A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: Self-entitlement (and Why We Deserve It)

Self-entitlement (and Why We Deserve It)

by Adam J. Kovitz

One of the biggest complaints I hear about from employers of the baby boom generation of their millennial counterparts is their frustration at their sense of self-entitlement.  This self-entitlement manifests itself as narcissism, overconfidence and self-centeredness and leaves others wondering if today's college graduates are really properly prepared for the "real" world that awaits them in business.

According to Jean M. Twenge in her article, Self-entitlement of grads can be a curse,  a study in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that:

"two-thirds of college students believed their professors should raise their grades if the student simply explained that he or she was trying hard. One-third believed that if they attended most of the classes for a course, they deserved at least a B in the class. Almost a third thought they should be able to schedule the final exam around their vacation."

From where did these kids get this?

From us, according to many millennial experts;  the combination of Child Protection Laws of the 1980s and 1990s, the increased connectivity and resources offered through the internet and the availability of mobile smart devices seems to have provided a "triple witching" effect on our future leaders and business innovators.

The problem:  growing up in a world of "you can do or be anything you want as long as you put your mind to it" and "everyone gets a trophy, whether they win or lose" is great until it comes into direct conflict with the "real" world of economic Darwinism, fierce competition where ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness is rewarded.

In the "real" world, politicians are entitled to live by a different set of standards and laws than the people they are supposed to represent.  

In the "real" world, business leaders who cause the largest recorded environmental disasters are entitled to participate in yacht races while entire ecosystems die and thousands lose their means of economic support as a result.

In the "real" world, those who understand the ways of money are entitled to profit by separating "fools" from their own money despite years of earning their trust.

Those "durned" kids...

In my humble opinion, we have to look at the examples we're setting and understand the consequences of the disconnects between what we espouse and what we truly live.

If we did that, we would have only two viable scenarios:

1.)  Either, educate our kids at the youngest possible ages to understand that the world we have brought them into is more than likely to treat them like cattle.  It is unfair, unjust and uncooperative.  It is designed to enslave them and keep them alive long enough to outlive their revenue-producing usefulness, or

2.)  Continue to educate our kids the way we have (perhaps tempering the entitlement with personal responsibility) and change our current "real" world into something that is more in alignment with the intentions of our message to them.  Let's cooperate, let's coexist and let's find ways to unite, as we all are deserving of the greatness we imagine for ourselves.

Which do you choose and what do you truly deserve?

All my best,

Adam

www.TNNWC.com
http://adamjkovitz.blogspot.com

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A NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER: Self-entitlement (and Why We Deserve It)

U.S. MID-ATLANTIC: Social Networking – Training the Next Generation

by Bruce Newman, U.S. Mid-Atlantic Bureau Chief

(New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, DC)

I was watching my son interact with his friends on Xbox 360 live last night. Playing in advanced mode, they had to coordinate all of their actions to win their game. There was my son telling his friends where they should move and who should protect whom. It was truly impressive to watch how they worked as a team. In fact, even when they completed their very intense game, my son still talked with them as he walked into our kitchen to get something to drink.

It made me wonder; is this the future of networking?

And I would have to say, yes. Kids - Generations Y and Z (Millennium) have embraced instant communication, remaining in constant contact through a multitude of modalities – all of which appear as natural extensions to them. Even their socialization is more group oriented than in previous generations. Going out in groups instead of one-on-one is now the accepted norm. They are constantly instant messaging each other, writing on each other’s Facebook walls, text messaging and sometimes even speaking with each other face to face.

So, how does this affect business networking?

Do you have a Twitter account? Or Facebook? Or LinkedIn or any other social account? Do you have a blog? Most people have at least one and should have more. Relationships are built, nourished and grown through these applications. There are a number of people on my various networks that started out as contacts and whom I can now truly call friends and business partners.

Would you have even considered creating a MySpace account five years ago? (Be honest.) Few people did. Today, there are many social websites and many more under development. Whether or not they add value depends on both their capabilities and the quality and use of the relationships constructed by their subscribers. Increasingly powerful tools such as Google Friend Connect allow people to connect through any number of social media sites. Gmail and Google Latitude allow us to locate and visually communicate with people on our network by literally, the click of a button.

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Networking is more than just attending events and passing out business cards. It’s about interacting with people. It’s quality versus quantity. The days of having a Verizon representative merely collecting as many business cards as he can at an event are rapidly ending, being replaced by a medium that is fast-moving and based on the development of quality relationships.

