Monday June 7 was the official launch event for Cheryl Cran's latest business book "101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work". 101 Ways rolled off the press a month earlier to strong media interest - click here for the Forbes magazine article - and booming sales.

Generations Expert Cheryl Cran was a guest on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory on June 2, sharing her insights into the Twilight phenomenon. A mother of 3 Gen Y'ers, and having read all four books, Cheryl knows exactly why the vampire series has struck such a chord. Click here to catch Cheryl's interview (Cheryl appears in Hour 1 of the mp3 download).

The Retail Industry Leaders Association held its 2010 Loss Prevention, Auditing and Safety Conference on May 3 in Grapevine, TX. Event organizers were thrilled with this year's record breaking attendance!

Imagine the year 2020 -

Generation X waits in line to benefit from boomer retirements

BY DEREK ABMA, CANWEST NEWS SERVICE 

APRIL 1, 2010

 

Bring on the labour shortage, some younger members of the work force might be thinking. Perhaps it will result in a future where companies are pursuing them for employment, offering generous sums of money, and giving them the chance to call their own shots on when they work, how they work and where they work.

"Many boomers still don't feel balanced, and that's because they continue to buy into this I've-got-to-work-hard thing," Cheryl Cran says. "Both Gen X and Y are saying, 'I'm not willing to put in the same hours you've put in to get those results. I want to get the results, and I'll get them, but I don't think I have to be at the office for 10 hours to get them.'"  

Continue reading the full article...

As the economy turns around we need to pay attention to how Gen Y communicates and how we Gen X or Zoomers can stay on top of the social media. A recent USA today article stated that as soon as the economy picks up there will be a mass exodus of unhappy Gen X and Gen Y employees.

Research states that more Gen Ys are looking for work through their social networks. They are also using social media to talk about their employers for good or bad. We need to be using social media to reach out to Gen Y but also to maintain a relationship.

Arby's Restaurants is a front runner in the fast food industry in marketing directly to the Gen Y market using Twitter and building personal relationships that translate to purchases. Gen Y is a unique market in that they buy product directly off of their PDAs...when I got my iPhone in December my daughter Courtney who is 21 downloaded an app for me called Shazam. Shazam is a song identifier - you hold up your iPhone to a song that is playing anywhere, in your car, at a restaurant or even at a live concert. Shazam identifies the song and the artist and then you can go directly to iTunes to buy the song which goes directly into your iPod play list on your iPhone.

Technology and social media hold great power in how we communicate - how can you leverage social media to promote your brand?

How can you use social media to maintain relationships and create dialogue?

How can you creatively use social media to attract employees? 

-from Cheryl Cran's weekly Tips, Trends and Leadership Gems blog. Click here to subscribe.

Cheryl's latest leadership blog takes aim at overreaching, overused cliches and reminds us that thinking big only works when we take practical steps to put our plans into action and initiate real change.

This week Cheryl Cran's Leadership Leadership Tips, Trends & Gems blog is about what the generations have in common, and you might find the answer surprising...

A recent study released by the Conference Board of Canada finds that Zoomers (boomers who refuse to age), Gen X and Y each hold inaccurate stereotypes about the others, and often these stereotypes are negative.

When the question posed to all generations was, "What to you want in the workplace?" the answers were remarkably similar. The list included respect, flexibility, fairness and the opportunity to do interesting and rewarding work. The report was based on a survey of 900 workers with even representation from each generation.

When Cheryl presents her interactive keynotes on the generations in the workplace, she focuses on how each generation can recognize the biases against the other generation and work to bridge the communication gap. The focus is to build 'positive' stereotypes about each of the generations so that we can focus on the strengths of each other and move forward to create more teamwork, more creativity and ultimately a more motivated work force.

Cheryl Cran, CSP works with top performing organizations as a keynote speaker, trainer and consultant on leadership and generations in the workplace.

Cheryl was honoured to be a part of this inaugural event held on November 21st. Just like the original TED, speakers were limited to 18 minutes and the roster was made up of thought leaders from many backgrounds including music, film, activism, business and technology. It was a dream audience of hip, environmentally conscious folks eager to take it all in.
Forever Young was the theme of the event, and Cheryl participated in the Emotionally Young segment, challenging the group with the question "Are you emotionally young regardless of your age?" She argued that Boomers need to become Zoomers (optimistic, engaged in their lives and communities, embracing technology) in order to evolve with the many changes upon them. Her remarks resonated with several Gen X and Y attendees who told her afterwards that they struggle at work with Boomer bosses and co-workers who seem reactive rather than progressive.
Click here for more details on Cheryl's keynote Leading Gen X, Y and the Zoomers in Turbulent Times.
And click here for the TEDx website - video footage of the event will be coming soon!