Creating Gen-Y Magic

Gen-Y Hot Seat with Dan Schawbel

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:14:00 +0000

To end the week we are very happy to feature Dan Schawbel, aka the Personal Branding Guru. Not only has Dan helped the company he works for explore and benefit from Social Media, but he has also used it to position himself with a blog, a magazine, worldwide syndication, the creation of the Personal Branding Awards and a book deal for Me 2.0. Check out what Dan has to say about Gen-Y trends, taking online networking offline and how corporations can keep up!

Gen-Y Magic: Is all of this personal branding that is going on with Social Media, good for companies? Is their loyalty to a company anymore, or is it all egotistical and self-promoting?

Dan: Companies cannot escape the widespread adoption of personal branding, so they must embrace it. Since talent is equal to brand, every company must consider each employee as an ambassador, not just the CEO. The difference between me 1.0 and me 2.0 is the fact that everyone in a company can stand in front of their corporate brand, not behind it. Now, with a blog, podcast or social network profile, you can represent both yourself and your company at the same time for better or worse. Social media is necessary for companies that want to listen to customers, better their products and services and be apart of communities where their competition is already playing in.

It does appear that loyalty is dying, but whose fault is that really? The average college graduate will switch jobs on average of 1.6 years, which is quite the stat. In my opinion, companies can't treat millennials like other generations because, let's face it, we have a different world view. When comes want to recruit us, they have to play on our turf (Facebook, etc) and not their own corporate website. An individual has the ability to choose if they want to be egotistical or not. The more successful personal brands will figure out a way to help their company, while helping themself. In order to gain Gen-Y's loyalty in the workplace, companies need to be more flexible, give instant gratification and set realistic expectations from the start.

GYM: Gen-Y is all about work-life balance, or so it may seem. I've seen countless numbers of young professionals, including you, working till they drop. Where is the balance that Gen-Y seeks?

Dan: There is no such thing as work-life balance anymore because we are a hyperconnected species. Our cell phones are an extension of our body. I know it may seem scary, but the reality is that we are always occupied with something. In order to be successful, you need to treat life as one giant networking event. Each new interaction could lead to a new opportunity! Not all Gen-Y's work till they drop, but the smart ones do because there is no such thing as job security anymore. Facebook ended work-life balance when it allowed anyone to join, leaving college students completely exposed. Sometimes in order to do what we really want, we have to work after our full-time job, to prepare for the future that we truly want to live. Blogging, of course, is one path to that future.

Gen-Y wants to be connected to their friends all the time, which can sometimes become a distraction, but we are social creatures. Your network is your net worth and when you are interacting with like-minded people, you can solve problems faster and become more successful.

GYM: Is Gen-Y expanding/growing/advancing too fast for Corporate America to keep up?

Dan: I would argue that most companies aren't doing a great job dealing with Gen-Y because they don't differentiate this group from the older generations, so they get the same treatment. Gen-Y readily adapts to technological advances and adopts this technology to communicate with people in the office. The issue is that older generations prefer email, phone calls and face time over instant messaging and Facebook chat. Corporate America is certainly behind and the first step in redemption is awareness.

GYM: There are a lot of young nonprofit leaders that we have profiled and are in talks to. How can they begin to brand themselves to a point where real change can happen?

Dan: It takes a long time to make change. It might even take a lifetime for some. The lead, influence and build followers isn't an overnight goal. The first thing everyone needs to do is to go through self-discovery, to find out who you are and what you want to do for the rest of your life. Once you have an idea of who you would like to become, then use social media, your network and all other resources in hand, to make it happen, one day at a time. You should bond with others that have similar goals and help them out first, without asking for anything in return.

GYM: How can all of this online networking, group forming, change calling and branding be applied in this "real world?"

Dan: A social network is a virtual companion to your real world network. Everything you do in real life is reflective in your online life and both must be consistent. By building your brand online, you are attracting people who are like you and you can take those relationships offline and deepen them. A blog is like a neg for catching these individuals and social networks are a way to store the relationship online and refer back to it when you want to engage in conversation. It's much easier to connect with people online. It's much less awkward to send someone a Facebook message rather than introduce yourself to them in person. Social networks have eliminated a lot of people's "nervousness" when they first start networking.

GYM: Can you give us a brief instance of a time when you created magic in someone's life?

Dan: I used to be a big brother to a young child who had divorced parents. I would take him various places and befriend him and I believe it really made a difference in his life. I was seen as a role model, not because of everything I've been doing in my career, but as someone who is older and who can give advice. I believe that any new person you meet can change your life and in this situation, I was able to give him support when he needed it.

GYM: Thanks Dan, you are off the Gen-Y Hot Seat!

Check out this interview Dan did with Lee Cockerell on the Personal Branding Blog

Leadership Thought of the Week #8

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Every week over on LeeCockerell.com, Lee shares a Leadership thought, just something to think about in your daily life. Every week, we will be sharing with you that thought and adding some insight into how that plays into the Gen-Y lifestyle. So without further ado, this week's leadership thought is:

We have to to continue to educate (train) ourselves and our teams so they have the knowledge to make the right decisions and to perform effectively.

I like the second half of this equation. It's not solely about training yourself. You need to train your team to be on the same level or better than you to be successful. If you want your company to adapt social media, teach them about it so that they become the experts. If you are well versed in accounting, help out others that are a little sluggish in your organization. By making everyone better you make your team better. It goes back to the old saying that

"you are only as strong as your weakest link."

What do you think? How do you help your weakest link?

Creating Magic for an Epic Change

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:32:00 +0000

Stacey Monk is the founder & CEO of Epic Change, a startup nonprofit that “helps hopeful people in need share their stories to acquire resources that will improve their lives.” Epic Change makes loans to global grassroots changemakers, then shares their stories in ways that generate income to facilitate loan repayment & sustain their efforts. Their current project is to finance the reconstruction and expansion of a locally-led primary school in Tanzania that serves over 200 children. This is her story

Before I start, I have a confession to make: I'm a Gen Y wannabe. My own birth preceded the Millenials by at least a few years, and I only wish I were still in my 20s. But I'm thankful for the extra decade, I suppose; I've gone to college, grad school and built a successful career in change management and consulting with companies like Deloitte and Genentech, have worked in the public sector and the theatre, and even ran my own small firm, Funken Consulting, before I launched my most recent endeavor, Epic Change. Since doing so, some of the most important lessons I've learned about leadership and creating "magic" have been from people much younger than me.

One of those people is Zoe Flanagan, a student at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon, who joined us on our most recent trip to Africa, so I decided to ask her a few questions about her experience with Epic Change.

Stacey: Describe your experience with Epic Change in Tanzania, and the key lessons you learned. In what ways do you believe Epic Change is creating magic there?

Zoe: My experience with Epic Change this summer was extremely educational. I’ve worked with many different NGOs in many different countries and this summer made me reexamine the effects people can have when they are trying to help. I understand now that even with good intentions, one can do more harm than good.

The magic I saw this summer came mostly from Mama Lucy, who founded the school at which we were working in Tanzania, and the interactions between her and Epic Change. The partnership was very clearly a strong and honorable one. So often in this world we are taught not to trust those who are different. This summer I saw the wonderful results of the Epic Change approach, which emphasizes trust and respect for local leadership. Many times throughout the summer I had waves of excitement for what this trust produced. In contrast to this excitement, I felt a heavy fear in me when I looked around Arusha, a town full of NGOs with good intentions, and I saw a clear absence of trust. So what I came out of this summer with was an idea of how good things could be when thought and trust are put into aid work. This has instilled in me a sense of humility, which I really cherish.

Stacey: In what ways do you think Epic Change, and Gen Y, are approaching social change differently than their predecessors?

Zoe: Well, one of the most popular subjects in my generation is sustainability; it’s a concept often discussed both in economics and environmental issues. Epic Change is certainly working with this idea of sustainability in mind and I believe it is a great approach. Given the fragile state of the world that has been passed down to us, Generation Y understands well the importance of sustainable thinking. It is our responsibility to future generations to act in sustainable ways.

Stacey: How do you believe Gen Y innovations - like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace - and other tools are helping organizations like Epic Change to do good? Do you think the Epic Change story would be possible without tools like these?

Zoe: I certainly think Epic Change would be able to work without these tools, mostly because I believe in their message and their passion, and with both of those you work with what you have. That being said, I think Epic Change uses these tools in a great way. They have been able to bring people together. With their videos, they spread the idea of hopeful and bright futures for children like Gideon, Glory and Pius who are usually tagged as lost causes. This is one of my favorite aspects of Epic Change. I think they are able to use these tools to create a more diverse interest group as well, which is very helpful for the organization.

Stacey: What advice would you offer to organizations who are trying to connect with your generation?

Zoe: One thing I always looked for in an organization was respect for what I had to say. Very often being young is seen as being inexperienced and that is all. I believe I am inexperienced but I do also think I have some good ideas. I am very impressed when organizations involve the younger generation in a real way and give them opportunities to be heard.

Stacey: Based on your experience with Epic Change this summer, how will you continue to create magic?

Zoe: First of all, I plan on continuing to work with Epic Change. At the same time I am in college and hoping to study more about sustainable development. Given the emphasis that the Epic Change model places on storytelling, I know a lot of change is created when people tell their stories, so I plan on telling my story and explaining what I learned this summer to others. Thanks for the opportunity to do that here.

Stacey: As the leader of Epic Change, I was very interested to read Zoe’s responses to these questions, and thought she provided an excellent primer on a few simple rules of Gen Y leadership:

• Respect diversity.
• Think sustainably.
• Spread hope.
• Be resourceful.
• Be inclusive.
• Use your voice.

Especially in the business of creating social change, the power of these strategies cannot be underestimated.

Lee Cockerell Creates Magic at Create Chaos '08

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Here is a clip from Lee's keynote on Tuesday morning, October 14th at Create Chaos in Orlando, FL. Lee addressed 500 creative professionals on the topics in time management, being a better leader and employer and how to create magic in your own life.

Tuesday also marked the release of Lee's book, Creating Magic. Look for it at all of your book retail chains and online as well! If you get a copy, be sure to tell us so we can relay the word. If anyone wants to write a review or their take on the book, Creating Gen-Y Magic is your floor. Send an email to greg.rollett@endagon.com and we will print your magic!

Thanks for checking out the video and continue to create magic in the lives of people everywhere. Together we are proving that Gen-Y is going to progress and take our lives into territories for the betterment of existence.

For those looking for discount Disney Tickets, there is so much magic going on during the holidays including seeing some of the magic that we saw at Create Chaos.

A Physical Gen-Y Hot Seat with Adam Gilbert

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:42:00 +0000

Adam Gilbert is creating magic every single day with his clients over at MyBodyTutor. He is also another lucky winner of a copy of Creating Magic from the Brazen NYC Meet Up! I've spoken to several people who are on his program and it's truly remarkable what he's able to help them do. You can read more form Adam over at his blog, Guru Gilbert. We're lucky enough to have him here on our very own Gen Y Hot Seat. Enjoy!

Gen-Y Magic: One of your marketing philosophies is the 100% belief in your product and commitment. Can you talk more about this?

