Friday, December 23, 2016

5 Things You Should Be Doing After Work, That Can Change Your Life!


You finish work at 6 pm, go to bed at 12 midnight.
Within these six hours, how do you spend them?
Watching TV?
In fact, the activities you do between 6 am and 12 midnight,
the importance of it is beyond your imagination.
Too many people believe that,
your career is determined by the 8 hours of hard work and effort you put at work,
and your future and career progression depend on the boss and the company.
But the reality is that for most people, this thing, you are on your own…..

Read on…

“Cultivation”, it’s forever dependent by yourself.
If you found yourself not progressing in life,
you cannot blame and put the responsibility on your company for not grooming you.

1. What you do every night is important
My major in college was marketing, but I expect to become a designer.
So I practiced day and night,
picking up some freelance work to improve my design skills.
It took me a long time.
When I became a boss, I no longer need to involve myself in design work,
So I went back to the Marketing field.
Every day, when my children are sleeping,
I began learning to gain more knowledge, this again took me a long time,
But I begin to realise my returns.

If I rely on my working hours to gain skills,
then I will never have become a creative director and a product manager,
or like today, teaching MBA students on Marketing.
What I rely on, is myself giving myself “lessons”.
And the most successful people I knew, walked the same path as I am.
I have a friend who is a History graduate,
but he is interested in technical sales,
In the day, he does telemarketing, at night he learns how to code,
Finally, he became the vice president of sales in a startup company.
Now, he’s a CTO.
I have another friend, he received a degree in political science.
But he’s very interested in entrepreneurship.
he learnt a lot of knowledge on how to start up a company,
eventually, he founded a company and sold it,
Now he has reaped the rewards.

For them, what they do between 6 pm till 12 midnight,
is what determined their future.
Clearly, we need to balance life and work.
If you have a wife and children, every night, you have to stay with them.
Even if you are single, you also need a reasonable allocation of time to go to the gym, to meet with friends, or be alone to meditate and so on.
Of course, watching movies, playing games is good.
But there are things you do not need to do.
For example, watching the new season of a Netflix drama,
14 hours per week watching television (This is the average amount of time watching television).

The time spent playing the game Candy Crush.

Or spending time stalking your high school alumni on Facebook,
it does not seem to be good.
So what should you do?

2. Read more, anything will do!
My college mentor was born in Alabama,
A poor African family.
He was admitted to West Point Military Academy, and he became the first person in the family to go college.
Before going to Havard for his MBA, he’s a trained officer.
When I met him, he has already developed his career in the city of Colorado Springs.

I asked him, what’s his biggest success?
He replied, because he kept the habit of reading,
and he never stopped.
He believed that if you want to get what you want in life,
knowledge is the key.
He often asked his interviewees what book are they reading now,
the excellent ones can give an answer immediately.
Reading can give you a good headstart,
this is often what your peers cannot obtain.
Compared to others,
you are more likely to know other industries strategies and tactics,
and that may be helpful to your company.

You can transfer your knowledge within the organization,
create new possibilities for your company.
Moreover, your conversation topics will become more interesting.

Anthony Robbins said:
“If you spend one hour a day to learn about a topic,
a year later, in this regard,
the knowledge you gain will be more than 99.999% of the world’s people.”
Even if you have 30 minutes every night,
each week you can easily read a book.
You may not be an expert, but I promise,
you’ll know more than what your peers know.

3. Do some projects
You can apply the knowledge learnt to real work scenario,
this is only an ideal state.
If your company did not give you this opportunity,
create opportunities for yourself.
You can do some volunteer projects. They can bring you fame.
Working with a team,
you’ll understand how things work.
In the practical application of the industry,
and how it ultimately affect actual customers.
You’ll learn how to perform the task and meet deadlines,
and get feedbacks on what you are doing,
and benefit from it.

When you are not strong enough, these experience may not have any value to you.
But you are still a novice.
these experiences are far more valuable than the miserable pay you are getting.
If you can really convince others of your pockets of fruits of labour,
Then go try it. But do not let these private jobs affect your work.

4. Actively build your connections
In your career path,
a strong network of connections will make everything accelerate.
If you have not set up your own personal connections,
you’ll need to divide a portion of your time to do this.
A strong network of relationships, can enable you:
  • contact smart friends, and learn their opinions
  • get information and knowledge that are difficult to obtain
  • help the company look for more potential partners
  • or income generating opportunities
Go get to know your work colleague or boss…..

If you are an entrepreneur,
your network connections will be your early customers,
your staffs are a source of capital
rather than go home, or going to a bar,
you should find some inner circles.
There are many small groups which are highly relevant to your career.
You should try to integrate into these circles.
Every week, you can drink coffee together with new friends,
go drinking or have breakfast.

You can also look into everyone’s career developments on LinkedIn.
And establish a network with mentors in those professional industries.
They may be your next job employer, who knows?
Your connections will be your most powerful asset in the workplace.
Since you have time to watch “The Voice of China”,
you have time to build a social network.

