September 3rd, 2009
Having trouble with employees who just don’t seem to get the point during a conversation? It could be that they’re literally cueless, rendering them clueless. Thanks to instant communication completely reliant on electronic devices, a whole generation has grown up virtually blind to the non-verbal cues that deliver 93% of message content and impact [Mehrabian].
With the written word their dominant form of communication via text, blog, IM, email or other media, Millennials lack what is called silent fluency, the ability to detect and interpret facial expressions and tone of voice. As a result, they often miss the cue and miss the point of what is being said, or left unsaid.
One major contributing factor: Gen Yers are too busy checking iPhones to pay attention to a live speaker, schooled by years of interconnectivity to continuously surf for updates to the detriment of live activity.
What’s needed is a corporate etiquette and communications tutorial to get everyone on the same page, literally, and to fight the “continuous partial attention” syndrome that has disrupted the workplace.
Tags: communication, corporate life, email, etiquette, Gen Y, iPones, messages, Millennials, texting, training, tutorial
Posted in Big Ideas, News | 1 Comment »
August 20th, 2009
Have marketers finally recognized the purchasing power of women? Not yet, according to a new study from the Boston Consulting Group, which surveyed 12,000 women in 20 countries. The so-called “female economy” represents $5 trillion in incremental spending over the next few years, but marketers are doing a pretty poor job of serving these critical consumers.
According to the BCG, the best way to reach women is to follow the “4 Rs” model: recognize, research, respond, refine. Interestingly, study authors reference a unique phenomenon, a “value calculus” women use to evaluate any purchase based on what it delivers, how it performs, and how it makes them feel in addition to making comparisons with similar items. The female cost/value equation is fact-based, but tempered by emotional overtones related to how the product or service will impact relationships and the family unit.
One universal theme emerging from the report: timing is indeed everything. Study authors refer to the hunger for “agents of leverage” that will enable women to save, find, make, stretch and better utilize their time. Highlights of the BCG study can be found at http://www.bcg.com/publications/files/BCG_Women_Want_More_Aug_09.pdf
Women and men are not created equal when it comes to shopping, product evaluation and the purchase cycle. But of course, Prime Time Women author Marti Barletta had this figured out a long time ago. Her book does a deep dive into the mindset of Boomer women and the psycho/socio/ demographic factors that make them such a fascinating and important market segment. http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=35188
Tags: buying power, product evaluation, purchase cycle, shopping, spending, time, value calculus, women
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August 18th, 2009
Imploding mortgages.
Escalating tuitions.
Rising living expenses.
Impending job losses.
Surprising elder care costs.
Shocking medical bills.
Dwindling retirement savings.
Given this litany of life pressures, is it any wonder that Baby Boomers are seeking solace in the bottle? Not a good coping mechanism, just not a surprising one. A study just published in the American Journal of Psychiatry reported that 23% of men and 9% of women age 50-64 consumed at least five alcoholic beverages in a day during the previous month. More men admitted to binge drinking, while women proved better at hiding it.
Perhaps the time has come to dial back on personal commitments, and to ask dependents to ease the pressure by taking on some age-appropriate responsibilities. One great cost control technique—learning to differentiate between needs and wants. It’s an effective discipline that can be practiced with every purchase.
A note to President Obama et al: if you ever needed empirical evidence that stress management should be an essential element of any wellness or health program…this is it!
Tags: Baby Boomers, binge drinking, coping, health, stress
Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
July 3rd, 2009
What’s your big idea for addressing the aging crisis? We’ll be posing a series of questions about different aspects of aging and getting your Big Ideas about them. Share your solutions with us and we’ll make sure your voice and ideas get heard. It’s called “crowdsourcing” and uses the Web to harness the potential problem-solving power of millions.
Aging issues are many, severe and diverse. They range from the financial to the social to the physical and beyond. Aging issues are too many and too big for one person or one entity to address alone. But together, we can make a difference.
Watch this space! We’ll be posting one question a month on the Age Lessons web site in the hopes that the collective brainpower of the Internet will generate some innovative ideas and solutions. Get recognized for your great idea. See it posted. Listen for peer reaction. Watch others build on your concept for an even better solution.
Posted in Big Ideas | 2 Comments »
April 23rd, 2009
For those of us already struggling to maintain URLs, a MySpace page, a Facebook page, a Linked In page, multiple email accounts, multiple IM accounts and text messages, the emergence of Twitter in the blogosphere begs the question: What twit came up with the idea of tweets?
On the upside, with a 140 character message limit, we won’t be getting keyboard cramps. On the downside, what the heck do we post? If you’re interested in starting a cult, this is the place to find followers—literally. That’s what people who read your tweets are called.
But for us tentative tweeters, this is a really daunting issue. You want to be cool without trying too hard. You want to sound smart without sounding like a smart ass. You want to connect with like-minded folk without stalking them.
Who’s doing it Twitter style? Ashton Kutcher hit 1 million followers before CNN news did. Oprah Winfrey reached out to the Twitter universe for the first time this April. Although she launched with a faux pas…. apparently, the correct universal salutation is Dear Tweeple.
Twitter is a vehicle that perfectly reflects its time: fast, fleeting and frivolous. It’s a great tool if used among friends who actually care that Burger King forgot the onions or your new shoes hurt. The rest of us, not so much.
Twitter poses the question “What are you doing?” Before answering that, ask yourself the question “Why am I doing it?”
That said, if you’d like to follow me on Twitter try twitter.com/agelessons.
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April 23rd, 2009
Welcome to the first official Age Lessons blog. Thanks to lucky timing, we’re launching a blog addressing age-related issues across the generations on the heels of a recent YouTub phenomenon. The remarkable debut of talent show contestant Susan Boyle reinforces the truth of the bromide ”don’t judge a book by its cover” [or its age]. If ever there was a moving testimony to the triumph of talent over arbitrary criteria used by our society such as age or beauty, this is it.
SPOILER ALERT: if you aren’t familiar with Susan’s story, skip immediately to the video link below and view her appearance on the U.K. reality show Britain’s Got Talent before reading any further.
To outward appearances, Susan is the quintessential British spinster. Prim, proper, slightly dowdy and slightly disconnected from the world at large. The pre-performance screening questions from always-edgy judge Simon Cowell reveal that Susan is 47 going on 48, lives alone with her cats, and has ”never been kissed”. Her goal is to be as successful as musical theater star Elaine Paige. As the camera pans the audience, it captures reaction shots dominated by rude sniggers, sly asides and dramatic eye rolls at the audacity of a women at this age, in this outfit, with that accent, daring to dream so big.
And then, Susan sings.
The rest is YouTube history, registering the most successful viral campaign of the year with more than one hundred million hits in two days! If you’d like to see what the fuss is about, or re-visit her riveting performance, check out the link below.
Video Clip: Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent
Age Lesson Learned: Talent trumps all when it comes to hiring practices.
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