Which brings me back to my son and his video games. Many behavioral experts decry the violence of video games – which I certainly don’t deny. Yet, while advocating their position, they overlook one key benefit: the ability to develop and maintain social interactions through this medium. When I see my son get up in the morning and check his Facebook account, sometimes discuss what he and his friends accomplished the previous night or text a friend, I realize how interconnected this world is and how adept and socially networked is this new generation; no training required.



Bruce Newman, an expert on consulting, is the mid-Atlantic
editor for The National Networker and the Vice President at The Productivity Institute, LLC. The Productivity Institute has provided consultant and client-centered solutions that significantly increase productivity and profitability to small and mid-sized companies since 2000. Subscribe to our informative and free newsletter (circ 6,000+), receive our RSS feed, and read and comment on our blog. Bruce can be contacted at bnewman@prodinst.com.





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U.S. MID-ATLANTIC: Social Networking – Training the Next Generation

It’s a Y-ed, Wide World

By Maria Elena Duron

Multicultural Networking Editor

I interviewed Vikki Pusong an avid blogger and bio-chemistry major in Manila, Philippines who I’ve connected with via the online world. I asked her, “does multiculturalism matter to Gen Y?” Vikki’s response was, “No really. Maybe it's because we don't really like to check if someone's Latina or Asian or Caucasian. It's like we're busier with what's happening in our social groups and the causes were into than finding out who's from where and who speaks what. It's like, your cultural background doesn’t really have an impact on what my views or opinions are. And I think most of the people I know are like that, too, even those from different countries and backgrounds.”

Oh yes, the Gen Y-ers or better known as the Millennials have a wide world thanks to social networking. “So what is it like to be a Gen Y-er?” you might ask. Take a peek of what’s happening in the multicultural environment of the Net Generation.

Multitasking made easy. Technology is everywhere and the Milllennials use it all the time like doing homework, finishing a project at work, and building relationships. This generation relies on emails, instant messengers, mobile phones, iPods, and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Believe it or not, they can listen to their iPods, reply to text messages and do their homework all at the same time. It seems like there’s no time to waste. They are ever so busy updating their Facebook profiles, uploading pictures in Flickr, posting new articles in their blogs and commenting on their friends’ post. This group is not only interested in playing computer games, they are very knowledgeable in making them, too. Sharing their games and personal information to the world is their thing. Imagine how many people connected to the internet that could see what they like to eat, what saddens them, or what music they rave about. They could easily find people all over the world who share the same interests and be friends with them by just a click of the mouse.

The word “friend” has a new meaning. If you search its meaning in a Merriam-Webster dictionary, you will find that a friend is “one who is attached to another by affection or esteem.” However, for a Gen Y-er, a friend is a contact in Friendster or MySpace. Don’t get me wrong, this generation is still interested in keeping relationships that involve feelings or affection. But we have to take note that they still keep a social network in cyberspace where “friends” is simply a tally of contacts in that certain site. “Friends” are the people who comment on their pictures or blogs or view their public profiles. Aside from social networking sites, they have made friends by playing online games, moderating forums and joining real time online discussions in mIRC or Yahoo! Messenger.

Gender and ethnicity is not a problem. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett Ph.D., authored books and studied about these “emerging adults” for years. He claims that they are more educated as compared to the older generations. The National Center for Education Statistics showed that the number of undergraduates in 2004 reached up to 17.3 million, a number twice as large as what is was in 1970s (8.6 million). Because of their knowledge in using computers and unique ways of making friends through the internet, Dr. Arnett’s studies shows that they have fewer barriers in terms of race and gender. Suddenly, the world has become flat. As long as they share the same and sometimes different views or interests, they can easily form connections with other people. They don’t really mind if the person is a man or a woman, whether they are multilingual or if they belong to a certain ethnic group. Dave Verhaagen, author of the book Parenting the Millennial Generation, mentioned that the Millennials have a potential to be a great generation because they can see other people beyond their age, gender, or ethnicity.

Welcome the new ways to promote social awareness. Social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have found new ways to involve this group of emerging adults in creating social awareness. There are advocacy groups like “Support a Woman’s Right to Choose” and Pro-Life where members can join and rally support. Being collaborative is actually one of the positive traits of Generation Y. Why do you think MTV’s Anti-AIDS concerts sell like pancakes? It’s because Gen Y-ers think that life is an ongoing collaboration with different people. They just love getting involved, so more and more non-profit organizations take advantage of this opportunity to include them in various causes. This group made volunteering and civil involvement the “it” thing.