Adam: Belief, it turns out, is an incredible business strategy.

Belief is what keeps me up at 4am thinking of ways to improve my company and how I can better serve my clients. Belief is what gets me up every morning excited to work. Belief is what ultimately made me quit my full time job to start my company. Belief is what causes me to want to stay in on a Friday or Saturday night to work on my business.

Belief is what gives me the confidence to guide and lead my clients to success. Belief is what is going to give me the courage to go up against the behemoths one day. Belief is what makes me want to give my clients my absolute best on each and every interaction I have with them. Belief is what makes me believe I can change the world one client at a time (and is helping me to do just that)!

Belief is what makes anyone crazy enough to think they can actually change the world.

Here’s a perfect example:

One summer, a long time ago, I decided to sell knives. I saw this ad and I thought it would be an interesting experience. It turned out I’d be selling knives to my family and friends. The idea was to then sell knives to their friends and then their friends and so on. Or so the company hoped. There was one problem though.

Although the knives cut through leather and rope they were really expensive. Try $1500 for an entire set. After a lot of cajoling I sold my first (and only!) set to my mom and I felt absolutely terrible.

Additionally, my wonderful Aunt was kind enough to throw a ‘knife party’ inviting all of her great friends over. They all bought knives including my Aunt. Not because I was an incredible salesman. They bought knives because my Aunt has incredible friends that will support her and wanted to do her a favor. I stopped selling knives immediately after that party.

I felt like people were buying out of pity. These people didn’t really want knives. They weren’t actively looking to spend $1500 on a knife set. No! They were buying because they knew me or because they were a friend of my Aunts. Or because they were my mom and felt bad for me!

Not because I was really helping them. Or I was offering something of incredible value.

I need to believe with every molecule of my body in what I’m offering people because I’m not a salesman. And I also need to believe that what I’m doing is worth doing. That it will make an impact.

My clients tell me all the time I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing (and I know it!). I knew I was onto something when one of my entrepreneurial friends who knows more mega-successful entrepreneurs than anyone I’ve ever met told me I’m the best salesman he’s ever met in his entire life?!

It makes me laugh a lot because I’m really not! I just speak and write with my heart and my soul. I live what I teach. I just believe (and know) what I’m offering with every cell of my body works and I’m reinforced with this belief each and every single morning when I read how great my clients are doing.

You can’t fake that belief. Ever. And if you can (if you’re one of those ‘I can sell ice to an Eskimo’ types) you’re going to give up when the going gets tough. You’ll find something else. And c’mon, people aren’t dumb. You can sense a fake a mile away.

And in business (and with anything!) you need to be at it day in and day out if you want to realize your goal. Consistency is critical. No matter what.

That only comes from belief. And if you don’t (truly, deeply) believe in what you’re doing you’ll never stay committed.

GYM: I can’t help but see more vegan restaurants, salad shops and generally more health conscience menus. Is this something Gen-Y helped to dictate or is it a shift in American culture to really be a little more health conscience?

Adam: Well, we (consumers) dictate what kind of restaurants and stores are out there every single day by voting with our wallets.

I also think the internet has created this era of hyper-communication and hyper-productivity and infinite distractions. We’re all glued to our blackberries and computers and phones and work. We’re busier than ever.

But for what?

People are starting to realize that all of these amazing tools to work more mean nothing without their health and fitness and without quality of life. Because of this we are willing to pay a premium for healthier food stores and healthier restaurants.

It’s also a shift in American culture. The Baby Boomers aren’t like our grandparents. They don’t want to just retire to Florida and call it a day.

They want to be active in their ‘golden years’. As they should!

They see and feel how exercise and eating right pays off big in quality of life.

GYM: One topic you always hear in Gen-Y circles is work/life balance. Where does health and fitness come in that balance?

Adam: My answer is going to be pretty obvious but here it goes. When you’re health and fitness is in order…everything else is better. When you eat healthy, you feel healthy. When you eat great, you feel great.

When you eat crappy, you feel crappy.

When you exercise, you feel energized. When you don’t exercise you feel tired and lethargic. Remember: objects in motion stay in motion. Objects at rest stay at rest.

Right? Whenever I have days where I don’t do anything, I don’t feel like doing anything because I’m exhausted. From what though?

I really believe that everyone’s health and fitness should be a huge priority.

The main reason is that you can start taking action in this area immediately. Make your next meal a healthy one. Make it a point to exercise today. If you maintain good healthy habits, it will benefit you in all other areas of your life.

You’ll have more energy and vitality to make bigger changes. The very first day my clients eat right and exercise, they notice an immediate difference in their mood and motivation and energy levels.

It’s not a coincidence.

GYM: Professional sports have been a sore spot lately with the performance enhancing drugs. Is this as big of an issue as the media makes it out to be with regards to youth athletics and school sports?

Adam: When I’m talking with a client and he/she asks me why they don’t look like Brad Pitt in the movie Fight Club or Giselle after a week of working with me it really irks me.

When I read stories about how people are trying to gain weight so they can get their stomach stapled because it’s the easy way out, it really bothers me.

When clients or even friends ask me what type of pills they should take to lose weight because they don’t look (and feel) the way they want to after only 4 days of eating right and exercising it kills me.

Everyone wants things yesterday. Not now. Not tomorrow. But yesterday. No one wants to work for anything anymore especially when it comes to their health and fitness.

Let me ask you something,

Do you really believe there is a healthier and more sustainable way to realize your health and fitness goals than by eating right and exercising consistently?

Deep down we know there isn’t.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m extremely results oriented but in our bigger, faster, stronger society it’s bringing up a generation of impatient kids who give up after a week if they don’t realize their goals.

Performance enhancing drugs being taken in youth athletics and school sports is a big deal in the media for two reasons. One is because these drugs are dangerous and they can do serious long term damage.

But I think the really dangerous part of all of this is that we’re sending a message to our kids that it’s okay to cheat. That it is okay to do things that are not only illegal but also unhealthy and unethical to get ahead.

I think it’s going to create a generation of people who give up very quickly if they don’t succeed.

There is no such thing as an overnight success. It takes your entire life to be an overnight success but most people don’t realize that.

So yes, I do think it’s a big deal. Kids are extremely impressionable.

And stop thinking these lose 30 pounds or gain 30 pounds of fat or muscle in 3 days are real. They aren’t!

GYM: I love your concept of accountability. How important is that, not just in fitness but in our everyday lives?

Adam: I believe everyone knows how great eating right and exercising can make you feel (and look). However, it’s very difficult to do that consistently.

And that’s why accountability is huge. Being forced to look in the mirror and ‘own up’ to yourself every single night so to speak is why my clients are seeing and feeling amazing results.

It’s why my clients (ranging in age from 15 to 77 years young now!) are finally able to stick to a health and fitness plan. I have clients that have never been able to stick to a ‘diet’ for more than a week before starting my program.

Lying to yourself is the worst feeling in the entire world and I make it very difficult for my clients to lie to themselves.

We all want the best life possible. We all dream of great things. Some more than others but we all dream.

Life happens though. Work happens. Our friends happen. Things happen. Relationships happen. And on and on…

The intoxicating allure of TV, dinners, our friends, our kids. The distractions really are endless! And before you know it, you totally forget about yourself!

Unfortunately, it’s just too easy to make excuses and procrastinate. It’s even easier to lie to ourselves and rationalize poor eating and lack of exercise.

But it’s more than just accountability that I offer.

No one dreams of being overweight when they are a little kid. No one dreams of being unhealthy and out of shape either.

Everyone has greatness in them. But it’s just really easy to get stuck. It’s really easy to pile rationalizations on top of that greatness. (Well, the kids need this. I have to do this for work. My friend needs me, etc., etc.)

Every time I watch the move Rocky I get ridiculously pumped up. We all do. I’m sure of it.

But it’s just so easy to let life get in the way and to cover that fire up.

I ignite that fire in my clients each and every day. And it makes for an incredible combo with accountability.

So accountability is huge in every aspect of our lives. I just believe we need it most with our health and fitness.

Usually the first thing people forget about is their health and fitness.

You’re not going to stop going to work. You’re not going to stop hanging out with your friends. You’re not going to stop doing a lot of things when you’re really busy. But the one thing most people do, unfortunately, is stop taking care of themselves.

GYM: Adam, you are officially off of the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Thanks for playing along!

Leadership Thought of the Week #7 + Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:49:00 +0000

Education (training) is one of the key ways to achieve improved results in anything you want to accomplish. Making sure that everyone is trained properly is vital and one of the best uses of your time.

As someone going through both the learning and the training mentorship process, I think this is a key component to Gen-Y and our development. Making sure you are prepared for battle every step of the way will ensure that you have put yourself in a place to succeed. Football teams do it, so do speakers. So do great managers and team players. How do you educate yourself?

Contest:
Here's a famous quote for you,

Now you know and knowing is half the battle.

If you can tell me where that came from you will win a Gen-Y Magic Prize Pack!

-Gen-Y Magic Team

Gen-Y Hot Seat with Christopher Scott

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Today on the Gen-Y Hot Seat we are pleased to feature Christopher Scott, a young leader for nonprofits, innovations and change. He is working on helping young nonprofits grow and learn and also leads his own group, A Day of Hope, which delivers baskets of food and turkeys to families in need for Thanksgiving. In our time together we got to chat about time management and if Gen-Y is prepared to lead the social change that is needed today. Enjoy!

Gen-Y Magic: Time is a very important issue to Gen-Y. We never have enough of it and we love to overbook. How does time affect what you do as a young leader?

Chris: How does time affect what I do as a young leader? – I see time as an asset and a liability; an asset in the way that it’s something I can use to make a difference in the world and a liability because I never quite have enough time.

I’ve spent a large amount of effort learning how to use time more effectively. The best resource has been Jason Womack. Over years Jason has helped me tremendously to focus on planning, getting the right things done, and to keep commitments. He has dramatically helped me to become more productive, learn how to focus on important things, and get the most out of my time.

Time is a very sensitive issue for a Gen-Y leader because often as young people we don’t have administrative or personal assistants to help lighten our work load. We end up paying bills, doing mail merges, picking up the dry cleaning, and shopping for our own groceries. Now I’m at a point in my life where I pay someone part-time to do these for me, but for a long time I was the one dedicating time every week to these tasks that could easily be done by someone else.

GYM: As a Gen-Y leader you have to find ways to free up time so you can focus on things that are important.

Chris: Being a young leader, what is the one thing that lets you teach and help other young professionals and educate them on leadership?

One thing that allows me to teach is experience and insight. Leadership expert and author, John Maxwell states, “Reflection turns experience into insight.”

Almost every day I spend about twenty minutes thinking and reflecting about what I’ve learned throughout the day. I also focus on how I’m going to use what I learned in the future to either become a better leader, or see if I need to share that information with someone else so he or she can become a better leader.

GYM: Is Gen-Y up to the challenge of leading the social and cultural industries through nonprofits? Industries that Millennials may or may not be so familiar with?

Chris: Do I believe Gen-Y is up to the challenge: yes.

