Workplace | Kontrary by Rebecca Thorman – Careers, Business, and Life Advice

Are Meetings Passé?

by Rebecca Thorman on August 2329 Comments

Meetings are a dying breed of face-to-face engagement that have taken on more angst, agony and abuse in recent years than even the lowly cubicle.

“There’s nothing more toxic to productivity than a meeting,” Jason Fried argues, author of the best-selling book, Rework, “They break your work day into small, incoherent pieces that disrupt your natural workflow. They often contain at least one moron that inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone’s time with nonsense… The goal is to avoid meetings. Every minute you avoid spending in a meeting is a minute you can get real work done instead.”

Did you get that?

Re-Thinking Workaholism

by Rebecca Thorman on March 2342 Comments

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“Work is the only thing which makes life endurable to me,” Charles Darwin wrote, later remarking that work was his “sole enjoyment in life.” Darwin’s work allowed him to withdraw from the world to concentrate entirely on his genius.

Burying yourself in work is so ingrained and glorified in our culture to survive, that nowhere is safe, even the previously safe haunts of creativity where the tradition of daydreaming and an idle nature were once protected rights. Such inefficiencies are now subject to intense bright-lights examination.

One ad agency describes the process they went through to obtain ISO 5000, a certification previously reserved only for factory lines and manufacturing.

What’s wrong with the workplace – and what’s next

by Rebecca Thorman on September 0920 Comments

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By all accounts, the current state of work is good. Flexible schedules are beginning a workplace transformation. Hierarchal structures are being dismantled, replaced with decentralized team-oriented organizations. Rewards are no longer exclusively linked to extrinsic motivations like salary or titles, but to projects that make us feel good and do good for the planet.

Fresh-faced workers are responding in kind with idealism, strong ethics, and bright-eyed expectations to change the world. With energy and impatience to do something that matters. Even in the recession, we shine to thrive.

And it is from such high hopes that we discover such low realities.

Why Generation Y should job-hop, even in the recession

by Rebecca Thorman on January 0759 Comments

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There’s buzz in the media that Generation Y is finally being put in our place. The recession won’t play favorites and Gen Y will see just what Gen X and the Boomers have been talking about. Besides this being ridiculously sad – honestly, are we really a society that beats down optimism? – it’s also completely erroneous.

The Economist reports that “the touchy-feely management fads that always spring up in years of plenty (remember the guff about ‘the search for meaning’ and ‘the importance of brand me’) are being ditched in favor of more brutal command-and-control methods.” (h/t The Schiff Report)

Except companies that operate according to the latest trend and resort to command-and-control methods are neither Gen Y-friendly, nor anyone-friendly.

Gen Y women – out of the workplace woods?

by Rebecca Thorman on March 2545 Comments

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Here’s the thing. I work with a lot of men. During phone calls, I speak with men. For meetings, I sit down with men. At networking events, more men walk in the door than women. In particular, at entrepreneurial events there are lots and lots of men, and just one or two women.

And guess what? I could care less.

Sort of. Because not immediately, but always eventually I notice there are fewer women than men in my life. And then, inevitably, I feel that it’s necessary to say something like, “Where are my women at?” I don’t know why such words fly out of my mouth because I feel comfortable around these men.

Back Off: Gen Y’s helicopter parents are a good thing

by Rebecca Thorman on March 1040 Comments

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On the third round of interviews for my current job, my interviewer was a Boomer whose opinion as the head of a similar and larger organization was valuable to my future Board.

After talking about Gen Y leadership, in which I blatantly quoted my blog to close the deal, she asked me what I would do if I witnessed unethical behavior.

“I would investigate to see if it was really unethical behavior,” I said, “or if I was misunderstanding the situation.”

It was the perfect answer for a business that loves gossip, but doesn’t like to make waves.

Then out of nowhere I felt compelled to add, “And I would probably call my mom and ask her advice.”

My interviewer smiled.

Generation Y is the ER doctor of generations

by Rebecca Thorman on March 0429 Comments

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At the bottom of the hospital hierarchy are ER doctors.

I know this because straight out of college I dated two med-students back to back. Also, Belle’s boyfriend is a neurosurgery resident. He never lets me forget it. Which is fine because I’m not the one who thinks that great veins are a turn on.

An emergency room is open twenty-four hours a day, and responds to everything that comes in. ER doctors have no specialization. They know a little about everything, and so they also know nothing.

Generation Y is the ER doctor of generations.

We’re doing pretty darn good.

Three ways to build credibility as a 20-something

by Rebecca Thorman on February 2926 Comments

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This post was originally published at Qvisory.

As a twenty-something in the workforce, you will be questioned time after time. Here are three ways to build credibility:

1. Develop skills that travel.

Most likely, you’ll change jobs 6-8 times before your thirty. You need to develop a set of talents that will travel with you from job to job. Career coaches call these transferable skill sets (e.g. communication, interpersonal, and management skills). Essentially, the skills you’ve been developing since grade school. Consistently developing these abilities will not only open the door to any job you want, but will make you successful wherever you go.

Helping your career when you’re not middle class

by Rebecca Thorman on December 1941 Comments

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I want to respond to the latest post at Employee Evolution, as I’ve done in the past here. This time, Ryan Healy writes on ways your family can help you with your career. Here’s my take:

I didn’t grow up in upper or middle class, nor did I grow up in poverty.

But a large part of my childhood was being raised in the ghetto of my town by my single mother. People are incredulous when I tell them this.

“Do you even know what the ghetto is, Rebecca?” they ask.

My babysitter acted as my second mother and the neighborhood protector.

7 concessions and a challenge to the Gen-Y naysayers

by Rebecca Thorman on August 2241 Comments

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Cynics have decided that I’m a “Gen-Y Princess” floating oblivious amongst the clouds, here and here.

More specifically, that I’m a high-maintenance spoiled brat. But who’s counting.

I appreciate criticism, even if it’s lackluster on the constructive side. I want this blog to recognize and appreciate the foundation that previous generations have laid and build upon it. To greatness. I want it to be about dialogue and community. And kicking some major butt. This includes realizing when I haven’t given the full picture. Here are seven concessions to the Gen-Y naysayers:

1) Gen-Y will fail. Miserably. We won’t change the world straight away.

How video games can show us how to engage Generation Y (or anyone)

by Rebecca Thorman on August 0722 Comments

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Full disclosure and necessary reminiscing: I grew up with a second-hand Nintendo (shout out to my pals Mario Bros. and Legend of Zelda). Before that I played on a second-hand Atari (Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, you rock my world), and before that a really large second-hand computer filled the corner in my bedroom (Tetris- did life exist before you?). These days, I don’t play many video or computer games, but the ones that I occasionally happen upon are pretty cool, like this one, a modern day Pong/Tetris mashup addiction.

Here’s how video games can show companies, nonprofits, and others how to keep young talent engaged:

Give us a BIG challenge… Video games are not easy.

Three workplace weaknesses that are really Gen Y strengths

by Rebecca Thorman on August 0623 Comments

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When asked in an interview, “What do you think are your greatest strengths? Weaknesses?,” I always find it difficult to answer because I feel my strengths and weaknesses are intrinsically linked. Generation Y has three such instances where our perceived weakness are really our strengths:

1) Selfishly entitled. Guilty. Generation Y believes that we deserve everything the world has to offer. And we do. Paying dues when we enter the workforce is a joke. Not only have we already paid dues in high school by working harder to advance our standing in college, but we then work even harder in college to get ahead once we dive into the real world.