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Tag Archive: innovation

Taking the Millennial Leap from Student to Employee

Written on December 12, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

Over the last few years, our societies, cultures, environments and structures have seen some of the greatest shifts ever to have taken place. Rampant technological growth coupled with a massive introduction into social media have changed the way we act, think and behave. Life now is significantly different from life 5 years ago, simply based on these characteristics. And this couldn’t be more evident than within the spheres of education and employment.

One of the greatest events to take place within our lifetimes is the transition many of us make as students to employees. From the impacts of that lifestyle change to the maturation of aspects within each and every one of us, education historically has had a underlying correlation to prospective employment opportunities. Though, the same could hardly be said for a growing number of Millennials within this day and age.

Though education itself cannot be discounted as an attributor to gaining employment, rapid technological, social and online innovation has radically changed the dynamics of the education-employment relationship. So much so that the fundamental elements within this dynamic are increasingly experiencing a major shift of ideology.

This can all be attributed to the fact that as we as individuals continue to adopt smart phones, tablets and social media en masse, we have serious effects on characteristics of life around us. The effects here are essentially redefining everything. But most notably, they are seriously impacting industry around us.

The truly fascinating aspects here are the newly found paradigms that are creating a dividing point between education and employment. And interestingly, this is both effecting the graduating students and employers alike. What we are seeing here is the emergence of a skills gap that has left Millennials caught off guard, as well as the employers looking for employees that naturally don’t exist.

Industry adoption of technological and social innovation is not being grasped in the same manner by education. And as industry continually adapts to these dynamics they are further distancing themselves from education and education’s ability to provide the skill set necessary to coincide with these developments.

What you are beginning to find is a wanted skill set that education does not provide and one that can only be learned, at this moment, on the basis of each individual through constant involvement and practice. I doubt many had the foresight years ago to understand that your level of Twitter followers will inevitably impact your ability to gain some sort of employment. Your social influence will have greater consequences than any of us can currently comprehend.

Admittedly, this one characteristic does not span across all industries. However, there is a noteworthy upward trend that suggests in order for Millennials to gain access to internships or work within particular industries and fields, their understanding but more importantly, their presence in the technological and social worlds will most definitely be a key and defining factor.

As technology and social media continue to expand in an unprecedented manner, understanding everything from smart phones, apps to texting, social influence to social authority, to tweeting, sharing and blogging will have more of an impact effect than ever perceived before. Don’t be fooled here. I’m definitely not trying to scare anyone. Rather I see this as some insight and preparation to tackling and staying up to pace with industry innovation and demands of the skills gap. This is a leap many Millennials will be taking from student to employee in the coming years. One that is figurative but more literal than we truly realize.

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Are You Ready for the Millennials and the Social Workplace?

Written on October 22, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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Yesterday morning, I had the absolute pleasure and delight of being a panelist for IBM’s Smarter Leaders vPanel. The topic at hand and discussion to follow was based around the idea of whether we are all ready for the impact that the social web and social technologies will have in the workplace.

Aptly titled “[Are You] Ready for the Social Workplace?”, the panel was consistent of 3 brilliant individuals and myself, the “rock-star” Millennial. And since I was given that characterization, I guess I’ll take it! Here are the panelists:

Jennifer Okimoto – (moderator of panel) Associate Partner, IBM Strategy & Transformation at IBM Global Business Services, Organization & People
Dr. Jennifer Deal – Senior Research Scientist at Center for Creative Leadership
Sameer Patel – Partner at the Sovos Group, Enterprise 2.0, Organizational Leadership & Collaboration Strategist
Josip Petrusa – Me, just being myself as a Gen-Y and Millennial Blogger here on my blog.

Looking at the social workplace takes on a different tone when you begin to involve the Millennials and how social computing has not only changed the workplace but how there has been a drastic transformation occurring as a result of it. It’s not a matter of whether companies can adjust and innovate effectively to such deep changes in the nature of work. Rather, it’s truly and simply a matter of when and how these companies will change.

There has been a few competing ideologies here. The first suggests that Millennials in fact will regress into the typical and traditional worker. The worker and employees we’ve always known. The second suggests, and the one I most certainly resonate with, is that Millennials will have a significant influence to the workplace. And for better or worse, we will undoubtedly change the dynamics of everything work related, in one degree or another.