Do I believe they are prepared: no.

I think Gen-Y still has some learning to do if we’re going to make the impact on society that is needed. By learning I don’t mean more learning in the classroom. The last thing Gen-Y needs is another degree in nonprofit management from some University where half of the professors have never ran a nonprofit or even volunteered.

To learn they need more hands-on experience such as dealing with people, writing grant proposals, collaborating with other organizations, and interacting with the media in a positive way.

This is stuff you can be taught in a classroom, but you really don’t get a sense of what it is and how to do it until you’re actually in the trenches day-to-day having to find a way to get it done.

Just a side note is that I include myself in part of this list of Gen-Y who needs to learn more. I still have a lot of learning to do, and a lot of leading to do.

GYM: There is a lot of “action” going on in Social Media and on Social Networks. Kids are joining groups, protests and speaking out on change, politics, cultural affairs and more. How do we get this excitement to correlate into real world change?

Chris: It’s great to see kids taking action and speaking out on topics specific to their interests. Kids are showing a lot of initiative to do these things, but if it’s really going to correlate into real world change they need to have more follow-through.

Initiative is great to have on the front end of change, but to reach the back end of change you’ve got to have follow-through.

I think kids are lacking in the follow-through area, the second that they run into a problem or obstacle, they give up and find something else new and exciting. It takes an extremely large amount of time, persistence, and energy to create change, and if kids are serious they need to know and practice follow-through.

GYM: You work for the United Way. What is a large organization like the United Way doing to reach new Gen-Y recruits? Can an organization like the United Way make an impact the way a smaller, more focused nonprofit can?

Chris: Currently United Way has been experimenting with what we call, “Students Live United.” It’s an outreach effort to engage college students in fundraising and service projects. I think one of the main benefits from Students Live United is that it’s going to be a recruiting pool for potential passionate young leaders.

On the topic of making an impact versus smaller more focused nonprofits, I think the answer is “yes” and “no.” I think United Way is an organization more targeted toward the everyday person who wants to make a difference and help people in need, but that person might not really know how. United Way presents an opportunity to that person to make a difference and shows the person different ways to give time and/or money.

Smaller nonprofits are better an engaging individuals in specialized niche areas specific to people’s past experiences and passionate areas. These nonprofits attract people who already know exactly where they want to donate their time and money, and the nonprofit presents an opportunity to do that whether it’s a program for the homeless, underprivileged youth, animal welfare, or domestic abuse.

GYM: Christopher, you are off the Gen-Y Hot Seat!
Chris: Great, I hope that I didn’t cool off the seat while sitting on it!

Lauren Westbrook Inspires Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Today we are very excited to have Lauren Westbrook sharing her story of social inspiration for the youth and overcoming obstacles and hurdles. Lauren was also a recent winner of a copy of Creating Magic at the Brazen MeetUp in New York. You can read more from Lauren at her blog Socially.Strategic.

Helping other people build confidence and become more efficient at identifying and accomplishing their goals has consistently been an essential part of my life, and one of my greatest joys. While working at a home for teenage mothers during high school, aside from cooking and babysitting, I spent countless hours after my shifts informally counseling residents about job and education opportunities. In my four-year tenure as Executive Director of the Women and Youth Supporting Each Other mentoring program, we ran hundreds of workshops on topics like Birth Control, Sexual Health, Budgeting, and Nutrition for at-risk adolescent women in Boston. Throughout the past year, as a member of Harvard’s Outreach Committee, I have often taken off from my full-time job (Marketing/Brand Management at L’Oreal USA) to speak to students in Harlem, the Bronx and other underrepresented and overlooked communities about attending college and not seeing Harvard as out-of-reach.

Though I am proud of all of my efforts to inspire others, I am particularly excited about having blended my interests in service and entrepreneurship through Westbrook Strategies, the social skills and communication consulting company I started in early 2007. Westbrook Strategies offers private one-on-one and group consultation sessions (on evenings and weekends) that help clients (most of whom are in their late teens and twenties) develop strategies for turning potentially daunting social experiences into enjoyable opportunities to achieve personal and professional goals. We cover a variety of topics -- from Making Conversation, Networking, and Body Language, to Dating & Relationships, Personal Health & Fitness, Career Planning, Transitioning to High School & College, and Interview Skills.

Since the company’s founding, we have helped over 120 clients, including one of my favorite successes: a shy, socially uncomfortable high school senior who claims our consultations on first dates helped him secure a prom date, and our interview skills sessions facilitated his acceptance into Franklin & Marshall College. I am so excited to have gotten the opportunity to read Creating Magic, as I truly believe that the insights and strategies in the book will enable me to pursue Westbrook Strategies and my future service and entrepreneurial efforts, with even greater rigor and efficiency.

Thank You Gen-Y!

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:09:00 +0000

Hey guys, I just got word from Lee and Random House Publishing that we have got Creating Magic up to #2 on the Amazon.com Movers and Shakers List! We would like to thank everyone for their help in writing stories, posting links, throwing up affiliate links and just talking about the book and helping to spread the magic!

Tomorrow Lauren Westbrook is sharing her story of Creating Magic. She was one of the winners of the book at the Brazen MeetUp in New York a few weeks back! Check out Lauren Westbrook below holding her copy of Lee Cockerell's Creating Magic!

Here's to the magic that all of us are helping to spread. Let's get this movement to number 1!

-Greg and the Gen-Y Team

Gen-Y Hot Seat | Bo Menkiti Talks Real Estate and Leadership

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Today we are pleased to have Bo Menkiti join us in the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Bo is a Washington D.C. Real Estate visionary who started developing homes for teachers, firefighters, and other first-time buyers in the neglected middle market. Bo was featured in 2007's 30 Under 30 from Inc. Magazine and is bringing social awareness to the community about real estate and its value. In this hot seat we chat about first time home buyers and a technology shift for the real estate market, plus a moment of Creating Magic in a hometown neighborhood!

Gen-Y Magic: You have been recognized as a great young businessman, most noticeably in Inc’s 30 under 30. What qualities do you think it takes to be a leader at such a young age?

Bo: Leadership for me has been about articulating a vision and supporting others in working towards that vision. When we were starting our company I knew it is crucial to be powered by a strong sense of purpose, a clear mission and a strong set of values. Before we did anything else, we sat down and came up with four core values that we felt captured what we wanted our organization to stand for. We then went one step further and developed a set of eight beliefs and perspectives that guide our day to day interaction both externally with our partners and clients, and internally amongst our staff. After these values and beliefs were developed and put in place, they helped guide us in creating our business model and our strategy and lead us forward throughout the creative whirlwind of our company’s start up and growth.

In addition to establishing and promoting vision in values, it’s also important for a person in a leadership role to be constantly learning and increasing their understanding of the people they serve and the structural context with in which they operate. As our company grows, we constantly have to reevaluate the needs of the community and fine tune our model to fit their needs and meet the demands caused by current market conditions.

GYM: Gen-Y is a technologically savvy generation. How has technology shaped your business and your communication with both your team members and clients?

“You cannot meet the challenges of today with yesterdays tools and expect to be in business tomorrow” -Unknown

Bo: Technology has been a big part of our outreach to an increasingly tech savvy generation of buyers and sellers. It also helps us in our work to continually automate and improve upon our internal processes and operations.

The real estate industry is evolving as buyers and sellers are getting more and more of their market data online. For buyers, we have implemented two property search technologies on our website and have additional resources to educate them and guide them throughout the process.

For sellers we have a Market Snapshot report that keeps them updated on the market activity around their homes through an automated monthly email. We also have an online portal for clients who are listing their homes with us that enables them to go online and track our teams activities in marketing their home 24/7.

We have embraced this shift towards independent online searching because it takes some of the lower value work off of our plates. It enables us as realtors to focus on the increasingly valuable consultative role of guiding our clients to successfully reach their real estate goals and on negotiating the best deals for them.

Internally we have worked to use technology to further streamline the marketing and administrative side of our work and enhance the communication amongst our team members. We utilize automated marketing communications, publish a monthly e-newsletter and maintain online files for data storage. We also use calendar sharing and other mobile devices to speed up communication between members of our team.

GYM: Can you share one tale of Creating Magic in your community and how it affected the lives of others in a positive light.

Bo: Before I got seriously involved in real estate, I bought a house in the Brookland neighborhood of DC. The house was great, but it was directly across from a vacant, burned-out liquor store on the corner and another abandoned building right next to it. Every morning as I was leaving my house to go to work, I would stare across the street at the derelict buildings and briefly ponder their potential. My elderly next door neighbor would often remind me of how she had lived on the corner for over 70 years and how sad it was to see those buildings in such disrepair. At one time she had lived on a more vibrant and bustling street 12th Street, where neighbors would shop and take walks with their families, and over the years had witnessed its sad deterioration.

Within the first year of starting The Menkiti Group, we purchased the liquor store and the building next to it. We renovated both buildings and turned the liquor store into our company headquarters and created two beautiful apartments and ground floor retail space in the other building. This transformation has become the representation of the type of change that our company works to create. It was incredible to see not only my neighbor’s reaction to the change, but also the positive response of the whole community. What was once a forlorn corner at the gateway to our neighborhood has been transformed in to a little hub of activity and now stands as a symbol of reinvestment in the 12th Street commercial corridor.

GYM: Your Sales and Marketing team helps young professionals and first time homebuyers in their real estate decisions. Why is that an important initiative for your team?

Bo: The preamble to the realtor code of ethics puts it best:

“Under all is the land. Upon its wise utilization and widely allocated ownership depend the survival and growth of free institutions and of our civilization. …. the interests of the nation and its citizens require the highest and best use of the land and the widest distribution of land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing, the building of functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the preservation of a healthy environment.”
-Preamble to the realtor code of ethics

The focus on first time home buyers is a part of our organization’s mission to:

“Enhance the fabric of life in America’s urban communities through the strategic development, management and sale of middle market real estate.”

We have focused on the middle market, as it has been overlooked segment in our city’s real estate market. In D.C. we either have builders who are building luxury condos and homes that can sell at a premium and with higher profit margins, or we have the developers who tap into tax credits and public funds for the development of low income subsidized housing. This has created an ever widening gap in our urban neighborhoods between the Haves and the Have not’s.

The main workforce of the city (police, firemen, teachers, etc) is forced to commute into the city from far out suburbs where they can afford to live. This trend destabilizes neighborhoods, has negative impacts people’s quality of life and has serious adverse affects on the environment. The focus of helping first time buyers is important because it brings much of the workforce back to the city, creating a diversity of homeownership which is crucial for the health, vitality and stability of urban neighborhoods. When people own their homes they are more invested in their communities and more likely to be actively involved in ensuring the community’s success.

Our work with first time buyers is also important because it is one of the things that truly separates us from the competition. We bring high quality services and consultation to a group that usually gets the worst of what the industry has to offer. Most successful realtors gravitate to the highest priced homes they can find, seeking to earn the highest commissions possible. This has the unintended consequence of often leaving the lower priced and first time buyers and sellers (who are most in need of realtors services) to be represented by the least experienced and least successful realtors. Our team is focused on changing that by taking highly educated and capable real estate professionals with track records of success, and focused them on providing the highest quality service to all clients regardless of their income level or real estate experience.

