622: The Secret To Getting the Next Generation Excited To Work And Lead

My Business On Purpose

“Nobody wants to work anymore”...the problem is that has been said for well over 100 years now!

I saw a headline all the way back to 1894 declaring that “nobody wants to work anymore”. This is not a new problem.

If we’re not careful, our negativity will breed a culture where work is seen as…

• Cursed

• A means to an end

• As a lifeless 9 to 5, tryin’ to make a livin’

• Hallucinating that it’s 5 o’clock somewhere

• Something to “take and shove it”

• Just another Manic Monday

Work is deeper than that, more powerful than that

Work is an opportunity…

• Proverbs 12:11 - “A hard worker has plenty of food, but a person who chases fantasies has no sense.”

We say, “nobody wants to work anymore!”...when in reality they just don’t want to work for you because you are grumpy!

Instead, we need to build A CULTURE WHERE PEOPLE DO WISH TO DO HARD THINGS!

There will always be a mountain to climb in building a culture of intentionality within your business.

Business is hard…running a business is even harder.

Let’s stop pretending that our circumstance is unique…because business is hard, business can also be good.

So what is the mountain of our time?

Dr. Tim Elmore would argue that one primary element is the unprecedented generational diversity, we are experiencing because it is the number one topic that he is asked to speak on as a researcher of youth culture.

How do you mix the soil of culture so that it is rich enough to handle the diversity of generational seeds being planted? How do we mix that culture so that it makes the next generation…ALL generations, excited to work?

FIRST, WHAT IS CULTURE?

Culture is not a business term…it is a biology term

Culture is a Petri Dish: what goes in the dish is what grows out of the dish

• Good in…good out (give examples)

• Bad in…bad out (give examples)

The culture of your business is a DIRECT RESULT of the ingredients that you allow to enter the mash bill.

Here are 4 ingredients to mix in the cocktail of a healthy business culture that the next generation will be excited to work in…

1. FAM Time: Team Meeting

2. 1. Must have a means of communication (Imagine if the underwater cables were cut between the US and Europe?)

   2. 1. STORY: Story written by Capt. George O. Squier in an article for The National Geographic Magazine in Jan, 1901 said, “the submarine (cable) is a powerful instrument of war, more powerful, indeed, than battleships and cruisers, since by its wonderful and instantaneous, communications of thought, it brings distant countries (team members) and colonies (teams) together in sympathy, which is the only true and permanent tie.”

         1. A culture that is missing the nutrient of human connection

      2. When communication is choppy, infrequent, unpredictable, or limited …you have missed opportunities and Low Morale

         1. Thought, ideas, implementation, updating process, engagement

         2. Clarity, input, teamwork

         3. The opportunity for sympathy and empathy…which is the “only true and permanent tie”

      3. When communication is repetitious, predictable, and meaningful…you have →

The second thing that the next generation needs in order to work and lead?

2. GET “LIT”: Line-Item Training

3. 1. Every sports team, every military command has one thing in common…if they aren’t playing a game or fighting battle…they are practicing and preparing for one

      1. Your vacation policy?

      2. How to properly perform an electrical walk?

      3. How to post a bid schedule?

      4. How to job cost?

      5. How to identify an ideal client?

      6. How to properly dress?

   2. When was the last time you trained your team on…

3. Admit the “L”

4. 1. The hallmark leadership trait of the older generation is defined by…

   2. 1. Stuffy

      2. Know it all

      3. A “Chotch” - someone who is unpleasant to be around

      1. Find the Spotify playlist of someone younger than you and commit to listen

      2. 1. Eminem - lose yourself in the moment, you own it you never ever let it go

         2. Post Malone - I was patient, aye, oh, Now I can scream that we made it, Now everyone, everywhere I go, they say 'gratulations…I pick up the rock and I ball baby, I’m looking for someone to call baby, but right now I’ve got a situation…

   3. Start learning new things

   4. Self-deprecation goes a LOOOOOONG way among a younger culture

   5. ACTION → ask someone younger than you for their playlist, listen, and share what you heard

4. STAN the culture calendar

5. 1. “Stan” - be obsessed but not in a creepy way

The culture calendar is a business playsheet with scripted plays.

It is simple to build and will require you to think through a few different categories.

First, layout the months and dates by weeks at the top of your culture calendar.

Then, on the vertical column on the left hand side you will break this down into different categories. We recommend starting with weekly, monthly, quarterly, twice-annually, and annually.

In other words, what are the “business ingredients” you wish to make part of your culture each week, month, quarter, etc.

You don’t need to waste time and energy grumbling about how “nobody wants to work anymore”. They just don’t want to work for grumps…they want to give all they’ve got to a great culture by…

1. FAM Time: Team Meeting

2. GET “LIT”: Line-Item Training

3. Admit the “L”

4. STAN the culture calendar