Y-Size Your Business

How Gen Y Employees Can Save You Money and Grow Your Business

Wiley, 2009

15 min read

10 take-aways

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Generation Yers can become great employees.

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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, born in 1984, is perhaps the ultimate member of Generation Y: people born between 1977 and 1995. Nearly 80 million strong in the US, Gen Yers – also known as Millennials, Echo Boomers and Net Gens – are joining the workforce in huge numbers. Whatever you call them, you have to understand Gen Yers as employees and as consumers. In his eye-opening report on how to adapt – or “Y-Size” – your firm, Jason Ryan Dorsey, a Millennial and a consultant known as the “Gen Y Guy,” describes his peers, covering what they want, how they think, and why they are narcissistic, entitled, blunt, fearless, optimistic, high-maintenance, high-performing and confident. While he may paint with a broad brush, he creates a multifaceted portrait. To recruit, retain and engage Gen Yers, and to mitigate conflict between them and the other three generations in your workplace, getAbstract recommends Dorsey’s information to all managers seeking perspective about the generations now in the workplace.

Summary

Generation Y

Gen Yers often drive older generations nuts. Their bright hair colors, tattoos, body piercings and relaxed dress styles turn off many managers. Gen Y workers arrive at the office late and spend too much time talking on their cellphones, listening to their iPods and surfing the web.

Simultaneously, Millennials also impress their managers and older colleagues with their idealism, optimism and entrepreneurial brio. Savvy management is critical to preserving harmony among the four generations now crowding into your workplace:

“Matures: born pre-1946” – Also known as the Traditionalists, they have a strong connection to the military; many are veterans. They want to do good work. Traditionalists do not require immediate gratification. Gen Yers trust Traditionalists more than any other colleagues not from their own generation.
“Baby boomers: born 1946 to 1964” – These hard workers – indeed, workaholics – arrive at work early and leave late. They measure their career commitment by the number of hours they spend in the office, and telecommuting doesn’t count. Boomers paid their dues and expect Gen Yers to do ...

About the Author

Jason Ryan Dorsey, a Millennial known as the “Gen Y Guy,” is an entrepreneur and author. He wrote his first book, Graduate to Your Perfect Job, at the age of 18.

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C. S. 1 decade ago

This book is clearly written by somebody who is not a Gen Y and does not respect them. I find some of the comments patronizing, negative and ageist. "Having to stress that 'good enough' is unacceptable and that they must always go all-out to do their best work" – this is the complete opposite to my experience, in that Gen Y’s need to understand that ‘good enough’ is OK in some circumstances and not every project has to be gold standard.
Some of the suggestions are useful i.e. Develop a project-based internship program that offers more than shuffling paper. Give interns real responsibilities for actual projects. However I’m concerned this book will do more damage than good when advising people how to view the Gen Y population. As an official ‘Gen Yer’ – I’m completely turned off, and that is because I feel judged and underestimated.

Jason Ryan Dorsey