Hyperconnectivity and disruptive innovation will be the catalysts that alter our viewpoints of collaborative natures and employee relationships in the workplace. Equally, many elements of the personal and professional divide are being forever redefined and blurred. Much of which can be attributed to what encompasses the very essence of the Millennials.

Organizational cultures are being challenged. Collaborative structures are growing. And social networking tools are increasingly becoming strong elements of the every day workplace.

As tribal and group thinkers, Millennials will create a level of unprecedented efficiency. We really do want to work. We also really want to do a great job. And in the midst of economic crisis, our mindset has forever only cemented this mindset even further into what only represents our young careers.

Over the next 5 years, the Millennials will represent a significant portion of the work force. And over that time, we’ll have to adjust, readjust and innovate the operation of every structure, as the Millennial mentality will constantly question it. We have to embrace and channel their abilities in order to achieve mutually beneficial results.

The workforce itself won’t simply represent a large mass of Millennials keen on social networking all the time. Rather each Millennial and each aspect of the social web will rise to a particular situation and dictate it within a certain manner. As we can hardly use every element of the social web at once, simply because it’s not practical, and as all Millennials will not represent the same strenghts, the growth of mass collaboration, crowdsourcing and collective intelligence will dictate results and reward individuals accordingly.

However, before much of this can even begin to take place, necessary recourse is absolutely imperative into understanding who the Millennials are. Rather than focus on over-emphasized negatives, current corporate cultures can not simply impose on a down ward scale. Yes, we Millennials believe in having fulfilling relationships with those older than us. And yes, we will have conversations with you and share our thoughts whether you agree with it or not. This will continue to take place whether it’s right or wrong, and regardless of if you like it or if you don’t.

Not only will mentoring be an essential aspect to creating a positive environment, reserve-mentoring will be arguably the most crucial aspect of all. Millennials have exemplified that relationships are important to their very nature. This can be seen across the social world. Building powerful relationships amongst the ranks can have definitive benefits. Something that can only be accomplished if serious notions of reserve-mentoring are put into adoption and use.

Getting ready for a social workforce will take finesse, patience and embracing this new and changing world. The Millennials are undeniably living in one of the most disruptively innovative times ever experienced by our current societal structures. As Millennials continually embrace and grow with these disruptions, they will ultimately innovate as they go along. You may not be ready for the social workplace but it appears that the Millennials might already be.

Will The Millennials Out-Run Technology?

Written on August 31, 2010 by Josip Petrusa

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For all the negative acclaim Millennials receive, I may be pretentiously adding another “negative” characteristic to the list. To think that the Millennials are dictating technology as opposed to technology dictating our lives is absurd and crazy. Isn’t it? Well not really, at least from a Millennial’s point-of-view. Nor are these projected “negatives” really that negative from our point-of-view either.

The Cause

Over the last few days, I experienced a series of revelations. Well, actually two revelations. The first, was the result of a friend’s birthday. And the second, was the result of my broken BlackBerry and my ability to semi-use it. The combination of the two inspired the words below.

To follow the order of things, let’s begin with the birthday. Like many celebrations, we hit the city. And after reaching our destination and after we all got acquainted with each other, I slowly began to observe and realise that what seemed to be so obviously apparent, wasn’t really that obvious at all.

In a location full of seemingly single individuals, with the alcohol flowing, the music pumping, the sense of promiscuity raising, the pheromones stimulating, the primal urges growing and yet, to see an extraordinary amount of people on their [smart] phones wasn’t just shocking, it was absolutely amazing to see.

And this has hardly been the first instance I’ve seen of this. Slowly as the days go by, you realise how many people use their phones while being amongst those they’re connected to, while having coffee, a beer or simply hanging out. Whether it is a matter of needing attention, giving attention, haste, instant ability, time management, multi-tasking, the idea of “now” and many other inclinations, the Millennials and technology are building a self-perpetuating cycle.

The beautiful thing here is how gracefully my second revelation ties into the story. In the same period over the last few days, I’ve lost the ability to use the track ball on my BlackBerry. And until the situation betters itself and though I still have limited abilities to contact people, I’ve felt lost. The passing days seem like a blur. No email access. No Facebook and Twitter access, etc. Again, I was absolutely amazed and perplexed that even though I have a fully functioning laptop I’m [always] on, losing the functionality of my BB was interesting to say the least.

