News You Can Use: 5/2/2018
- Why You Need To Pay Attention To Gen X Leaders
These generational signposts left their mark on many gen Xers, says generational expert and humorist Meagan Johnson, coauthor of Generations, Inc.: From Boomers to Linksters–Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work. From an early age, they had freedom to make decisions and were left on their own to organize their time, do their chores, and get their homework done before their parents got home. This has made many gen X managers entrepreneurial and independent in their management style—which can be a challenge for their millennial counterparts and direct reports who often crave more feedback and interaction, Marston says.
“That gen X manager thinks he or she is doing his or her team a favor by leaving them alone to do their job,” he says. They’re managing others like they would like to be managed—get the work done, avoid the distractions, and go home. Gen X managers often don’t crave the close workplace friendships that their older and younger counterparts do, Johnson adds. At the same time, they do place a high value on mentoring and helping others develop.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40558008/why-you-need-to-pay-attention-to-gen-x-leaders
- YouTube CEO addresses demonetization anger: ‘We know the last year has not been easy
Despite Wojcicki’s claims that YouTube’s demonetization problem is getting better, creators like Philip DeFranco and Casey Neistat are saying otherwise. DeFranco is threatening to invest time in other platforms, and Neistat may be partnering with Patreon CEO Jack Conte for a new revenue avenue for YouTube creators. Wojcicki addressed the frustration creators are having regarding the appeals process. Creators have complained about “flip-flopping” monetization icons on their videos, arguing it’s difficult to understand what is acceptable by YouTube’s standards and what isn’t. Wojcicki touched upon that complaint, adding that the company is working on a new pilot program to try and alleviate some of those problems.
https://www.engadget.com/2018/04/17/youtube-pilot-helps-creators-keep-income-by-describing-videos/
- How to spot high-conflict people before it’s too late
- The Instant Message Generation Gap
While email is still the leading form of business communication, IM accounts are expected to grow 8% annually for the next four years, to 8.6 billion world-wide, says the Radicati Group, a Palo Alto, Calif., research firm. Employers say they reduce the need for meetings and make it easier to sustain conversations among team members, share updates and get quick tips and answers. Email can seem clumsy, slow and officious by comparison.
The tempo of IMing changes the way many people organize their days. “It used to be that one of the big time-management tips people would recommend is to not read your email and just work uninterrupted for a few hours,” says Christina Seelye, CEO of Maximum Games, a Walnut Creek, Calif., videogame company. Now, taking a break from instant messaging for even a few hours can mean you’re missing something.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-instant-message-generation-gap-1523972835
- How To Write Thank-You Notes That Impress Hiring Managers
A thorough, detailed thank-you note that’s beautifully written will never make much of an impression if it’s too late. Especially in some fast-paced fields like the tech industry, healthcare or marketing, time is of the essence. When you finish your interview, head home as soon as you can to write your thank-you note. Sending it the day of the interview (if possible) or within 24 hours is ideal, although sending the note 48 hours later can be acceptable if you get really tied up. If you send the note late, you might find that the hiring manager has already assumed you’re not sending it and dinged your candidacy or rejected you for it.
https://www.fastcompany.com/40559423/how-to-write-thank-you-notes-that-impress-hiring-managers
Photo by Ali Yahya on Unsplash
News you can use: 7/8/2015
- Enterprises Don’t Have Big Data, They Just Have Bad Data
The truth is, most of them suffer from one of the old adages in computing: garbage in, garbage out. Not only do most of them actually not have Big Data in terms of data complexity or volume, but most of them actually have Crappy Data, and it’s probably hurting their business. According to Experian Data Quality, inaccurate data affects the bottom line of 88 percent of organizations and impacts up to 12 percent of revenues.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/01/enterprises-dont-have-big-data-they-just-have-bad-data/
- Procter & Gamble’s Futuristic Control Tower Environment
Another partner for the P&G Business Sphere solution is SAP. Perhaps not entirely coincidentally, SAP begun talking about their new supply chain control tower solution last year. Their control tower incorporates the idea of reacting to alerts with prebuilt playbooks that allow an organization to react quickly and with agility to unexpected situations. (See The New SAP Supply Chain Control Tower for a description of playbooks and their control tower solution stack).
- 6 Best Practices for Managing Unhappy Employees
If the issue stems from something within your company, gather as much information as you can before deciding how to act. But even if it’s a lifestyle factor influencing your employee’s behavior, don’t ignore it just because it comes from outside your four walls. Use it as an opportunity to show them that they’re more than just a name on an HR folder. Offering assistance, whether through a formal employee assistance program or other means, will build their loyalty to your company.
- The Hidden Cost of a Summer Slump
“Satisfied and engaged employees are less likely to abuse the company’s sick policy,” he says. But it’s not enough to just do a head count. Schwarz says managers should compare absenteeism between different teams, departments, locations, and performance levels to determine whether there are more people taking leave during the summer months. Then, he recommends looking to see if one manager has a larger degree of absenteeism than another.
- The Secret To Walt Disney’s Corporate Strategy
Hint: It is a massive feedback loop…
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3048046/infographic-of-the-day/the-secret-to-walt-disneys-corporate-strategy?partner=rss
News You Can Use: 6/24/2015
- Clear Storytelling Boosts Value of Analytics (the boss shared this one, in case you didn’t read it last week).
Those credentials do not, however, make them great storytellers. Ms. Peele noticed several years ago that the team was making great progress at creating new knowledge from data and analytics, but wasn’t having the impact on organizational initiatives and policies that she had hoped. “We were just flinging out the insights so fast that people just couldn’t consume them,” she noted. “And when you have a statistician write a report, it may not be fit for consumption by C-suite executives.”
http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/06/17/better-analytical-storytelling-by-people-and-machines/
- MailChimp’s Founder on How to Get Your Business from ‘Startup to Grown Up’
As it grows, your business will go through several stages and each stage requires a different kind of leader. When you feel like you’ve mastered the stage you’re in and can finally feel comfortable with yourself and proud of your capabilities, you’re already falling behind. Time to move to the next stage!
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247535?ctp=BizDev&src=Syndication&msc=Feedly
- 10 Reasons You Should Absolutely Not Work This Weekend
3. Your business doesn’t love you: Even if you’re the owner, there may come a day when you’re unceremoniously kicked to the curb. If you’re not the owner, you can be laid off at any time. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your company will always be there for you. They won’t be.
http://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/10-reasons-you-should-absolutely-not-work-this-weekend.html
- What Companies Can Learn From ‘Game of Thrones’ When Hiring Their Next Chief Information Officer
Spendthrift IT (House Lannister) As the richest house in Westeros, the Lannisters “always pay their debts.” They can afford to, as they literally sit on top of a gold mine. They have been known to buy friends from among their enemies and fund armies of mercenaries with Lannister gold. Similarly, Lannister CIOs will choose to spend their way out of their problems and would never hesitate to outsource. The only problem for a Lannister CIO – and the Lannisters – is what happens when the money runs out?
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247456?ctp=BizDev&src=Syndication&msc=Feedly
- Why Calling Out Someone in Your Group Can Strengthen It
The most powerful thing we can do to earn respect from those around us, though, is to call out one of our own when he crosses the line. “People like us, we don’t do things like that.” This is when real change starts to happen, and when others start to believe that we really care about something more than scoring points.
http://lifehacker.com/why-calling-out-insiders-in-your-group-can-strengthen-i-1712501969