Gen-Yers have to go to work, too. I have come across this article in the internet called, “Attention Boomers: Generation Y Expects To Find You In Social Networks.” The author shared about a Talent Management head’s interview with a Gen Y candidate. The interviewer was stunned when the candidate mentioned that he couldn’t find him on the social network, LinkedIn. Obviously, aside from Googling the company name and its people prior to a job interview, the candidate tried to search for the HR Director’s profile in a social network to get to know the interviewer’s personality and see how he can make a connection. As for the working Gen Y-ers, studies show that they love to work with bosses who are fond of teaching new things and providing constant feedback. They enjoy learning in a dynamic and interactive environment.

The Gen Y-ers’ way of building and maintaining relationships has affected schools, jobs, and marketing industries. Also, more and more studies are made about Generation Y. Companies are now interested about their work patterns and how their lifestyle affects their output. Because of this group’s distinct behavior, aside from parents and employers, marketers are also keeping an eye on this new type of consumer. Truly, there’s a lot of potential in their humongous network that knows no boundaries. But the best way to really learn more about them is to join them and see what it’s like to be inside their Y-ed, wide world.

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It’s a Y-ed, Wide World

Generation Jones (from Tame The Web's Blog)

Written by Michael Colford, Senior Management Team of the Boston Public Library in charge of Regional Services

We all know about the Millennial Generation, and we've been hearing about their traits and how most libraries are failing to appeal to them. Most of them adapt to changing technology easily and are comfortable interacting socially online. We also know all about the Baby Boom Generation, many of whom are nearing retirement and who for the most part, shaped the library world into what it is today. The Baby Boomers aren't known for a rapid embrace of the recent online social networks, but of course, there are exceptions.

My question revolves around the generation between, a whole lot of Generation Xers and the little heard-of Generation Jones, those of us born between the mid-1950's and the mid 1960's. What makes some of the people born in these generations embrace the recent developments in technology and online socialization, while others simply have no interest?



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Generation Jones (from Tame The Web's Blog)

Understanding the Millennial – The Incredible Opportunity

Published: (one of a series of articles)

May 16 2007 / 1:00 am

by

systematicHR

in

Workforce Planning, Talent Mgmt

So perhaps you have not encountered this yet, but the millennial generation is different. What’s a millennial? In short, they are the upcoming generation that is currently graduating from high schools and colleges and will be for the next decade. This generation is quite special though. They possess a completely different sensibility around both work and networking that the prior generations don’t have. As we look towards the future of creating innovation and collaboration networks, one of the major concerns is how to create widespread adoption for these programs. For the millennials, this is not a concern as they are completely used to networking through social network sites and tagging technologies that the rest of us will have to get used to. Their minds also seem to work in a different way that our older brains don’t seem to be wired for.



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Understanding the Millennial – The Incredible Opportunity

This week in TNNW

Networking with the Millenials: The End of the World as We Know It?
By Adam J. Kovitz

Northwest: James Sun: Helping Business Professionals Connect Online AND In-Person. By LORI RICHARDSON

Southeast: AW NUTS! By GLEN GOULD

Hawaii: Hawaiian Scottish Festival. By SANDY C. MCKEE

Health & Wellness: Eclipse Energy Solutions. By CHRIS SOPA

Politics: New Political Networking. By MATTHEW BEST

Networking Your Website. By RITA WILHELM

People, Power & Possibilities. By DONNA FISHER

Power Thought of the Week. By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D.

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This week in TNNW

This week on TNNW

Networking with the Millenials: The End of the World as We Know It?
By Adam J. Kovitz

"Kids...I don’t know what’s wrong with these kids today!" said an exasperated Mr. McAfee in the Broadway Musical (and later, movie) Bye Bye Birdie, in reaction to coping with the chaotic, ensuing comedy surrounding his daughter winning a national contest, in which the family hosts an Elvis-like star in their home leading up to his final appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show before going off into the Army.

While this story had a definite 1960’s flavor to it, just about any parent (including myself) can easily relate to the above timeless explicative. In fact, many CEOs/Presidents/business owners from large to small corporations are singing the same tune these days...

Canada: Solving Big Business Challenges Through Networking.

By ZALE TABAKMAN

Taimour has developed his reputation to such a point he can call up CEO’s and executives of almost any major technology company in Toronto, and they will take his call and meet for lunch with him. Everybody who knows him is continuously amazed by his sincerity and selflessness.

