Advani, outplaying Sushma Swaraj & Arun Jaitely, making selling tea next best profession and forgetting his history lessons. Confidence does that to you but remember overconfidence is not good. Every parent tells his kids that NaMo
12. Change in how we Indians protested. Whether it was post nirbhaya or post 377 overruling verdict. Indians learnt to make their opinion count emphatically by voicing their concerns through candle light vigil, water cannons or lathi Charge. We made twitter and facebook have a special IPO is another matter altogether
13. Indian TV coming of age with 24 and US shows first premiering on Indian screens. Not to forget Kapil Sharma who made India laugh once again post the saas bahu tears had dried up
14. Hindi and other regional writers being translated in English. Sachin Kundalkar’s Cobalt Blue a book is a must read. There are many more gems like Crowfall etc. Only thing to remember is these books are not available in languages they were written in for a common Indian reader
15. New Companies act: CSR piece is a great start. Both Cong & BJP can now get corporate to focus on building toilets in India 
16. Orissa for showing the world we too can manage a natural calamity like ‘Phalin’. Take a bow Naveen Patnaik. Uttranchal was a our way of saying we still have a lot to learn
17. TV channels / anchors for making shrill fashionable, making everything news, for telling us how all of them can break same news at the same time and even getting same person on the same live show at 2 different channels. India wants answer why media did not raise question on the biggest car accident of the year even when it was in papers and internet
18. Akhilesh Yadav for being the best son of the year. He never did anything without asking his fathers, uncles, relatives and anybody who was somebody in UP. He rose every time to fall at his elders feet asking for blessings and direction like a good Indian son. This son (sorry) sun is all ready to set  in backdrop of communal riots in the state
19. For making global companies sell mobiles on EMI. Apple and Samsung went chota packet way to sell more
20. Indian electorate for ensuring that good governance wins over Incumbency. They have matured and have started making their vote count. Fooling politicians is an art and Indian voter is getting quite good at it. Watch the race for 2014 , its going to be the biggest potboiler of the year 

My X-mas Wishlist

Its Christmas time and last weekend I went to buy presents for my boys. Early on in life I had shared with them that I am the Santa Claus who keeps the gift under the X-mas tree we have at home. They were giving me hints for last few days regards what they want, checking if I had bought the gifts and making sure they would get it when they wake up on the X-mas day. During all this I asked myself, if Santa came and asked me for my gift, what would I want? After all the kid in all of us will like to get gifts and be surprised.  This question led me to think of a list of probable gifts I will like from Santa. I am sharing the same with you below in no particular order.

1)      I will to like to have a magic potion (much like the Druid's in Asterix) to remain in shape. Imagine taking a spoonful every night and all the fat & carbs are neutralized, love handles gone and I wake up in perfect shape and healthy. All this for healthy body healthy mind connection, good looks and great body will be incidental you see

2)      I will ask for a supply of all the bestseller books for the year. It will be amazing to have them delivered and not search the numerous lists that come out at the end of the year and confuse the hell out of everyone. This clearly satiates the reader in me and not to even mention that I will have an enviable collection of the year

3)      I will like to know the people who genuinely feel for me. They do not necessarily have to be my friends but at least I will know where I stand with them and know that they will keep me honest, and contribute in my journey. It will help me focus in my relationships and not be blind sighted. Imagine writing a name on a paper and a true analysis appears for you to read and understand if it’s worth investing emotionally or not

4)      Santa should help me understand what happens to the money I pay as taxes. Every time I step out of house I am taxed be it in form of road tax, income tax, VAT, service tax, surcharges list goes on and I am still counting. I need to know what happens to the money, who is using it and for what. Also if I can get a say in whether I agree on the usage or not, after all it’s my money dude!

5)      I really want Santa to lend me his Sleigh for a week in the year. I can then take my family and friends around the world, where ever we want to go and see all the beautiful places. I am sure we can use an eco friendly means of transport contributing to Go Green initiative ( not to mention that it will come free)  

While I dream of my list and wait for my Santa, Wish you and family a Great X-mas and a wonderful 2013.  

