Foreign Languages In Later Years

If you were exposed to a second language from birth and spoke it every day of your childhood, you would be a fluent speaker of that second language by adulthood.

The same could be said of exposure to computers: if you were exposed to them from early childhood and used them every day, you would be considered quite fluent in computers by adulthood.

That is exactly the average Generation Y: exposed to technology, computers and smart phones their whole lives. So they would expect that penchant for technology to continue into their work. However, here's where they become dismayed and disillusioned: if their ability with computers and technology becomes limited by computer illiterate Baby Boomers who are still confounded by email.

You see while computers and technology were a part of the average Generation Y childhood, Baby Boomers have only been exposed to it all in the last 20 years or so. Think of how difficult it is to learn a new language at fifty-five years old. It's not as easy as when you are a child. Neither is riding the technology curve.

Boomers have a great sense of work ethic. Gen Y have a great sense of technology (and how to get the work done quicker - much quicker). Gen X has a great sense of changing the rules and doing away with traditions.

Oh, and Gen X and Y, don't give the old-timers a hard time about their computer illiteracy. Don't even give them a break. Give them a hand - in learning how to come up to speed on technology. You've all got something to teach each other. Now all you have to do is find some sort of common ground way of communicating. Good luck with that.

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Kevin Burns - Excellence Attitude/Culture Strategist
Speaking Web Site http://www.kevburns.com

Creator of Filter-Free Fridays™
Creator of the 90-Day System To A Greatness Culture™

Coming Soon Kevin's 8th Book - "Your Attitude Sucks - Finding Your Excellence In A Wasteland of Mediocrity
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A Kinder, Gentler Business Of The Future

This month marked a very important milestone, one that quietly slipped under the radar. The consequences of this milestone are far reaching and it is only going to get bigger and play a far more important role in business in North America.

January officially recognizes that women now comprise OVER 50% of the workforce. Where once women were largely confined to menial jobs, their brain power now outnumbers men in the workforce.

Add to that women dominating in terms of educational performance, volume of university degrees and especially advanced professional degrees and you can see how this can become a tsunami of change down the road.

It's been said that women are better leaders overall than men - largely due to their ability to lead with compassion instead of cutthroat business tactics - and we face a workforce that is about to change. As more women move up the ladder, the old-boys clubs are doomed to go the way of the dodo.

Personally, I welcome a change in the demographics. More women in senior management would mean more women dominating boards of directors as well as shareholders. That means how business gets done is going to change with a heavier emphasis on long-term growth and prosperity for the sake of the employees and loyalty while lessening concentration on jumping into takeover situations, raping and cutting up companies for the sake of profit and not caring about the families that cutthroat business affects.

Maybe by finding a way to be kinder, gentler organizations, we can help employees find loyalty, purpose and pride in their work and the companies they work for.

It couldn't hurt. I can't possibly imagine how much worse employee engagement, diligence and work ethic could get. Maybe we'll see the end of the practice of "company profits first, employee welfare second." Maybe it'll turn into employee welfare AND company success together. After all, you can't have one without the other.
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Attitude w/ ATTITUDE by Kevin Burns - Corporate Attitude/Culture Strategist

Creator of the 90-Day Strategy to Greatness Culture


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