GYM: Your group utilizes a blog to highlight your events, open houses, press, etc. What impact does having this type of open communication have on your appeal to younger buyers?

Bo: Our team works hard to try to stay in communication with our clients through a number of different mediums. We use the blog to stay in touch with our sphere and past clients as well as to reach out to new potential clients. We have our blog feed onto our company Facebook page, so we can constantly stay in front of our network and past clients. The blog is also a way for community members whom we haven’t met to engage with us. Our team stays up on new developments that are happening around the city and is constantly studying trends in the market and sharing some of this information on the blog, so we attract people who are just curious about their neighborhood or the market condition. The younger buyers want to be educated throughout the process, and want to know that the agent who they decide to work with knows the city, knows the market, and knows how to find them the best deal. By sharing this type of information on the blog, our clients and potential clients can see that our team is knowledgeable and fully informed about our market.

GYM: Thanks Bo, you are officially off of the Gen-Y Hot Seat!

To read more about Bo and the Menkiti Group, please visit their website and company blog.

Creating Magic with Nonprofit Chas

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Continuing our Creating Magic stories, today we are very pleased to have Chas Grundy, a nonprofit leader and marketing professional at the University of Notre Dame. Today Chas shares with us the story of "camperships" and the value of spending time helping others. To read more of Chas's work, visit his blog, Non Profit Chas. Enjoy!

For the last few years, I have been volunteering for our local Camp Fire USA council. Last year, I joined the board of directors. As a 20-something, I was always the youngest person on the board. Like a small business, there’s a lot to do and nobody to do the work. That’s where I come in.

I ran my own web marketing business for a couple of years, but we made it up as we went along. So while I have absolutely no experience in fundraising, strategic planning, or finance, nobody else really has that experience either. So I stepped up. I’ve always been one to try something new and take on intimidating challenges.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve worked hard to learn all I could about these things. I started my nonprofitchas.com blog to share what I learned, as well as make connections that would help me in my journey.

Investing in Yourself

When I talk about fundraising I use the word “investment.” I tell donors that a donation isn’t a gift, it’s an investment in a cause. When you make an investment, you are looking for a real return—something you can see. We’re talking about a non-profit, so you don’t get a financial return. But you should expect to see the return on your time and money.

In the non-profit world, it doesn’t take long to see the returns.

We had a camper whose grandmother paid for him to come to camp for a week. At home, he had a rough life. His stepfather and stepbrothers were abusive. He had terrible self-esteem. So when his mom picked him up, she was surprised to see all these other campers giving him hugs and exchanging addresses with him. They really liked him. In just a week, dozens of campers and staff saw he was a really great kid.

When they got home, the contrast was clear. An hour earlier, he was a hero. At home, he was a target. So his mom finally decided to divorce the stepfather. She wanted to get him and his brother out of the house during what would likely become a messy divorce, but they couldn’t afford another week of camp.

It didn’t take long for his story to spread through camp. We had counselors offer to give up their paychecks to pay for their registrations. We had some campership money that hadn’t been allotted yet, and with a couple of phone calls we raised the rest. He and his brother got to come back to camp the next day. When he left at the end of his second week, he hugged the camp director and said “this must be heaven.”

For all the challenges and stress and demands of such work, it’s all worth the effort for that one smile, hug, or thank you. This summer we brought more than 60 kids on camperships. As one camper put it, “camp is the best place on earth.”

I tell this story to donors when we talk about how camp can make the world a better place. It’s not about helping a single child. It’s about making an investment. The difference between giving a man a fish and teaching a man to fish.

The same is true for Gen-Yers who itch to find direction and create value. By taking on new responsibilities and moving outside your comfort zone, you learn a lot of things that you wouldn’t be expected to know. With a marketing and technology background, I helped rebuild a struggling organization and preserved an experience for future generations. How? I stepped up and volunteered where nobody else wanted to take the lead.

Plan a Return on Your Investment

Like many professional investments, you have to take risks. You have to be careful not to take on too much or accept responsibilities that you cannot meet. You’ll hurt your personal brand by letting people down. But if you can rise to the challenge, it’s worth it. And the professional payoffs are rarely immediate: your dividends slowly come back in the form of new relationships, new skills, and professional opportunities.

I highly recommend volunteering for a non-profit. It can be difficult to find a lot of fulfillment through your career, especially when you’re starting out and have to take on responsibilities that aren’t particularly challenging or glamorous. But many non-profits will be happy to accept your help, even if you’re not entirely qualified for the work you want to do.

Through my work with Camp Fire, I have increased my value at my day job as well. I’ve positioned myself as someone who can take on challenges that intimidate others. I have used my fundraising skills and strategic planning experience in our department. I’ve made new connections which have led to consulting gigs. And I’ve developed personal and professional relationships which are far more valuable than anything I could put on a resume.

Brazen Careerist Contest Launch

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 01:06:00 +0000

Creating Magic, 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From A Life at Disney, is only 8 days away from being released from Doubleday Publishing. We are very excited over here and wanted to share our excitement with as many people as possible. In an effort to do this we wanted to get YOU involved with the leadership strategies that will help with your life and career growth.

Starting today over at Brazen Careerist there is an awesome contest going on. Head on over to Brazen Careerist and join in on the action today. There will be 3 winners in all and you will be winning copies of Creating Magic along with some iTunes gift cards. (There may even be something extra in the winners' packages.)

For those looking to get a copy of Creating Magic, you can find it at these fine retailers:

Pre-Order NOW!

-Gen-Y Magic Team

Leadership Thought of the Week #6

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:46:00 +0000

One thing for sure is that unless you try things, you will never know if they would have worked or not.

So folks, what have you tried lately? What are you scared to try? Where will an attempt get you tomorrow that you can't go today?

-Gen-Y Magic Team

Standing Out From the Crowd

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:00:00 +0000

From small offices with 10 team members or less to large organizations with thousands of staff and millions of guests, standing out and becoming a leader is not an easy task. Listen to Lee talk about how he stood out from the crowd at Disney and began to institute a leadership program that would define the way their business was run.

P.S. Only 11 days until Creating Magic is officially available! Look for it at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, Borders and wherever books are sold.

The Baby Faced Leader on the Gen Y Hot Seat

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Today we are pleased to have Robert Sofia join us in the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Robert is a blogger at the Baby Face Exectuive Blog and is the president of Gain Group, Inc, a firm that is equipping young professionals with the tools to be successful in business. In this Hot Seat we chat about Gen Y leading now, millennial worker stereotypes and overseeing more money that most of us would know what to do with. Enjoy!

Gen-Y Magic: Is Gen-Y ready to lead today?

Robert: I’m hesitant to over-generalize and say that an entire generation either is or isn’t. As with any age group, there are those who manifest the traits of great leaders, and those who don’t. One thing I’ll say is that you can’t trust the media hype to help you answer that question. Leave it to them and you’ll have our entire generation painted as slovenly slackers or techie overachievers. Experience has taught me that leadership is an individual proposition.

GYM: Are executives ready for Gen-Y to be leaders right now, today?

Robert: The smart ones are. I’ve had the privilege of working with a number of extremely successful businesspeople, and all of them had one thing in common - an eye for talent.
It’s been said that one of the most important traits of an effective leader is the ability to produce more leaders, and let’s face it; Millennials are the leaders of tomorrow.

Another thing to consider is the tremendous purchasing power of our generation. Forward thinking companies have to realize that if they are going to adapt to the demands of their biggest consumers, it will help to have a few on the inside.

GYM: From your experiences, what has Created Magic in your life to want to give back and teach young professionals how to excel and make a difference in their own lives?

Robert: That’s a good question Greg. There are a lot of factors. I’d have to say the most outstanding is that I’ve always been fortunate to have good mentors who helped me get to the next level by telling me what I needed to hear. I guess I decided it was time for somebody to get out there and say, “Hey! Yes you’re smart; yes you’re technologically savvy; yes you’re full of potential – but here’s what you have to do to get the most out of your career.” As somebody who’s done it, and can relate to the challenges that come with being a young professional, I figured I would be that person. I’ve noticed lately that everyone seems to be talking about our generation instead of talking to us - I’d like to change that.

It’s the reason I started my blog, and my newly formed company, The Gain Group, Inc. I am also in the process of shopping a publisher for my book which is titled after my blog. It should all come together nicely in the coming months.

GYM: How does it feel to be the young Vice President of a company that handles and oversees over $150,000,000 of other people’s money?

Robert: It feels really good! There’s no doubt that it’s a big responsibility, but it’s also tremendously empowering. To be this far along in my career at such a young age makes me appreciate what you can achieve if you really put your mind to it.

GYM: You recently talked about overcoming misconceptions of Gen-Y, and the choice Millennials have when they go to work and face their bosses and co-workers. Should Gen-Y have to choose, or CAN the current workplace mold to the iPhone holding, jeans and t-shirt wearing, flexible schedule wanting kids that are graduating by the thousands every semester?

Robert: There’s a good argument for both sides, but I think the simple answer is that you have to do what is in the best interests of the institution you’re part of. If you work for a hot Manhattan ad agency that specializes in developing campaigns to target young consumers – go for it! Bring on the open floor plan, the flip flops, and the shaggy hair; it’ll enhance your credibility. On the other hand; if you work for a conservative Wall Street hedge fund, you’d better stick to established professional standards. You have to know when to play by the rules, and when to break them. Once you have your foot in the door and you’ve established your value, there’s more room for expressing your individuality.

GYM: Robert, you are now off the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Thanks for taking your time to help us better understand Gen-Y and your perspective of Creating Magic for this generation!

Robert: Thanks for getting me involved. It’s been fun!

Vanessa Van Petten is Creating Magic Between Parents and Teens

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:51:00 +0000

Introduction: Vanessa Van Petten is a parent/teens expert and author. She is 23 years old and is the author of the inspirational parenting teens book; You’re Grounded: How to Stop Fighting and Make the Teenage Years Easier. Written when she was just a teen herself, the book provides an interesting insider’s perspective on relationships between teens and parents today. Van Petten is the author of the blog Teens Today. Bea Fields of Millennial Leaders recently had a chance to chat with her and this is how it went down!

Bea: Vanessa, I would like to hear a little bit about that story behind your book You’re Grounded, your work with teens and their parents. How did you get started in this work?

Vanessa: It’s interesting because I always say that I think my work started more from a place of anger than being inspired by something. The anger turned into something that was inspiring. It started, because I was not really getting along with my parents. I thought they, especially my Dad, didn’t get me. He was so strict. He didn’t understand anything that was going on with young people, and I really felt like I was being treated unfairly. I started talking about it and exploring this challenge, and I began to realize that a lot of my friends felt similarly.

What was hard for me was that at the same time this was going on for me, two of my good friends got busted for marijuana. They had little baggies in their car, not even enough to get high from. They had left it out on the seat of their car, and the security guards walked by, saw it, and they were busted.

