What I'm listening to right now: Amanda Blank. Here's a song to play when you're not at work.
Amanda is a white-girl rapper, darling of the hipsters, and hot-girl candy for the intelligentsia. Right up my alley, right? My favorite line so far is "My rhymes are painful and fresh/My p*ssy's tastin' the best."
Today, Ryan Healy [...]

A good manager is someone who makes everyone feel like he or she is creative in their work. Because creative work is the most fulfilling work, and we are each capable of that kind of work.
My favorite research on this topic is from John Mirowsky, professor of sociology at University of Texas, Austin.
Mirowsky finds that [...]

It’s great fun to track trends to try to figure out what the future holds. The Generation after Gen Y is a mystery. Sort of. There are some things we know. And what we know, we know doesn’t change much. For example, people thought Gen Y’s sunny optimism would die down under the ardors of [...]

I do a lot of public speaking, mostly on the topic of how to bridge generational differences in the workplace. And I field tons of questions from corporate audiences. Here are four of the most common questions:
How can you tell if a member of Gen Y hates his or her boss?
You can’t. This is a [...]

There are a lot of rules for first-time managers. For example, never hold a meeting without an agenda, because if you don't know what you're going to do there, then no one else will know what you're doing, either. But the rule about agendas is a great example, because, like most rules for good [...]

Since today's job market is employee-driven, many candidates are fielding more than one or two offers at a time, and at this point, maybe it's the employers who need the advice on how to attract the employees, instead of the other way around.
There is lots of chatter about how resumes are on their way out. [...]

We all know that we need to be good at delegating in order to have any traction in our careers. We need to be able to learn how to do something and then teach someone else how to do it, so that we can move on and learn how to do something new. This is [...]

By Ryan Healy – As much as I enjoy the company of my supervisors and consider many of them my friends, we still work in a professional environment and they are a step above me on the food chain. So I watch what comes out of my mouth around higher level co-workers, but [...]

By Ryan Healy – According to adults the world works in a centralized, hierarchical structure and that's the way it will always be. They say young people will eventually adapt and accept things for how they are, despite the fact that decentralized websites and organizations have defined our childhood and early adult years.
I don't [...]

After a week of posts about generational conflict, you'll be happy to hear that Alexandra Levit is a professional bridge builder (and blogger at Water Cooler Wisdom). Leaders in the Fortune 500 call her when they can't cope with young people anymore. She teaches people how to stop annoying each other by gaining a better understanding of generational differences.
Deloitte has a [...]

What's the point of baby boomers complaining about Generation Y at work? First of all, it's a cliché, because people over 40 have been complaining about "young people" since forever.
Even worse, it's a losing battle. Generation Y is huge. It's one thing for boomers to verbally squash Generation X — that was no problem. Gen [...]

When I discovered Deloitte has someone in charge of figuring out how to recruit and retain the new workforce, I knew I had to talk with him. It's Stan Smith, and his title is Director of Next Generation Initiatives. I was amazed to hear how forward thinking he is in an industry known for being [...]

Companies are having a hard time recruiting and retaining young talent, and as a result are accommodating what would have once been considered extreme demands. "The scales have tipped in favor of knowledge workers, creating a seller's market for the next 5 to 10 years," writes to Stan Smith, National Director of Next Generation Initiatives [...]

With 85 million baby boomers and 50 million Gen Xers, there is already a yawning generation gap among American workers–particularly in their ideas of work-life balance. For baby boomers, it's the juggling act between job and family. For Gen X, it means moving in and out of the workforce to accommodate kids and outside interests. [...]

When young people talk about wanting faster promotions or higher salaries, it's a red herring. What young people really want at work is opportunity for personal growth, but they're scared that you won't be able to give that to them, so they ask for a promotion instead. The problem is that a title change and [...]

Have you read Bob Sutton's book The No Asshole Rule? It's a great book because it is the harbinger of two trends that I care a lot about.
First, this book is the first business book we can definitively say that the bloggers made a bestseller. Offline bookstores wouldn't carry it because of the A word. [...]

Think twice before you ask for that promotion. What are you asking for, really? The average salary increase is less than 4%. This amount of money is not going to change your life in any notable way. Instead, ask for something that will change your life, like training, or a plum project that will broaden your skills.
Even [...]

By Ryan Healy — College taught me the true meaning of independence. I attended classes when I chose, I studied at my convenience, I partied at my leisure and I relaxed when I needed to relax. You would assume that since I am now an "adult," I would at least have this same [...]

By Ryan Healy — I recently received an email from career coach and corporate consultant, J.T O'Donnell. She attached a link to a new e-learning course that she gives to young employees, and she asked for my input. For days, I debated how to respond. Eventually, I replied and told her that I [...]

By Ryan Healy – I want to work, I want to grow and I want to learn. What I'd really like is challenging, fascinating projects and the perfect mentor. The typical entry-level job doesn't always allow this to happen.  Below are a few simple ways to keep me interested and motivated.
1. Be Spontaneous
You don't have to [...]