Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

One of the things that frustrates a friend of mine is that "taking the initiative" seems to be a lost art form in business anymore.  It seems that employees do only the bare minimum that they are required to do and never really make a contribution to change or make the process or product better.  Just once, instead of whining about things not getting done, he would like to have someone come in and ask "is there anything else you need me to do?"  Instead, they duck for cover behind their computers every time he (the boss) walks by.

This seems to be a lost art with retail, too.  I go to Lowes and get passed by 8 employees and not one of them asks if I need help.

Do you look for employees who aren`t afraid to offer advice and suggestions?  How do you find those people who are truly interested in helping your business grow and be the best it can be.  And, how do you reward them so that they feel compelled to keep offering more than the bare minimum?

~Kim

 

This actually is a huge issue under discussion in Human Resources departments of large enterprise corporations.

It seems to be breaking out by generations, with Baby Boomers, Gen-X (apparently 1960-1978), and Gen-Y (a.k.a. The Internet Generation) groupings. The only real demographic is the boomers, and "Gen-X" came into being as those who were in the following generation. Then Gen-Y are those who followed the Gen-X people.

One emerging trend in these three somewhat artificial groupings is work ethic, and "initiative" is part of that work ethic.

I did some presentations for an HR division in a global consulting company, not so long ago. In that presentation (yes, I actually read them), this idea of doing only just enough to get by is a primary problem to overcome....oh wait..."challenge" to overcome. :-)

Another is the utter lack of any sort of company loyalty or desire for long-term work situations. This leads to problems in succession and promotions. In my opinion, companies have done this to themselves, with all the lay-offs of the 80s and 90s, the outsourcing, and the "instant firing" we`re so familiar with. Who would believe they`re actually going to be with a company for 30 years anymore?

One suggestion as to that Gen-Y lack of interest, attention, and initiative is that it`s a result of the "sound byte" mentality of today`s news and entertainment. These young folks have grown up with the instant gratification mindset of Baby Boomers, as well as the super-fast access to anything via the Internet.

It also goes to the educational system, where in the past students had to actually do some research to write a paper. Now, those students either copy and paste off the Web, or copy an entire paper without even reading it.

We, as Baby Boomers, have created all this. It`s our lack of interest in long-range values, tradition, and absolutes. It`s our desire to have both parents working, and our superficial slogans to replace real thought. We`ve raised kids by sending them everywhere other than home, ignoring shortcuts, ending discipline, and buying into the ethical relativism of needle-point philosophers.

So yes, initiative is failing. But who`s to blame? We are.

Thank you, Craig.  That`s exactly what I would have said, too.  I was always one of those with initiative and, once my own workload was under control, I would take on new responsibilities from different departments and incorporate them into my routine.

I don`t believe kids are encouraged these days to be independent in ways that will benefit themselves and future employers.  Most are given everything they need at home without having to "earn" it, not realizing how hard mom and dad work for what they take for granted.

Mom and dad need to stop giving their kids electronic babysitters and develop some old-fashioned work ethics in them instead.

Just IMO.

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:-) The interesting problem is how to change the behavior of millions of moms and dads.

I used to work in HR at a department store.  If someone came in (ususally a teen) looking for an application and was dressed like they CARED, they got one.  If they came in in shorts, flip flops and a mumbly attitude, they were told "We aren`t hiring".  I saw a mother actually approach a produce manager at a grocery store about a job for her son.  She started with, "Are you hiring and how much would he get paid?"  The son just stood there in his "gangsta wear" staring at the floor.  When the produce manager said, "He would start at minimum wage", the kid said LOUDLY, "I ain`t working for no minimum wage" (nice English buddy).  To which his mother replied, "Yes, that sucks". 

In my neighborhood, there are plenty of teenage boys, but the lawns are being mowed by someone else.  My 10-year old son mows our lawn.  I figure that with the way we are raising our boys (respectful, clean cut and able to put on a decent outfit) that they will be CEO`s fresh out of college

Makes me really really sad.  It also makes me wonder how we (America) can keep moving forward with so much apathy and disrespect coupled with so much parental indulgence.

~Kim

What`s tragic and ironic at the same time is the never-ending importance put on "Respect" in the young communities. People get shot because they "dissed" some gang colors, or some other person, or some stupid reason. "Dis-respect" is the leading cause of murder in these crowds.

Yet not one of those people has a clue---not the slightest concept---of what respect actually means.