These two friends of mine seemed like they were screaming to get caught. Once they got caught, they got expelled from school, and they didn’t even feel remorseful at all. I remember going to talk to them afterwards (and my parents did not want me talking to them) but I remember going to see them and saying,

“What were you thinking, and why don’t you feel bad?” They said “Well, we really did it to make our parents angry. We did it so that they would actually realize that we’re angry at them and that they’re being bad parents.” I said “You realize you ruined your own life to make your parents angry? You must have had a lot of anger.”

That was really shocking for me, and was a turning point for me, because number one, my anger at my parents was definitely heard and felt everywhere else, so it made me feel a lot less alone with that; and two, I realized that what I was going through wasn’t nearly as bad as some other people, that I actually was semi-lucky.

The more I started interviewing people and realizing what they were going through, I began to realize: “Wow, maybe my parents aren’t so bad.” I also found that a lot of other kids were so relieved when they heard my other stories. Being honest with other teens and telling my stories about my own challenges was the best way that I could help them. The teens I talked to appreciated my honesty.

Bea: Very interesting. We just completed a survey. We surveyed over 300 Gen-Ys on the topic of leadership and what they felt they really wanted from their leaders and honesty came up as the very top response.

Vanessa: Yep. I wish I had almost known that beforehand because I feel like it took me three years to figure that out that authenticity and being really genuine is so critical to connecting with teens and young adults. When I do speak about it, I often get questions I don’t know how to answer, and I’ll say to them, “I don’t know the answer. I don’t know, but here’s what I know other people have done,” and people are just so thankful that I don’t pretend to know the answer.

Bea: As a parent of three Gen Y young adults, I know how much they want to hear their parents just be honest about their own challenges as teens or young adults. There is a sense of comfort knowing that your parents had a few challenges along the way.

I want to go back to the topic of your anger serving as a source of inspiration for your work. How much of the creative process do you believe begins with people getting a little bit fired up?

Vanessa: It all comes from that source. Creativity can start with anger or passion, yet I believe that those two words are used interchangeably way too often. I think that I use the word anger because I think that people understand it, but part of my inspiration was also just me being really passionate about why I was always felt like I was being treated unfairly. I really believed I had and still have a cause. So any type of passion is actually really important to finding mission and finding motivation/inspiration.

Bea: I like the distinction between being angered and being passionate. So tell us a little bit about your mission. What are you really up to in the world? What’s your mission?

Vanessa: I just wrote this down the other day and I think it really sums it up in one sentence: I really want to be the sparkplug that ignites the world to care. I really like inspiring people to get more self-care, whether it’s teenagers, and I work with teenagers a lot about self-care, treating your body right and making sure that you get good grades. I think that all falls under the category of caring for your future goals, caring for your health, caring for your friendships, caring for the relationships in your family.

On my blog, I’m constantly writing about how to care for your husband, how to care for your kids, how to encourage your kids to care for you. A lot of it is about that and inspiring people to just self-improve. From a very young age, I loved self-improvement books, which is such a weird thing to like, but I would read self-improvement books from the age of ten or eleven just because I really, really liked them and I like the principles behind them. I loved the idea of affirmations and that you could wake up one day and decide that you want to change a bad pattern and you can actually change it. It made me feel very powerful and in control and it was in such a positive way, so I really like encouraging others to do that.

Bea: You’re 23. You’ve already written a book. You’re out making things happen, so what would you say all came together, Vanessa, to allow you to really jump in to where you are now at such a young age?

Vanessa: I think that the moment that I realized that understanding human behavior could really make change was pivotal for me. I actually snuck a book of my parents called “Why Men Don’t Listen and Why Women Can’t Read Maps.” It’s by a husband and wife team: Barbara and Allan Pease. I was eleven at the time, and it was a book that I don’t think I was allowed to read because it focused on human, men and women relationships. I saw it on my mom’s counter and I was fascinated about it, and I immediately thought: Oh, I so want know the difference between men and women. I remember reading it so closely, and I read it six or seven times and it made me understand everything about my Dad and my brother in such a different way.

As an example, I learned why I would get so irritated when my brother wouldn’t play with me because he was playing G.I. Joes, I understood that was actually because men are more single-tracked minded, and I had never been spoken to that way. I had never understood that people act the way they do because it’s actually just a human behavioral thing; it’s more scientific than I had known before I read the book. That helped me be a lot less angry, and it made me realize how important those books could be in shifting your framework of understanding people in your life, and I knew that I was going to write a self-help book after I read the book.

Bea: How old were you at that time, eleven?

Vanessa: I was about… I was between eleven and twelve, yeah.

Bea: So given everything you have learned and experienced about human behavior, Vanessa, what would you say is the secret parents need to learn in order to create magic with their teens?

Vanessa: I think there are three things. The first is really listening without judgment and deciding before the conversation even starts that you’re going to keep an open mind and that you have no idea where the conversation is going. With this approach, as a parent, you will be shocked at what comes out of your mouth. Many parents assume that they know what their kids are going to talk about when they get home from school, or they have expectations about what they are going to say or do. If you take a different position and think “You know what; I don’t know what they’re going to say, but I’m going to listen really carefully,” you will be so surprised at how many little things will sneak into the conversation that is different than what they said yesterday. I think parents often miss little hints and things going on with their teens, so listening with a really open mind and without judgment are key to getting your child to open up more to you. They will feel like they can say anything to their parents, and they’ll be safe to speak it.

The second thing is to figure out what the emotional anchor is. At age 23, I am just now beginning to understand this, but a lot of teens will be complaining about something, such as “I can’t believe our teacher. He didn’t tell us this would be on the math test. I took really good notes and I swear he never mentioned X components; and I if I had known that X components would be on the test, I would’ve studied it,” or “My friend didn’t call me and I really wanted to be invited to the party and I can’t believe she didn’t call me and tell me.” What I always say to parents is: Help them figure out what the emotional anchor is. With the teacher situation, the emotional anchor is usually something like injustice. The kid feels like something is not fair. They feel too young to do anything. They feel like they’re being treated in an unfair way. If you can shift the focus onto the emotion behind the current event, you can take the anxiety out of the current events. So by saying, “Wow, is this about you feeling like you’re being treated unfairly in school, or is this just your feelings of the way your relationship is with teachers in general?”, you can shift the conversation off the person or situation and onto the emotion. Once you do this, you will hear your child say more about other types of injustice they might be feeling. It’s actually quite magical to help your teen step back from their own circumstances for a second and talk about the emotional anchor.

The third thing is to just let your teens know that they can always do again whatever they want to do…there’s always another chance to do over something they want to be different or better.

Bea: You’ve talked a little bit about your past and your situation with being angry with your Dad and angry with some situations and now that you look back on that, is it making sense for you? Are you seeing that that was part of a much bigger picture?

Vanessa: Yeah, this is sort of a funny one, but I’ve learned over the past few years that the way I thought as a teenager was that I seemed to think in superlatives. Each thing that came my way was always ”the worst,” “the best,” “the most.” Everything was very extreme, including my emotions, including the way I felt about school. I either hated it or I loved it. There was very, very little gray. There was very little in between, and there was very little waiting time before I made my judgment on something. So what I always share with parents and teenagers is: When your kid gets home and it’s the worst math test they’ve ever taken in their entire life, it actually does feel that way. It actually genuinely feels like the worst test of your entire life. So belittling it by saying, “Oh, it’s not so bad. You’ll make it up with next one” is really harmful for your relationship and also it doesn’t serve them in the way that they need.

When I’m talking to teenagers and they’re really feeling awful, I will literally will match them on it, and the teens seem shocked when you repeat back their words, tone and emotion. So if they’re saying, “Uh, my hair’s… It’s so ugly today, I just can’t believe it and everyone hated me and I looked awful.” I literally will say back to them, “Oh, my gosh, I can’t believe your hair was so ugly today and everyone hated it and it was so awful.” They literally will look back at me with shock on their face and they’ll say, “Oh, it wasn’t that bad” because they’re used to seeing us as adults be in the gray area and that’s okay for us. That’s where we live. So when we match their extreme emotions and mirror it back to them, they’re so shocked.

Bea: You do make a good point. I know that when I was a teenager, if I had a bad hair day, or if my face broke out, it was the worst day of my life. So if a parent is greeted with that type of emotion, they should mimick back what they heard with the same tone and emotion?

Vanessa: Yeah. I actually think that matching them on it helps in so many ways. Number one, it can really help them see how excited they are about it or how upset they are about it and it can put them in check, or they feel like you’re really truly being empathetic with them and they’re bonding with you, and they really feel like: Oh my gosh, she gets it or he gets it. She gets it. She gets me, and that can be also a really good tool for creating connection. But that’s the one thing in looking back on my life as a teen, and I can now say: “Wow, I really, really did think in extremes, and I’m so happy to be in the gray area. I’m so, so happy to be a little bit more patient with myself.” I also think it’s important for teens to be able to hear from someone younger that these extreme emotions will get better as they mature more.

Bea: Let’s talk about your role models. Who would you say has had the greatest influence on you and your success? Who created magic in your life?

Vanessa: I would definitely say that would be my dance teacher. I had a dance teacher all through high school and would still have access to her when I came home through college. She was this woman who I so admired because she was still young enough where I could feel like I could relate to her, but she was older than me by about 10 years…enough so that I could learn from her wisdom and experience. I just so admired her because she was following her passion. She decided to teach dance even though people had told her it was a career that was really hard to make money in. She decided to do it, and she did it very differently. She decided to teach palates as well as dance and open her own studio and she really had become an entrepreneur and was also able to keep a lot of her creative projects by doing her own performances whenever she felt like it. She was so happy and put together and she really didn’t mind what other people thought about her business. She was really so fulfilled that she was able to help people part of the time and able to be creative part of the time and could be successful doing both. She would take months off and she would go travel in Italy and do dance performances. I thought: Wow, she created this life for herself where she came from a family of businessmen, of people who were traditionally corporate, and she created a life that was helping others and being creative. She was constantly taking new classes and dedicated to her own learning, and I am just amazed and what she does.

I think knowing her and watching her life has really changed how I looked at life. I realized that you can have it all if you set it up that way. You don’t have to go into a traditional workplace if you don’t want to. You can start a business that happens to tap into your creative talents. My parents are wonderful people, and I love them to death, but they really went into very traditional careers. My parents became lawyers because they were told that was the best job at the time and that was it. They didn’t think about whether or not they wanted to do it. They didn’t think about whether it would be good for them. So, to see my dance teacher choose a different path and to make it work for her life has been huge for me.

Bea: I really admire that and that brings me to the next thing I want to ask you about. Generation Y is having a big impact on our culture today. We’re seeing work change. We’re seeing a bigger focus on global issues, on social issues, on the environment and what you would say that Generation Y is doing to help create this change that we’re seeing?

Vanessa: I know this is a bit cliché, but I think Generation Y is really thinking outside the box. When I talk to younger people about starting a business and when I ask them what they want to do, they will say something like “Oh I’m really, really inspired by helping to fund light fixtures in Africa so women can actually cook and read at night and do their work at night.” I’ll say, “Wow, so how do you want to support this cause?” They’ll say, “I’m thinking about writing an eBook or how this could change African women’s lives and then putting it up at the different websites in September so that everyone in the world can get this eBook for free.” To me, that is such a great idea, and so different. They are able to think of totally different ways of doing things.