Though my words seem more dramatic then I intend them to be and though different people will build different perceptions from my words, it can’t be denied that the Millennials are living a significantly different and technologically based life compared to those older than them.

The Effect

Can you really blame them though? Growing up, we’ve been immersed into rapidly expanding technologies. Where once product lifecycles existed for years in previous generations, the world of today hardly has them exist for a year. It took three decades to reinvent the television set. And since, televisions have been reinvented almost yearly.

The same can be said for many technological areas. From the leaps mobile devices have taken in the last few years to the advances of the web with social media and networking sites, the last 5 years have been nothing short of stellar innovation. But where does that leave us now? Where does that leave the Millennials? Where does that leave technology?

As our ambitions towards technology continue you to grow, our demands and wants for technology grow as well. It’s no wonder that many Millennials face problems with internet literacy. Everywhere we look, we’re told to head to the web. At some point in time, our mental capabilities have understood the words on the web might not be the truth, accurate or real. But why lead us to these lies then? If enough people read something and if enough people accepted it, isn’t it true, accurate and real? Or is it just great SEO at work.

The internet has also groomed the Millennials into a constant need for now, immediate and instantaneous thinking. Last week I read – and I can’t find the article itself – that 74% of consumers believe they should be responded to within 24 hours via social media for their questions, comments or concerms. Not only do Millennials expect an immediate response, this same mentality has been extended to many aspects of life.

It’s no wonder why when people are in social settings they’re concerned about checking their phones. They had that thought now. They want to have that conversation now. They want to see that now. How different everything was only 5 years ago when people didn’t want to pay for messaging and didn’t have access to online abilities. We all waited to meet up with each other. We all waited to get home to see what happened online. Waiting no longer exists. If it was up to us, we would’ve done it yesterday if we could. Even “now” is starting to feel slow.

And this is where it gets interesting. Millennials and all of us in fact have come to a point where expecting “now” is the bare minimum. All communication has to be as quick as a text. All information has to be available at a moments notice. Does this create problems? Of course it does. Not only does it change the way we mentally process everything, it creates a constant need for everything. Amongst many other issues.

From a consumerism standpoint, it begins to create gaps amongst the people. With adoption cycles beginning to pattern more like waves than a nice curve, we now begin to see divides due to affordability, technological necessity and want, and capability. These gaps create problems simply because you can’t reach everyone anymore. This will be the very reason why brands and companies will spend more on marketing and advertising than ever before. And the very reason, they’ll have to severely rethink their strategies. With all that, everyone still wants the same abilities that we’ve all been promised by technology.

The Outcome

The technological innovation during the time of the Millennials has not only defined them but it is something the Millennials helped define. It’s the good old “chicken and egg” dilemma. Regardless of your choice in the dilemma, I believe we’re approaching a time where technology itself will reach a plateau, again. Although technology itself has been experiencing tremendous innovation and advancement, frankly, it has delivered to Millennials what they’ve expected years ago. The things we want always seem to come years later. There’s things I’ve thought of that are hardly imaginable in the coming years – but maybe that’s just me.

Our ability to think of new ideas and pull them to the centre will slow, simply as a result that we have used many of these outlier thoughts in hopes of bettering our situations quickly in recent times. The wants of Millennials can hardly be met by technology. The outcome of this will see the continuing boom in social media and smart phones. Until there finally is a bust in the next decade. We can’t all be expected to “like” the 1000s of brands that exist and buy a new smart phone every year. Just as similarly, you can’t all be expected to reach us through every means available. That would be impossible. We all use technology differently. And we all experience levels of technology differently.

Our ambitions have created a series of technological promises that are both right and wrong at times, while at the same time we’re still encouraged to use them. Equally, these promises have taken Millennial wants to new heights. With all this going on, what did you expect from us? To be delayed, unresponsive, unwanting and simply sit back? Of course we were going to us it. And of course it was going to effect the Millennials. We can’t imagine a life without any of it. Imagine being without your phone for the night or a few days? Was there ever such a time?

As innovation is continually exhausted, as greater amounts of outlier ideas are dragged to the centre, as wants for “now” even grow further, maybe it shouldn’t have been a question of whether if the Millennials will out-run technology. Maybe it should’ve been a matter of technology keeping up the Millennials.

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