Gen Y: Myths & Realities

This is something that everyone is talking about be it organizations, leaders, managers, theorist, academicians or HR professionals. I first heard of this term in 2005 and have been intrigued ever since. I have read, discussed and finally even attended a 2 day workshop on the subject.I am now going to share with you what is my take on this ‘Gen Y’.

As a marketing guy who builds a brand let me also try to articulate a few attributes so that you have an idea of who we are talking about here:

•  Born after 1982 or entered workforce post 2000
• Believe internet is their lifeline and spend on an average 25 hours there in a week
• It’s unthinkable for them to not have a pc / laptop / tablet
•  Communicate more through text and net than any other medium even verbally in more than a few cases
•  Jobs are something that are changed as a matter of fact
• Career is not about what you do for a living. It is  about what your passion is and that runs parallel to the job
• Admiration and recognition is what they crave for
• Internet is their most reliable source followed by friends for making decisions
• Money is important for them when choosing a job but not the only thing

Hope this helps you build a mental image and increase your know the Gen Y quotient.

Before I proceed further I must share 3 things that happened last week and left me surprised. My father who returned from a holiday trip to Singapore & Malaysia was very keen that I download his photographs so that he can share it with his friends on facebook. He is planning another trip to Russia and his travel agent and he are communicating on his itenary  and other details though message box option in facebook.  

My 7 year old elder son wanted to have a conversation on how to be integrated on all apple products I needed to buy an iPhone so that we could optimally use iPod and iPad that we have. He also wanted to know if I am going to upgrade to ipad3 from my Ipad2 now that new product was available.

My 4 year old got my wife to download a new game on the iPad. While showing me what it was one evening as I returned from office he checked if I would need his help to learn how to play and volunteered to help me if I tried and failed.

I asked myself who amongst my father and my kids are Gen Y or if they both are?

A few months ago a leading weekly magazine had carried out a youth survey. It said that 76% of the respondents both Girls and boys were ok with premarital sex. In the same study 68% of the respondents wanted their spouse at the time of marriage be a virgin.  What an interesting paradox! And yet what a challenge to understand this thinking and approach.

So what exactly is this Gen Y. Every time I think I have an answer or feel smug that I have arrived at an understanding I am surprised. Gen Y have an aura and more than a few myths surrounding them. Let me try and share some key ones and also my take on them.

Myth 1: Gen Y have short attention spans and limited knowledge. FALSE

They pay attention as long as it is of interest to them and they are learning something new. Remember they have access to internet and they wiki for information much more than you and I do. They do not want pontification but substance. My 7 year old does not want to hear ‘gyan’ from me but is equally keen to understand many things that make sense to him and are logical. He has many questions and as long as I am on track to answer he is my biggest listener, soaking in all I have to say but the moment I digress I lose him.

Myth 2: Gen Y want to connect with older generations. TRUE

They are looking to make meaningful connections with elders / seniors who they can trust and genuinely look upto. They do not just want to connect by virtue of title or age. If they see value they will be like a guru and a disciple but just because you are their uncle / aunt / family or have more years they will not listen. Gen X will respect the relation, age but these people will respect the connect, the conversation, the knowledge. I have many young friends who also do a very good job of teaching me a few things I may have missed when it comes to technology or approach to events

Myth 3: Gen Y do not think about the future. FALSE

They are thinking about the future all the time but for them as of now it is something that has myriad possibilities. They are still in a stage where they have few routes that they want to take and see where it leads them. Given their high self confidence they are sure they will make something out of their life and they want to clearly understand for themselves what their purpose in life is. Ask them what they will be doing after 10 years and you are most likely to get a stare that says “are you kidding me” but talk to them about next 2-3 year you will have a more definitive answer which will include discussion on things they are passionate about and that most probably will not include work. They are clear about what they expect of life in a foreseeable future beyond which it is about possibilities.