Bea: Yes. I have noticed the same things about Generation Y. Your generation is so creative, civic minded and positive. What do you believe creating magic is, just generally speaking? What does that mean when you hear this term?

Vanessa: When I think of creating magic, I think of harmony, having harmony in your relationships, having harmony with your goal and your job, being able to balance everything in your life with health and friends and family and business and responsibilities. Creating magic is the complete equal synergy of all those aspects of your life and all your goals.

Bea: I would’ve never thought of it that way. Talk more about that balance and synergy.

Vanessa: For me, it’s having the one sentence about helping other people get motivated for self-care or helping inspire self-care that touches almost everything I do, whether it’s sending an email or going to the grocery store or buying that donut or whatever it is, thinking for just a second if it matches that principle because that brings me right back to harmony which brings me right back into creating magic. So, if eating a donut is going to make me feel like I’m treating myself and enjoying the moment, I call it dancing in the moment, then that is 100% creating magic. So I always tell teens to think of a goal…any goal…if your goal is to have a happy school year, maybe it’s as simple as that, and no matter what you do to just check in with yourself for just a half of a second before you do anything and say, “Is this contributing to that goal?” Then you’re always going to have magic.

Bea: Are there any parting thoughts that you would like to leave with parents or teens or really anyone who’s wanting to create magic in their relationships?

Vanessa: That it does get better. If it’s already amazing, it’s going to get better. If it’s really you’re going through a hard time, it will get better. Teens do come back around. I have a great relationship with my Dad now and I did not always. There’s stages and it will get better, so just keep that in your mind.

Bea: Well that is a wonderful note to end on. Thank you Vanessa for all that you are doing for teens and parents around the world.

Vanessa: Thank you so much for doing this with me. It was really fun.

(On behalf of Lee Cockerell and the Creating Gen-Y Magic Team, I would like to extend a thank you to Bea Fields for conducting this interview. Bea is the author of Millennial Leaders and Edge: A Leadership Story. Bea is also leading a great series of research and Gen-Y resources over at Gen-Y Buzz, which we covered a few posts back! Thanks Bea for conducting this great interview and for creating magic in the lives that you influence and teach!)

Creating Magic, Five Minutes at a Time

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:00:00 +0000

Today, we are pleased to have a very magical story from Sam Davidson of Cool People Care. Sam is a co-author of New Day Revolution, a book on how to save the world in 24 hours. Sam is a Gen-Y leader for nonprofits and social change, helping to better the world by giving only a few minutes of your time to make your life and the lives of others better. Hear how he creates magic below!

If you want to do something magical today, offer up five minutes of your time for something important. By doing so, you’ll be giving life, offering hope, practicing compassion, and saving the world.

At least that’s my take on it. After all, we believe folks literally can save the world in five minutes a day, if they know how. That’s what led us to create and grow CoolPeopleCare.org. This online resource shows you how to change the world in whatever time you have each and every day.

But we all know that countless five-minute blocks of time are wasted every single day. We wait in traffic, stand in line, watch commercials, get distracted, and simply do nothing. Then, before we know it, no time is left for us to do something we’re great at, something we’re passionate about, or something that can make the world a better place.

It’s easy to think that creating magic takes lots of time. After all, when you read through the other articles in this series, you can easily get overwhelmed with the drive and commitment that it takes to stand out and be remarkable. But, we believe magic happens every time you make a better choice, buy a better product, get to work in a better way, and donate your money in a better manner.

Magic in the nonprofit, philanthropic and social change realm is just like magic in the business world. It takes drive and commitment. It takes practice and planning. It takes dreaming big and working hard. But you’ve got to start somewhere, and the best place to start is always where you are.

You can spend the next five minutes saving energy (and money). You can take the time to educate yourself on an important cause. You can email your senator, call your mayor or write to your newspaper, all in the span of a commercial break. You can buy fairly traded coffee, shower quicker, eat organic and replace a light bulb in no time at all. Indeed, you can save the world, five minutes at time.

But ideas are only half of the magic. You still need the action to bring that magic into reality. And that’s where CoolPeopleCare stops and you begin. Each day, we’ll bring you a different idea, nicely wrapped in 99 words, straight to your inbox. We’ll show you how to protect the environment, help the homeless, and feed the children. But ultimately, improving your community in a very magical way is up to you.

The beauty of Generation Y is that they grew up believing in magic. From an early age, they heard fairy tales, watched Disney movies, played make believe and dreamed big. Their parents and teachers drilled them about positive self-esteem. Generation Y believes everyone belongs and anything is possible. If anything, Generation Y is Generation Magic, complete with the dreams and potential to change the world.

But only if we get out there and put those big plans into action.

But if you do – if you take our daily idea and bring it to life – you’ll see that magic that happens when communities of poverty are turned into communities of prosperity. You’ll evidence the wonder that happens when empty stomachs are filled so that they can then feed others. You’ll see the dreams of others come true, able to live another day.

It all happens in very small steps. Walt Disney, looking over his empire near the end of his life, famously said, “It all began with a mouse.” In a very similar fashion, saving the world can all begin five minutes at a time.

Sam Dividson can be found at his personal blog and behind the reigns of CoolPeopleCare.

Leadership Thought of the Week #5

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:12:00 +0000

Invest nothing ... and you get nothing.
Invest a lot ...and you get a lot.
What are you investing in right now? You time helping others is a great investment.

This thought goes a long way in describing a lot of factors that will have an effect on Gen-Y. If you invest nothing to learn about the presidential candidates, you get the decisions of others. If you invest no time helping to clean up your backyard, your backyard goes to shambles. If you do not take the time to visit a loved one, you may miss your chance to see them next time.

So, what are you investing your time in this week?

Doubleday Podcast with Lee and Talia Krohn

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:50:00 +0000

Hot off the presses is a new Podcast with Lee Cockerell and Doubleday Business' Talia Krohn. It can also be listened to on Doubleday.com. They had a chance to talk about Lee's Leadership strategies and principles that helped him succeed in his own career while continuing Disney's reign as the world's greatest vacation destination! Enjoy!

Gen-Y political Hot Seat With Sarah Burris

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:07:00 +0000

This week, Gen-Y Magic will be profiling 4 young leaders on the political landscape. All 4 are dedicated to covering the involvement of young voters in progressive politics and write for multiple sites and communities. All 4 are players in Future Majority, a site started in in August of 2006 by Michael Connery, Alex Urevick-Acklesberg, and Josh Koenig. Today we are chatting with Sarah Burris, a blogger at Everyday Citizen and a long time writer and researcher for Wiretap Magazine as well as working on campaigns and with Rock The Vote. In this conversation she talks about mainstream vs online media, teen pregnancy and explains Rock The Trail. Enjoy!

Gen-Y Magic: This election is turning to the small towns. How can young people in these small towns really raise their voice and be heard?

Sarah: Participate. They say 90% of success is showing up – and that’s what small towns have to do to matter, show up. To everything. Not just voting, but asking questions to legislators both state and federal, talking about issues that matter to rural people, and help to organize within their own communities. Whether its with churches or the Red Cross, community organizers have the ability to develop enthusiasm around them and empower the rest of their community.

GYM: What’s this Rock The Trail business?

Sarah: Rock the Trail was a contest Rock the Vote launched that chose 5 people to cover the campaign trail with the view from a young person. Many news services realized that young people were showing up – not just at the rate they usually do – but in huge numbers. In some states the youth turnout doubled, tripled, even quadrupled. And media doesn’t exactly have the infrastructure to be able to get into this community and understand what is going on enough to cover it.

So they started to partner with organizations that did know young people. BET, CNN.com, and the Washington Post coordinate with Rock the Vote to run some of the pieces that we post about our experiences on the campaign trail. I’ve reported from the Democratic and Republican Conventions, I’ll be at the first Debate next week, and the Rock the Vote candidate forum in Ohio. My pieces have been on CNN.com and this coming week CNN International is running some video I did as part of their coverage on the election.

The goal is to discuss issues in a way that young people understand and from a peer’s perspective. Young voters are going to be an important and powerful voting bloc, so reporting on issues and situations and candidates is important to informing them before November.

GYM: Can new media, be it blogging, social media, social networking, be used to create real change in the real world? What needs to happen next?

Sarah: I think that it can. Thomas Friedman – the NYTimes columnist would disagree with me. There are several remarkable organizations that started out with only social networking sites and organized young people online in ways we’d never seen before, around issues. Save Darfur and Invisible Children are good examples. They mobilize their members online and then give them tools and ideas for offline action. With Save Darfur it was getting kids to encourage their colleges to divest in their Sudaneese assets. With Invisible Children young people actually volunteered in Uganda and helped march children to save places to prevent the night commuting.

In Kansas, we had a 5 term Congressman that lost in large part because Talking Points Memo, a blog, found out that he got a $300,000 break on a house he bought because Abramoff and Delay had to unload it quickly.

A friend of mine decided she wanted curb-side recycling in her city. She mobilized an online campaign and had the city hall servers were shut down for days because so many people were emailing and asking for it.

These are the early days of action online and its only going to get bigger. The test of any online empowerment, however, is the extent to which it can be taken into offline action. Do people change their light bulbs? Do they begin recycling programs? Do they pick up the phone and call their Congressman and demand action? There are ways to mobalize online that are free and easy and young people know how to utilize them to the point that now I think they expect organizations and candidates to have these options.

We need to increase participation between generations, and that’s a big gap. You have a supposedly open federal government where we can turn on CSPAN and see what is going on, but everyone knows that emails are nearly meaningless when it comes to action on a federal issue. Having folks like Rep. Culberson (R-TX) and Rep. Ryan (D- OH) using things like Twitter.com and Facbook and MySpace are unique ways to create a more online town hall like atmosphere with constituents. Or at the very least create more transparency.

GYM: Can traditional media reach the Gen-Y audience? Does Gen-Y trust traditional media?

Sarah: I think in some cases they trust traditional media. I think, however, its restricted more to cable news outlets rather than network nightly news broadcasts. And online media certainly gains traction from Millennials. A big part of that is unfortunately purchase power. The 18-29 year old demographic is a powerful generation in terms of what we buy and what we convince our parents to buy for themselves. So, I think, more tv stations are beginning to understand if they want to benefit their advertisers they have to go where the purchase power is.

Sadly, I think they interpret that as being more about flashy graphics and weird stories about Big Foot and things that flash and blink. Young people are smart, and we pay attention to what’s going on from about 50 different sources at once. There was a recent Harvard Institute of Politics poll that said that Gen Y is the leading group constantly reading and paying attention to this election. We crave information, but being talked down to isn’t a good way to do it.

GYM: With teenage pregnancy being a social hot topic per say with Juno, Secret Life of the American Teenager, Jaime Lynn, etc, can Bristol Palin be a leader for the younger Millennials who are now growing up with this problem/situation?