The Access Group is his baby and it follows his approach to life. He focuses on helping solve the problems that keep CEO of large companies awake at night. Taimour then uses his networking skills to help these CEO’s and others solve their problem. His focus is on problems that are shared by many CEO’s in a specific sector.

New England: Young Professionals Networking Group.

By KATHY and LOUIS EMOND

New Hampshire has a problem. It’s getting old. No, not the state, but the population. Since 1990, it has lost 25 % of its 25 – 34 year old citizens. NH has the 4th oldest population of the United States. And it isn’t just in one area of the state. Towns and cities from Berlin (that’s BER-lin to those of you who are not from NH) in the north to Nashua in the south are watching their populations age.

Northern Plains: Seizing the accomplishment: blogging as networking.

By JANE GREER

A few months ago I wrote about Mike Sansone of Des Moines, one of the Central Iowa Bloggers, or "Blogga Nostra." This month’s networker is Timothy Johnson, another Central Iowa Blogger. His story shows how blogging has both embraced and helped shape networking as we know it.

Johnson is an affable, intense, articulate guy with an MBA from Drake, where he teaches creativity for business. His blog is www.carpefactum.com: "Carpe Factum ... Seize the Accomplishment ... The Latin version of ‘Git 'er done!’" is how the site describes itself. He’s also the author of Race Through the Forest: A Project Management Fable, and GUST: The "Tale" Wind of Office Politics, and is a columnist on www.officepolitics.com.

"There are three things I want my work to be," Johnson says. "Creative. Relational. And driven toward accomplishment."

Career Transition: Get Actively Involved in Industry Associations.

By JASON ALBA

This last week I’ve had the honor of presenting at the Career Masters Institute’s (http://www.cminstitute.com) annual conference in Kentucky. I’ve learned a lot about the coaching and resume writing specialties and have a new appreciation for career issues and services available. I’ve been really impressed by the professionalism that these experts bring, and how much they sincerely care about us job seekers. In fact, one of the commonalities I see is that these people love their jobs because they are helping people. The get great satisfaction when their clients secure a job – it’s a great reward to the coach or resume writer!

Real Estate: Associated Investors of Alabama.

By TRACY PERCIVAL

This month I would like to share with you, AIA, the Associated Investors of Alabama.

They are a non-profit association locate in Birmingham Alabama and the groups primary focus is on Real Estate education. As any successful Real Estate Professional knows, knowledge is the key to this business.

The group meets a few times a month with a variety of knowledgeable guest speakers, to share ideas on such topics. One topic at a recent meeting was Law Suit protection, tax reduction and estate planning. The speaker was one of the nations top asset protection advisors. There were a lot of networking opportunities at this event, for R.E. professionals.

Sales & Marketing: Did you hear the one about the Irishman who . . .

By BILL DOERR

This is a story about an Irishman who landed in America with 92 Bucks in his pocket and built up an organization with over 300 staff members, thousands of clients and . . . oh yes, a nice Lear jet to visit them all. It's a nice story. And one I'm honored to share with you.

The man's name is Brian Buffini. His company is Buffini and Company. His website is www.buffiniandcompany.com and my 'personal representative' at Brian's organization is a most delightful young lady by the name of Rain. Her direct number is:

Social Networking: Networking in Tampa Bay: A Walk on the Wild Side.

By NANCY LAINE

It's no secret that finding the perfect meeting place can make all the difference at your next event. But this is easier said than done, according to many sources. Just ask David Doerges, a networking visionary and the founder of Free Networking International. In January 2005 he started his first networking group in Tampa Bay, and today it has already expanded into 10 spin-off groups, with more on the way.

Columns

NetBeing.

By RON SUKENICK

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around".
- Leo Buscaglia

In my first book, Networking Your Way to Success, I addressed nine networking strategies. One of those strategies was act like a host, never a guest. Let’s expand on that strategy and explore the real power of providing a joyful experience to others.

Power Thought of the Week.

By PATRICIA PARHAM, Ph.D.

Build an Interdisciplinary Master Mind Alliance

Master Mind Alliances help all kinds of endeavors to focus on the right things. The 3-5 members possess complementary strengths meeting once a month to support each other’s businesses. These people are Peer Mates, so select compatible people from your network with whom you share values or perspectives, like excellence or writing or any goal-driven thrust that you’d like to upgrade. Plan to work together for a year.

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This week on TNNW