Stop the presses: I’m a Millennial February 24, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials.Tags: gen-y, millennial, millennials
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Pew Research Center just came out with a quiz that helps you find out if you are a Millennial.
And, stop the presses, I am one:
Even though I clearly am a Millennial, the quiz doesn’t really ask the right questions to determine this. For example, having tattoos and piercings doesn’t make you a Millennial. Having contacted a government official in the past month also doesn’t make you a Millennial.
Anyway, take the quiz and let me know your score in the comments. Are you a Millennial?
Millennials want to start families February 3, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials, millennials at work.Tags: gen y marriage, gen-y, millennial, millennial marriage, millennials
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The USA Today says that Millennials are more cautious about getting married and starting families than previous generations.
According to the USA Today, “The average age of first marriage is now almost 26 for women and 28 for men. And a growing percentage of Americans aren’t marrying at all: Provisional federal statistics released Tuesday report 7.1 marriages per 1,000 people in 2008, down from 10 per 1,000 in 1986.”
But caution doesn’t mean that Millennials don’t want to start families. In fact, two of my favorite Millennials are starting families as we speak.
The first is my brother.
(That’s him in the picture above. That’s Maya, his fiancé, next to him. I’ve always wanted a sister, and I’m pretty much obsessed with her being mine.)
The second is Morgan.
(That’s her with baby Shilah, the most beautiful baby I have ever seen, and to be honest the first baby I’ve ever liked.)
And even though Millennials may be cautious about starting a family, they are still confident that they can make it work.
In fact, 82 percent of Millennials think they will be married for life, which is you look at today’s divorce rate is clearly idealistic. But Millennials always have been idealistic, and for Millennials caution in starting a family does not equal disinterest. Millennials definitely want to start families, just on their own time.
“Why is more important than what or how” January 28, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials, millennials at work.Tags: gen-y, millennial, millennials, millennials at work, nick sarillo, nicks pizza and pub
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Every month Morgan walks over to my desk and drops off a copy of Inc. Magazine. She started doing this initially because it had “young people” on the cover (even though Morgan is really only a few years older than me), but now I find myself reading it every month.
This past month there was a great article called “Lessons from a blue-collar millionaire,” about Nick Sarillo the owner of Nick’s Pizza and Pub. I started reading the article because I love pizza, but I kept reading the article because Sarillo manages a ton of Millennials in his restaurants! Almost all of his employees are high-school students, with a few college students thrown in. While most managers complain about managing Millennials, Sarillo has tapped into how Millennials work and he has made their style work for him.
Image from Inc. Magazine
Instead of ordering around his high-school workers, Sarillo has designed a system that gives them more ownership and responsibility at work. “Today’s teens are as strong and as good as any previous generation of workers, but you need to share the ‘why’ with them,” said Sarillo. “The days of ‘do what I tell you’ are gone. You simply won’t be successful.”
“Sarillo has built his company’s culture by using a form of management best characterized as ‘trust and track.’ It involves educating employees about what it takes for the company to be successful, then trusting them to act accordingly.”
Sarillo calls what he is doing at Nicks Pizza and Pub “creating a culture,” but I really think it all has to do with him adjusting his management skills to make his employees feel like they have a stake in the success of his business. Millennials have to feel like they can make their own success and be valuable to a business. The “why is more important than what or how” at Nicks Pizza and Pub, which is what makes it a great place for Millennials to work.
Never listen to the critics January 24, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in millennials, millennials at work.Tags: dont listen to critics, gen-y, millennial, millennial critics, millennials, millennials at work
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Millennials have a ton of critics. There are the people who say we are entitled, sensitive, lazy and ego-driven. But I’m tired of listening to the critics, and Millennials everywhere should be too.
Seriously though, just look at Brett Favre. Everything thought he should retire and thought he was making a mistake, but why would he listen to his critics?
Like this one, who said, ” He has no clue how to replace the feeling of Sunday afternoons, which almost makes you feel sorry for him.”
But do you know what he said to those who criticized his indecision about retirement? “Don’t watch.”
And that is the same thing Millennials should say to its critics. If you don’t like it, don’t watch.
If Farve had listened to his critics and gone on to retire, he would have found himself without this amazing season and the chance to prove himself. Which is why I am rooting for the Vikings tonight. I want to see Farve go to the Super Bowl, and I want to see him win.
Do Millennials care if they are appreciated? January 22, 2010
Posted by Blake Sunshine in corporate, millennials at work.Tags: best companies to work for, fortune, gen-y, millennial, millennials, millennials at work, national instruments
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It’s employee appreciation week where I work and I have to be honest with you, before the week started I thought it was a bunch of crap. I didn’t really think that Millennials cared if they were appreciated. I care if I get to work on big projects, and I care if I get big opportunities, but do I really care about being appreciated?
Well I maybe didn’t before, but I do now! I loved employee appreciation week! It really made me feel like someone higher-up than just my manager was recognizing me for all the hard work I have been doing.
And to top the whole week off, National Instruments was voted one of the 100 best companies to work for. For the 11th year in a row!
Here I am celebrating at the deck party:
PR team members hanging out with NIgel at the deck party!
So maybe all Millennials don’t care if they are appreciated at work. But I know I do!