Sarah: Oh definitely. I think teen pregnancy has become so mainstream that most teens know someone that is pregnant, was pregnant, or know someone who knows someone who is pregnant. But, I think that it builds a divide between parents and non-parents. Even as an older Millennial I have already started to see a difference between my friends with families and without. But, then again, its all about what she does with the opportunity. Like Megan McCain has done talking about women and super skinny not being healthy, Bristol has an opportunity to use this to teach other young people and possibly talk about the importance of protection.

GYM: Sarah, you are off the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Thanks for participating! To read other Hot Seat entries from Political Week, check them out below:

Mike Connery

Craig Berger
Kevin Bondelli

Gen-Y Political Hot Seat with Kevin Bondelli

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:00:00 +0000

This week, Gen-Y Magic will be profiling 4 young leaders on the political landscape. All 4 are dedicated to covering the involvement of young voters in progressive politics and write for multiple sites and communities. All 4 are players in Future Majority, a site started in in August of 2006 by Michael Connery, Alex Urevick-Acklesberg, and Josh Koenig. Today we are chatting with Kevin Bondelli, the YDA Southwest Region Director from Arizona and a member of the DNC Youth Council. He can also be seen writing for the Young Democrats of America Blog. Enjoy.

Gen-Y Magic: Being a recent leader in your school, as the VP at ASU, what was the single greatest obstacle you had to learn as a leader?

Kevin: Not that recent. It was more than 4 years ago and a lot has changed since then, but the most important thing I had to learn was how to make sure I was doing what was right for the students and not just serving myself or the administrators. University administrators are quite good at getting their student leaders to sell out. They give perks such as being able to travel with the football team or getting a letter of recommendation to grad school from the university president. It’s a lot like how lobbyists do business. I chose not to accept the perks. It’s important to represent the students to administration instead of representing administration to the students.

GYM: Can Gen-Y really swing the vote, as the quote on YDA reads so loudly?

Kevin: I don’t think there is any question about it. Look how close the last two presidential elections have been. When states are being decided by a few thousand votes the effect of young voter turnout is dramatic. At the college level alone there are schools that have 50,000 students. Young voters will be the margin of victory this year.

GYM: Can the politicians reach Gen-Y, in the way they want to be reached? How do they want to be reached?

Kevin: The best way for candidates to reach Gen-Y is to actually include youth outreach into their campaign plans. Peer-to-peer campaigning works, and if the campaigns are willing to hire a young person to recruit other young people to contact their friends they can reach this generation.

GYM: You have an Internet heavy background. Are politicians moving at the speed of technology, or do they seem scared to alienate the traditional voters who come out in traditionally stronger numbers?

Kevin: Honestly nothing is moving at the speed of technology. I don’t think that candidates are afraid of alienating older voters by using technology. I think that they don’t believe they are going to get enough return on their investment and that they have always run campaigns a certain way. Change is hard, and when a campaign believes it can win just by running the same campaign that’s been run for 20 years, they aren’t going to spend the money to hire someone that knows how to leverage technology.

GYM: Communities or networks? Which has the best reach for social change?

Kevin: I don’t think you can say one is better than the other. They are too intertwined. Networks reach in to communities and communities build networks, all with a great deal of overlap and connectivity.

GYM: Kevin, you are off the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Thanks for participating! To check out part 1 and 2 in this series with the Future Majority Team, please click below:

Mike Connery

Craig Berger

Gen-Y Political Hot Seat with Craig Berger

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:31:00 +0000

This week, Gen-Y Magic will be profiling 4 young leaders on the political landscape. All 4 are dedicated to covering the involvement of young voters in progressive politics and write for multiple sites and communities. All 4 are players in Future Majority, a site started in in August of 2006 by Michael Connery, Alex Urevick-Acklesberg, and Josh Koenig. Today we are chatting with Craig Berger. Craig can also be found writing on his own site, Politics of the Common Good, a a site that is examining the Development of Common Good Politics through Political Commentary.

Gen-Y Magic: How can Gen-Y make a difference today in the leadership of our government?

Craig: Well, to start, the most immediate thing Generation Y can do is organize themselves and their peers this fall and turn out to vote in surprising numbers on Election Day. This would be a statement to our country's leaders that the Millennial Generation, once and for all, can not be ignored.

While the chances of this happening are somewhat good in my estimation, in order to make a large difference, the effort can't stop there. Over the past few decades, this country has gotten away from Kennedy's prescription for civic health:

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."

Much of the political dialogue has centered on identity politics; campaigns have become more rational-efficient, forgetting principles and taking on a "win at all costs" approach. With the Millennial traits of collaboration and pragmatism (and the generation's penchant for service), Generation Y has a great opportunity -- before and after this election -- to exhibit the kind of problem-solving skills we will need in Washington for decades to come. In order to make a large-scale difference, Millennials need to be willing to reinject some Kennedyesque patriotism into this nation's civic life by getting involved in local service and political organizations.

GYM: Working for a college, are teachers and institutions up to speed on technology and the demands of the Millennial Generation?

Craig: First, I can't and won't pretend to speak for all college employees, as no institution has the same approach to technology. But as a Millennial employee of my institution, I notice a concerning and perhaps predictable trend: many staff members are catching on to what they think is the latest in technological development, but only by the time the Millennial students have already found the next best thing. For instance, at a time when residence halls are filled with laptops (almost all of which came already configured for Wi-Fi), the college seems content with offering a few hotspots in various buildings on campus. With Millennials wanting, and mostly used to, immediate access to information no matter where they are, my institution is missing a large opportunity because they are satisfied with meeting a standard that was set among my generation five to ten years ago.

With the increased focus on green issues among Millennials, one way to please Generation Y students would be to transition many collegiate operations to paperless systems. To its credit, my institution is setting the stage for something like this; Information and Technology Services has set up its own portal for students, faculty, and staff to use that is similar to Blackboard, WebCT, and other sites that host classroom material online. But other systems can go online as well, and at many schools, they have. Students can be reading scholarly material online; professors can be incorporating more interactive multimedia into their lectures. Professors and staff can utilize small devices given to students that allow them to respond to information in real-time as they receive it; so instead of filling out the tiresome course and professor evaluations on paper, they can do so online in a confidential manner. Professors can record their lectures, uploading them to iTunes as podcasts, and allowing students to download it and pore over it as they review for their exam. RAs can electronically disseminate videos that are simultaneously humorous and informative to their residents that explain college policies and procedures.

But the most important thing for an institution to do for Millennials is create a culture of innovation. The Mac advertising campaign is instructive here: when Millennial students think of something as refreshing, new, and purposeful, they are drawn to it. If an institution wants to be "up to speed" on technological issues and Millennial demands, it needs to be ahead of the curve, thinking of things that I haven't even touched upon in the second paragraph. And as an important corollary, they need to make sure that Millennials know this is going on, so they can spread the news themselves.

GYM: Do you see Gen-Y getting more political information from Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert than shows on CNN and NBC? Is that hurting Gen-Y or helping to raise awareness of political situations?

Craig: I think that the level of popularity that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert enjoy among Millennials may be a bit overestimated (even though it is real), and I worry that the extensive coverage that the Stewart/Colbert phenomenon gets leads to the false conclusion that Millennials need to have their news chewed for them before they can digest it. Millennials might like to combine their news with sarcasm, but they still want it to be substantive. What is disappointing is that the news delivered with a satirical approach (like Stewart and Colbert) is often more substantive than the false debates that fill time on the supposedly credible cable news networks of CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News. The humorous approach also allows students to feel good about news; if you took time to monitor the newscasts of major news organizations, you'd be dead if pessimism could kill. Millennials are optimistic by nature, and so we know that outlets delivering news in a non-traditional or fun way attracts Generation Y.

In the end, with the plethora of media outlets Millennials are subjected to, it takes more work to sort through the clutter in order to find the real, substantive, and useful information needed to fulfill their responsibilities as an American citizen. While I do think that, for the most part, Generation Y does a decent job of filtering out what they don't need/want to hear and getting the information they need, the education system and parents in our country should be stepping up their efforts at teaching students critical thinking skills and civic knowledge -- not just math and science. Students who are on the precipice of adulthood need to be prepared throughout their youth to critically examine the information they are presented.

GYM: Celebrities, musicians, actors, etc are getting very vocal about this year’s elections. Hip-hop, as an example, has thrown direct support behind Barrack Obama. What can that do for a campaign?

Craig: I have a mixed reaction to celebrity endorsements. For instance, if Jon Voight or Tom Hanks endorses a candidate, this does not affect my choice at all, and I'm not optimistic that it would impact many other decisions either. But if there's a particularly hot music act that attracts hundreds of thousands of people on a summer tour in an election year, it could be very helpful. Think about what could be done if he or she incorporates a coordinated text message blast to concertgoers' friends into the show; research shows that this peer-to-peer outreach is much more effective at getting people to vote than a run-of-the-mill celebrity endorsement.

GYM: Why should Gen-Y get involved and get educated right now and not tomorrow?

Craig: Barack Obama often quotes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" address at the Riverside Church (April 4, 1967) when he stresses the importance of getting engaged. I believe that King's words say more to answer this question than I ever could, so I'd like to share them with everyone:

"We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood-it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, 'Too late.'"

Our future seems to be darkening by the days. But even though the tragedies in this country have mounted – the mismanagement of Iraq, the mismanagement of Katrina, corruption, a Constitution that was flushed down the toilet, a surplus that turned into the largest deficit ever, a government that won’t act on the climate crisis, and the squandering of any moral standing this country had – it is still an opportunity. Generation Y has the pragmatism, collaboration, and optimism to chip away at these challenges; but we have to apply each of those traits by getting involved and embracing our civic responsibility.

GYM: Thanks Craig, you are now off the Gen-Y Hot Seat! Check out the feature with Mike Connery on the Gen-Y Hot Seat for more Gen-Y Political information.

Gen-Y Political Hot Seat With Mike Connery

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:22:00 +0000

This week, Gen-Y Magic will be profiling 4 young leaders on the political landscape. All 4 are dedicated to covering the involvement of young voters in progressive politics and write for multiple sites and communities. All 4 are players in Future Majority, a site started in in August of 2006 by Michael Connery, Alex Urevick-Acklesberg, and Josh Koenig. Today we get Mike Connery himself in the Gen-Y Hot Seat, talking about the youth running for office, why MTV is not an authority and that kids with Xboxes can make a difference in this election. Mike is also the author of Youth to Power: How Today's Young Voters Are Building Tomorrow's Progressive Majority, a book about the role of the Millennial Generation in progressive politics.

Gen-Y Magic: What is the single biggest issue that will take Gen-Y away from the Xboxes, Laptops and iPhones and actually vote this November?

Mike: Well, I wouldn’t quite phrase it that way because the last thing I want to do is continue the myth of young voters as stoned slackers enslaved to their Xbox. PEW just did a study showing that gamers and non-gamers are equally engaged in politics and civic life, and after what we’ve seen with young people becoming involve through FaceBook, YouTube, and other social technologies, it would be dead wrong to characterize those technologies or the people who use them as less involved politically. But I take your point.