Myth 4: Gen Y are disloyal. FALSE

They are someone who clearly have a different understanding of the word loyalty. For them life is like a ‘live in’ relationship concept. With that I mean the approach is let’s be together and explore and understand till we both see or derive value. They are not averse to long term association but may not state it upfront. It’s like when our generation changed jobs we would look at a stint of 3-5 years and mentally commit ourselves to the organization. This commitment would lead us to bear the ups and down of career and be more this will not last approach and things will improve. Today the approach is as long as I add value to myself and grow I am good being here and that could be 5 days, 5 weeks, 5 months or 5 years. This is also one of the reasons personal relationships are transient for them. It’s about togetherness in real sense where each one has expectations and understanding of how much to give in and what to expect. It is not about sacrifice and one sided investment

Myth 5: Have no Belief in Authority. TRUE

They respect authority for their qualities of leadership, guidance and mentoring that they get from the senior individual. They are very open to learn and hear you for the inputs and its quality and not just because you carry an SVP or some such senior tag will they listen to you, No. They clearly know how to segregate riff raff from a meaningful value add conversation. Visiting cards and titles do not impress them but quality of interaction does.

Myth 6: Gen Y are slack and lazy. FALSE

Almost all of Gen Y workforce is willing to work hard and give it all it takes to achieve what they set out to. They are more determined than most of their predecessors but for them getting ahead at any cost is not the right thing. They are into work and many other things and it’s important that they win but win by means that are right and in the manner they think is correct. They are their own judge of right and wrong which is shaped by their values and beliefs.

Myth 7: Gen Y want weak bosses. FALSE

Gen Y looks forward to have strong bosses not tough bosses. For them strong boss is someone who has subject knowledge, who empowers them, guides them. For them boss is someone who speaks their lingo, can keep up with their pace, appreciates efforts, has no hidden agenda, is sensitive to diversity & surrounding. They like bosses who give frequent feedback which is actionable. What is a big NO is acting tough and appearing so just because you are in a position of authority. They want you to be the boss but not act like one.

Myth 8: They don’t respect family. FALSE

They respect family and care about them. They believe that no matter what parents do they are there for them. They take for granted the responsibilities their parents have to provide for them. They clearly want parents who are friends. They also extend the family concept by including friends into it. For them friends are part of the family and score over cousins. This is because they exercise the power to choose their friends which they do not have in case of extended family and their choice comes first. They may have a mind of their own but acceptance of their choice be it in career, partner or any other facet of life is very important for them. This also does manifest in various reality shows when you see youngsters breaking down when it comes to families or friends.

Myth 9: Gen Y have no work Ethos. FALSE

Work for them is not slogging for hours. For them work is a means to an end not the end. Their priorities are different as they see work as one of the part of their life and something that helps them achieve their passion. They do not believe in staying late from optics perspective but being there if it is needed. If there is no work then for them it’s ok to leave and do something they want to than just hanging around in office twiddling at work. Lot of people talk about how they dress to work. Their approach is tell me to come in formals or the dress code and I will, if you don’t I will decide what is appropriate and walk in.

Myth 10: They seek recognition. TRUE

They clearly believe in seeking recognition because it differentiates them amongst their peer group. Why else do you think they would go the most happening pub in town, post a update picture on facebook or twitter late in the night and wait for response. Have you ever thought why Facebook does not have a dislike button? It is about I, me and myself but in a positive sense. ‘I know my value and I respect it’ is the attitude. No amount of recognition or rewards is enough and more public it is the better. A reward of dinner with family, opportunity to fulfill a passion like fly an aircraft, hike, motorbike trip is any day better than a gift certificate or a memento. Recognition or fame is the secret behind TV shows like Roadies / Indian idol that thrive on fulfilling this need and are now running into many seasons , otherwise why would someone come to an audition to be yelled , humiliated and made to feel worthless.

Now that we have discussed the myths and I hope I have managed to break a few, I know you are asking what is Gen Y exactly looking for. As per me they are looking for the following:

• Freedom of expression
• Instant recognition
• Work life balance
• Coaching & Frequent feedback
• Challenging the status quo in their own way

So in the end what is Gen Y? If you ask me from whatever I have gathered or understood “ IT IS A MINDSET”. This mindset or approach can manifest in my 70 year old dad , 7 year old son , 15 year old nephew , 25 year old coworker, 35 year old colleague or 45 year old boss.

Franklin D Roosevelt said many years ago “There is a mysterious cycle in Human Events. To some generations much is given. Of the others much is expected.” 

Acknowledgement : Research by Strategist shared in training program was insightful and have used some of it in my blog.