You may have seen the bumper sticker that para-phrases the above quotation.  You might be surprised to learn that this quote is from former four star General George S. Patton.

Remember awhile back I talked about a new term you would be hearing about?  Well I have another one…   get out the pad and pencil as I have some stuff you’ll want to keep handy.

The Millennials are coming…

Millennials, Gen Y, post boomers… whatever.  These are the children of the Baby Boom generation who are now stepping into the workforce with great expectations.  Some of these Millennials are of the greatest generation.  They are more hardworking, clever and resourceful.  They have the tools at their fingertips to get things done.

But this isn’t a good or accurate explanation of Millennials.  Some of them are incorrigible,  It’s their way or the highway.  In the work place, senior employees are old, redundant and should be forced into retirement.  Anyone over 30 is considered a hazard and should not be trusted.  If you get the job of managing these Millennials, you will have to be part shrink, part diplomat and a little bit of a nanny.

It used to be that a good employee would eat, sleep and breath the company.  Today’s Millennials only live and breathe for themselves, and that keeps them very active.  Asking them to be in by 8 in the morning and out by the time the job is complete, is sacrilegious.  They want to roll in about noon, wearing surf shorts, Birkenstocks and texting God knows who, expecting to be the man in charge by 4PM.  They will try and dictate when they will work, why they will do the work, question any authority figure older than they are and have prior commitments that they will have to attend and expect to be paid while they attend them.

All of this is our fault.  We have created these individuals and put them into a position where they suddenly have to perform as professionals…   And they haven’t been trained how to balance a check book, hold a dinner knife or how to work.  The days of school summers mowing peoples lawns or providing some simple neighborhood service as a way to learn how to be self-sufficient has vanished like the Edsel.  Today’s generation, and indeed the Millennials we are going to have to depend on, have grown up with the expectation of reward and that they will automatically win.  And they get all of this for just walking in the door of their job at Widgets, Inc.  Hard work is something that someone else does.

The executives at Widgets, Inc. have to put up with these new Millennials.  Why?  Because they are afraid that hiring those who have the skills but are older, more seasoned employees, won’t sit well with a staff of Millennials.  They fear reprisal.  Millennials stick together.  And right now they know that they are the only game in town.  They know that they are the future and far be it that some company owner or executive tells them how things work.

To the Millennial, job hopping is the norm.  Having four or five jobs on your resume that happened all within a year is expected.  And we accept it as the norm.  Placing friends and lifestyle above work is now the process by which new employees function.  Remember when it was a good thing to have benefits with your job.  Now, benefits are expected.  Along with day care, nap rooms, free back rubs, office provided lunches, hosted happy hours, all expense paid travel which includes additional “scouting around” days and free gizmo’s to place on the expected executive desk.

What all of this has created, this prodding, praising and cajoling crapola is a 45 billion dollar industry that teaches current executives on how to get along with the Millennials that they have working for them.  This new industry is teaching a manager that being a parent is now a job requirement for dealing with younger employees even though these younger employees are not your kids.  The main premise is to explain that in today’s businesses, growing up doesn’t have to stop at age 19.  You could conceivably stop growing up at age 30 or 40.  Until that age, you play computer games at work, expect to have everything handed to you and figure out what you will do in 6 hours when you are ready to leave the building.

A brash statement, but true.

The Millennials trust no one and really don’t trust that anyone will take care of them long term.  They are not disloyal.  They are just a generation skeptical of loyalty.  Millennials are looking for companies they feel will provide a safe harbor for them and encourage a more personal relationship between employee and employer.

It’s today’s harsh reality that makes the way we did things in the past figments of our imagination.

We can no longer accept a statement like “Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”  Thank-you for this quotation also General George S. Patton.

Until next week…