Young people have much the same concerns as older voters – health care, the economy, the war in Iraq, energy policy, etc We just have a slightly different take on these issues, which impact our lives in different ways than they do older voters. Of all these issues, the economy consistently ranks as the issue that young people are most concerned with, and I imagine that concern has only grown in light of the events of the last week.

Young voters aren’t necessarily concerned about stock prices – we don’t generally own stocks and only a small portion of us have 401ks or any other type of retirement investment. But we do worry about credit card debt and college loans, and being able to find a job that will allow us to pay back those debts and start a life. We do think about needing a loan from a bank to purchase a home or car. We worry about getting a job that will give us health benefits. It’s these bread and butter issues that will drive young voters to the polls in November.

GYM: What are some things, young 20-somethings can do to make a change in their local government and community?

Mike: I’ve had the opportunity to see Howard Dean speak a number of times this year, and I think that he nails it in his current stump speech. Voting is the least you can do. If you want to make a change in your community, then run for office. School board, town supervisor, mayor, councilman, it doesn’t matter. If you don’t like the system and the choices you have at the polls, take over that system and change it from the inside.

I track a lot of media about young people in politics, and in state after state I’m reading about a record number of young people running for office, and these are not necessarily crazy long shots. The Mayor of Pittsburg, Luke Ravenstahl, is 28 years old, and he’s just one of the most visible of a growing number of young elected officials. If young people want to follow that path, there are a number of organizations, like the Center for Progressive Leadership and the Young Elected Officials Network, that are there to help get those campaigns off the ground and overcome the first hurdles in learning to govern.

Not everyone can or will run for office, and different people may want to be involved in different ways. I’d recommend that young people looking to find out how they fit into American civic life get their feet wet with an organization like Living Liberally, which uses social events like bar nights, comedy shows, book clubs, and movie screenings, or Democrats Work, a group that performs local community service tasks like beach cleanups and tree plantings. Social/political organizations like Democrats Work and Living Liberally are building the social capital upon which a healthy civic life depends, and they are both great vehicles through which young people can meet other local, politically active people and find an avenue of activism that best fits them.

And if none of those options are appealing, then I would encourage young people to find their own niche and create their own organization. That’s what I and so many other young activists did in 2003. Lacking any real youth support or infrastructure within the Democratic Party, myself and many other youth organizers worked to start our own organizations. For myself and my friends, we were huge music fans and wanted to politicize the local music communities. We started a non profit called Music for America and through a combination of hard work and luck, we were able to raise capital to start our own nonprofit. In 2004, Music for America was present at over 2,400 live music events in almost all 50 states. We estimated our message reached over 2 million people that year.

We were not alone, though. Other entrepreneurial Gen Xers and Gen Yers started over a dozen new youth-focused nonprofits that year, including the League of Young Voters, the Oregon Bus Project, and more. If we could create our own avenues of activism in 2004, young people today, armed with vastly superior technology and lower barriers to entry, can do the same in 2008.

GYM: For Gen-Y, there are a lot of great social advocates, creating change and making a difference in the lives of others. How can they get the attention of the government and show that things can be changed and a difference can be made?

Mike: This is the big question and the big test that we will confront after the election. In some respects, Boomers are primed to not hear what young people are saying. For the older generations, social change was created through a protest model spawned out of the civil rights movement. So you get people like Thomas Friedman and Al Gore wondering why young people aren’t protesting in the streets or chaining ourselves to bulldozers, and labeling us “Generation Q” for quiet.

But that model requires a level of novelty to capture the imagination of the public and obtain a high enough level of coverage in the media to change the political narrative on an issue. As we saw with the rather traditional anti-war protests leading up the Iraq War, that model is reaching the end of its efficacy. The public doesn’t care about another demonstration and the media won’t cover it. So we need new models of activism. Increasingly, that is happening within the political system rather than outside of it.

The first step truly is to turn out and vote in November. If young people substantially increase our share of the electorate, and perhaps are the determining force in electing the next president, then that will make the politicians sit up and listen. We will have proven our ability to mobilize a substantial part of the electorate and their electoral necks will all be on the line. The trick is going to be to be in parlaying that into legislative victories.

I don’t’ think anyone knows how that will play out yet. There is no one model because we are going to need to adapt to the situation, taking into account who the President is, what is the makeup of Congress, what policies are being proposed and how does it measure up against our long term goals, what is the media narrative around the issue, etc. I suspect that bottom-up, social technologies will play a vital role in some part of that in helping to organize support or resistance to certain legislative proposals, but there’s no way to say how yet.

GYM: Is the Internet really changing this election or is it media hoopla? It didn’t seem to work out too well for Ron Paul, even though we all know now who he is.

Mike: It really is making a difference. It’s allowing young people to self organize, and it is providing campaigns with a new way to reach young people online. Danah Boyd, a PhD candidate who studies social networks, calls them the new public sphere. What we know about reaching young voters is two things.

1. You have to meet young voters where they live and hang out
2. Peer to peer contact is the most effective way to mobilize youth.

Going with what Danah Boyd says, sites like FaceBook and MySpace are one of many places that young people hang out and it’s an ideal contact point for a campaign.

That said you have to move into step 2, the peer to peer contact. That’s traditional field work. The problem with the Ron Paul campaign is that they never moved offline. They never got to that peer to peer aspect. It’s the genius of the Obama campaign that they’ve been able to create a cycle whereby young people meet the campaign online, get their activism moved offline, and then maintain contact and continue to spread the word to their friends online, thereby expanding the number of people within the campaign’s universe.

Technology is providing us with great new tools in the toolbox that break down barriers and open up new lines of communication and activism. But it is still only one tool of many, and offline action is still the bread and butter of politics. Good campaigns learn how to use the internet to augment what is happening offline. Those that don’t, end up like Ron Paul.

GYM: With MTV still having huge influence o Gen-Y, do you see them as a positive or negative authority for this years upcoming election?

Mike: I don’t really see MTV as an authority at all. They’ve done a few very interesting things this year, for sure, like the interviews with veterans, and the debates they held in partnership with MySpace, which for my money were actually the most participatory and informative debates of the cycle. But realistically, young people aren’t going to vote one way or another based on what MTV says or a single program they saw on the network. They are going to vote because their friends encouraged them or shamed them into it. They are going to cast their ballot based on their values and those of their peer network. It’s those personal connections that make up our politics and they are far more influential than any celebrity or TV network in determining how –and whether – we cast our ballots.

GYM: Mike you are now off the Gen-Y Hot Seat. Check back everyday this week for the rest of the series with Sarah Burris, Kevin Bondelli and Craig Berger.

Gen-Y and Politics

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:42:00 +0000

This year, the youth vote is more important than ever. With all of the economic stress in our country, who we choose as the next leader will dramatically impact the future of Gen-Y business. Knowing this, Gen-Y Magic will be highlighting a great group of youth political leaders next week during our Gen-Y Politics Week! We are not here to tell you who to vote for, but rather, how to get involved in social and economic change. The group we are featuring is the Future Majority Team, Mike, Sarah, Kevin and Craig. We put them all through the Gen-Y Hot Seat and we got some awesome answers. Be sure to grab our RSS Feed to get the latest news from Gen-Y Magic as it happens.

*As a teaser here is a new report from the Future Majority Team on Mobilizing the Vote. Download it now!*

Also on the political youth news track is the Myspace "MyDebates" Center. They are still major players and there is a lot of chatter going on within the Social Networking hot spot.

Remember Lee's new book, "Creating Magic," is coming October 14th. Pre-order it now and have it on your door step on day-1!

-The Gen-Y Magic Team

Katie Kerrigan "Shoes" Us the Future of Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Greg Rollett) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:28:00 +0000

To go along with our stories of Gen-Y Magic, we are also getting some exclusive interviews with some of the biggest Gen-Y leaders that are making a huge impact on the business world ad in the lives of others. Today we are pleased to feature Katie Kerrigan, the young professional behind Kathryn Kerrigan, Inc which runs a shoe ecommerce juggernaut for women who "stand tall." Katie's company has been featured on Inc's 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30 List. See what Katie has to say about customer service and the future of ecommerce as driven by Gen-Y!

Gen-Y Magic: Everyone is talking about the economy. Gen-Y gets broken into 2 slates for you, the ones that buy their own shoes and the ones that have their parents supply their fashion habits. Have you seen a shift or a difference in the spending habits of Gen-Y recently?

Katie: Yes, I see more Gen-Y consumers spending on brands that mean something to them. Whether it’s well-known brands like Chanel or lesser known brands like Kathryn Kerrigan, Gen-Y spends dollars on companies that mean something to them. Gen-Y wants to be part of something, be involved in community. We are a generation that was raised with “Group Think” and the level of community and group involvement plays out in their consumer habits as well.

GYM: The younger generation has grown up in eCommerce. How do you see that evolving as they get older and start to increase their incomes?

Katie: As Gen-Y gets older, they will seek out companies that they can grow with. Kathryn Kerrigan Footwear, for example, sells shoes to 20-somethings, but also sells shoes to every age group. We have generations of families stalking our website everyday. Mothers who are 40-something and their 10-14 year old daughters share in the shoe excitement at KathrynKerrigan.com. Gen-Y has the expectation that internet technologies will be more intuitive and comfortable to shop worldwide.

Gen-Y is teaching older generations how to interact positively with eCommerce, which brings more people into the online marketplace. Online shopping is all about trust and it’s important for my online shoppers to trust KathrynKerrigan.com 200%.

GYM: What does it take to be a leader at Kathryn Kerrigan, Inc?

Katie: First and foremost it’s the ability to see the big picture – i.e. our customers. Are our customers happy? What can I do today to WOW them and give them an offer they can’t refuse? Other leadership skills include ability to multi-task and a strong sense of loyalty. I’m loyal to my customers and to my employees, which in turn makes them loyal to us. Leaders know there will be setbacks, disappointments, but can overcome them and learn valuable lessons.

GYM: As a part time educator at Loyola, how can we help motivate students to be leaders right now, even if they are not in a “leadership role?”

Katie: Be positive. Get back to what it means to be an individual living in America. I ask my students to help others, be a positive role model to younger generations and do what’s right. Life falls into place if you’re a good person. Students will seek out and observe today’s leaders to be their mentors, even vicariously.

GYM: A big part of Creating Magic is in customer service and getting those repeat customers. How do you Create Magic for your customers?

Katie: We go above and beyond. We will ship 20 or 30 pairs of shoes to a customer if they don’t want to shop online or can’t determine their size, etc. Our best customers that buy shoes each month may just receive a few free pairs without warning. My mantra this year at KK, Inc. is

“to expect the unexpected.”

We give our customers attention & services that Nordstrom, Zappos or even small companies choose not to. For example, “ShoeTube” is a service we provide that lets our customers try on shoes before they buy them. Our success rate is 98%, which means that 98% of the customers who receive ShoeTube end up buying that particular shoe!! They LOVE it! It’s a great opportunity to show off our customer service, beautiful shoes and craftsmanship that takes our website to an interactive level.

GYM: Thanks Katie, you are off the Gen-Y Hot Seat.

*Visit Katie's shoe world at www.kathrynkerrigan.com*