Today I saw a great story about two aMillennials who showed their leadership by taking the initiative and convincing their university to provide comparable classes at a prison.

Four years ago, in fact, Wesleyan balked at a proposal to install such a program.

Two students, Russell Perkins and Molly Birnbaum, who had volunteered in prisons as students, revived the idea last year when they were seniors and figured out a way to finance it.

…a privately financed experiment in higher education that takes murderers and drug dealers and other inmates with histories of serious crime and gives them an opportunity to get an elite college education inside their high-security prison, the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

The professors involved say that the classes are just as tough as on campus.

These aren’t prisoners preparing for a return to society, in fact, some of them may never return. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn—120 inmates applied 19 spots.

Skipping the debate as to whether this is a good program or not, the initiative shown is a large lesson for all those who spend their time reading and studying leadership instead of doing it.

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Post from: Leadership Turn

The latest is a list from LeaderTalk that describes Millennials’ Five Leadership Truths:

Truth #1 – Leadership development begins with self development; it’s about the individual; what is the first question most people want to ask a new leader?

Truth #2 – You can’t do it alone

Truth #3 – The foundation of Leadership is Credibility

Truth #4 – You either lead by example or you don’t lead at all.

Truth #5 – Being forward-looking most differentiates leaders.

Nearly two years ago Success Television listed Gen Y’s 10 main turnoffs…

1. Inflexibility.
2. Judgmental attitudes.
3. Close-mindedness.
4. Fear of and an unwillingness to use technology.
5. Unwillingness to listen to and respect Gen Y’s opinions, ideas and views.
6. Intimidation.
7. Being told they have to “pay their dues”.
8. Lack of professional and leadership development through the company.
9. Emphasis on traditional dress (coat or suit and tie are out).
10. Lack of intellectual horsepower. [By what yardstick? Miki]

Now I ask you, what on either of these lists is new? It seems to me that they are the same things that Boomers and Gen X (and previous generations) have been complaining about for years; the language changes, but the concepts aren’t new.

Sadly, I believe that the workforce will be complaining of the same types of things long after I’ve turned to dust.

Boomers and Gen X were just as much a disruptive force in the workplace-of-that-time as Millennials are today.

Granted the willingness to stick it out has shortened considerably, but even the willingness to walk if you’re not happy is based to no small degree on a healthy economy where the next job is easily available.

Add time and a few age-driven responsibilities—kids, mortgages, aging parents—to the mix and soon Millennials will be the establishment with another generation ranting about their unwillingness to change.

The demands of each generation are what forces change, both large and small, upon the workplace—always has and always will.

Hat tip to The Leadership Hub for pointing the LeaderTalk post.

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That’s what Trina Thompson is doing to the tune of $72000; $2000 of which is compensation for the stress engendered by an unsuccessful three month job search; she graduated in April with a bachelor of business administration degree in information technology.

I’m not sure what planet Thompson is on, but she seems to think that her attendance record combined with a 2.7 GPA makes her a great find for any company.

Thompson finds major fault with the Monroe College Career Center…

“They’re supposed to say, ‘I got this student, her attendance is good, her GPA is all right — can you interview this person?’ They’re not doing that. They favor more toward students that got a 4.0. They help them more out with the job placement.”

Apparently it never dawned on her that it’s the companies who look for better GPAs.

And when did education come with a guarantee? Especially one that transcends all factors—economic conditions, grades, intelligence and, especially, attitude?

Apparently this business major hasn’t noticed the recession and has no understanding of the global economy.

She did show up, although learned very little based on her current actions.

Jim Gordon, who draws mY Generation for my other blog, graduated with a degree in industrial engineering and a similar GPA; he landed a three month internship and just received a full time offer.

What Jim has is a solid gold attitude, the kind that all managers want on their team; he doesn’t think he knows everything, wants to learn, assumes that attendance is a given not an accomplishment and that hard work is the name of the game—in short, he’s an aMillennial.

Thompson thinks that any new grad who doesn’t find a job should sue.

“It doesn’t make any sense: They went to school for four years, and then they come out working at McDonald’s and Payless. That’s not what they planned.”

After all, the world owes you—just ask Trina Thompson.

This follow-up to the article came Wednesday.

The Ski Channel has offered Thompson an entry level job. According to Founder/CEO Steve Bellamy, “Either Ms Thompson is a cunning out of the box thinker and we want he or she isn’t, and her position would not last long.  Either way, the law suit would no longer be clogging up the courts because there are now no damages.  She now has a bonifide job offer.  She just needs to call us and go over the details.  But it is real and valid.  If she is this feisty, we’ll try her out.  But if she is playing the victim card and pushing her problems onto everyone else – then her job wouldn’t likely last long.”

It will be interesting to see if Thompson accepts the position and, if she does, whether her efforts will go beyond good attendance.

Be sure to read the comments, two really stand out, “She’s not “a cunning out of the box thinker”, she’s a brat with a sense of entitlement.” And “I know the girl and don’t think it is a wise hire.”

Many said it was a great idea because it will remove the suit from an overloaded court (But what happens if every new grad that doesn’t get hired follows suit?), while others said that Ski Channel should expect a lawsuit if they do fire her.

I’ll keep you posted.

Hat tip to Andrew Gordon, who sent me this irresistible article and the follow-up.

Be sure to see what my buddy Mark Jabo has to say about Trina over at Biz Levity.

Apologies to those of you who expected the interview with KG Charles-Harris, founder of M3, today. The interview will be next week.

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Post from: Leadership Turn

Assuming you live on this planet you’re aware that there’s a recession going on, so what’s happening in the world of youth and parents?

Business Week had a great article on Growing Up In A Recession, while the NY Times says that parents finally are figuring out that whatever doesn’t have to be new and are opting for hand-me-downs and cutting off their trust-fund babies. Good grief, they might have to make it on their own!

Do you tweet? Some college professors are finding uses for Twitter in their teaching, although enhancing spelling isn’t one of them; speaking of education, some schools are delivering sex ed via cell phone.

How fair or valuable are anonymous teacher rating sites, such as Rate My Professors or Professor Performance, some teachers don’t aren’t concerned, but others may not be so sanguine.

Multiple studies by professors at a variety of universities show that having interracial roommates reduces prejudice. Not that surprising, it’s hard to hate a real individual vs. a hypothetical stereotype.

Finally, there’s a new texting champion (control your enthusiasm) who practiced by sending 14,000 texts a month. Isn’t that thrilling?

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Post from: Leadership Turn

As with any large group, negative attitudes and actions often get more attention and press than positive ones and I’m no exception.

Leadership’s Future is often about Millennials—their sense of entitlement, expectations, impatience, and the parental intervention that fuels it.

My Millennial friends kid me that I’m ignoring a large number of their demographic, although even they don’t claim that it’s anywhere near a majority.

But they do have a point, so I’m offering up a new term to designate those who are chronologically, but not psychologically, Millennials.

aMillennial, because placing an ‘a’ in front of a word nullifies its meaning (see a-6).

I ran into a great example of the positive at AARP’s u@50 contest.

It wasn’t the first place winner that blew me away, but the second.

Her words are an inspiration for us all and a good lesson to remember that people change as life changes.

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Post from: Leadership Turn