5. The CHANGE of your LIFE starts TONIGHT
6 pm to 12 am, you go home, though physically and mentally tired,
you are free to do anything and do not have to take orders from others.
During this time,
you can switch off like switching off your computer at your workplace, switch off your brain.
But you can also do something,
make you smarter, stronger, have a wider network of people.


Become the best version of yourself that you want to be. 

Thursday, December 8, 2016

What Can You Get From Outsourcing Your IT?



IT outsourcing is beneficial in a number of ways, cost reduction and improved focus being the most important of them all. Companies use outsourcing as a tool to gain specialization that they don’t have in house and to strengthen the specialization that exists in house.
Outsourcing eliminates the cost of hiring employees and the cost associated with them, such as training, health insurance, employment taxes, retirement plans, etc. It unburdens you from a lot of work and unshackles your mind to concentrate in other important and core activities of your business. The company can work towards the main goal of the business rather than divert its attention on other less important activities which outsourcing can take care of. Outsourcing information technology to a firm that specializes in your field ensures your progress and prosperity; collective effort and the experience and expertise of the firm you’ve outsourced your Information technology to, fills all the possible loopholes.
You must make sure that all the outsourced IT providers have professional degrees and certifications and a proper industry training. When a team of IT professionals works towards your goal, their collective expertise and genius can never disappoint you. They provide you with new and innovative ideas and strategies that are required to survive market fluctuations.
Internal resources will give their hundred percent to their job when work load will be less and work will be distributed according to talent. This can improve productivity and progress as every employee will do only the job that best suits him. This way outsourcing influences your internal work environment and helps you make the best use of your talented employees. Speedy delivery of output is inevitable when specialization and correct division of work takes place. You can easily hold an upper hand in the market if you are able to deliver before your competitors.
Professional outsourced IT providers have enough experience and expertise to know what is best for your company. They have the knowledge of the best possible solutions in their industry, therefore, you never run the risk of committing costly business blunders. IT professionals enhance your growth and strengthen your foundation to stand in the global market.
Companies began to implement the method of outsourcing as a cost cutting tool, but with time outsourcing has proved to be a successful tool in several other ways as well. It was considered economical and non-risky, until companies all around the globe realized its other benefits like speedy delivery of output, specialization, new ideas and innovations, etc. which are intrinsically present in the whole concept of outsourcing.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

8 Habits of Successful People



You know what they say about opinions—everybody has one. If you want to see that truth in action, just Google “characteristics of successful people.” Some of the results will undoubtedly point to the famous Marshmallow Study at Stanford, which demonstrated that the ability to delay gratification is a key component of success.
But that’s far from the only theory:
  1. According to Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, it all comes down to mindset. She conducted a series of experiments that demonstrated that, while the average person sees their abilities as fixed assets, successful people have, what she calls, a “growth mindset.” In other words, successful people focus on self-improvement and overcoming challenges rather than seeing their mistakes as the products of insurmountable personal flaws.
  2. In another study conducted by Penn State and Duke, researchers assessed the social skills of 700 kindergartners. Twenty years later, they followed up and discovered a strong correlation between social skills and success. The children with the best social skills were more likely to have earned a college degree and to hold a full-time job, while the kids who struggled with social skills in kindergarten were more likely to get arrested, binge drink, and apply for public housing.
And the list goes on and on. So, what is happening here? Why are there so many different theories, complete with the science to back them up, about the traits that contribute to success? I think it’s because most wildly successful people are complex—so complex that many of their defining qualities are paradoxical.
Rather than an “either/or” set of static characteristics, they’re more likely to demonstrate both. This is a key to their success. Here are some examples of what I’m referring to.
1. They’re polite, yet completely unafraid to rock the boat. Successful people are, what I like to call, “graciously disruptive.” They’re never satisfied with the status quo. They’re the ones who constantly ask, “What if?” and “Why not?” They’re not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, yet they don’t disrupt things for the sake of being disruptive; they do it to make things better. Still, they’re polite and considerate, and they don’t draw attention to other people’s mistakes just to humiliate them. However, that doesn’t mean they sit back and let people wander off in the wrong direction. They won’t hesitate to speak up when it’s time to change course.
2. They’re deeply passionate, yet rational and objective about their work. Successful people are passionate about their work, but they don’t let it skew their thinking. They have the ability to step back and look at their work with a critical eye and to accept their mistakes. If it’s a disaster, they’ll admit it, because they realize that it’s better to try something different than to put out something subpar with their name on it. That sense of detachment also allows them to accept feedback from others without taking it personally.
3. They’re convergent and divergent thinkers. Convergent thinking is what’s measured by IQ tests: rational thinking that typically results in a single right answer. Divergent thinking, on the other hand, is less precise. It’s about generating ideas and asking questions that have no solid right or wrong answers. Both are important. No matter how high your IQ is, you’re not going to be successful if you can’t think outside of the proverbial box. On the other hand, you need rational thinking skills to correctly judge whether your ideas have merit. That’s why this particular paradox is so important.
4. They’re both energetic and calm. Successful people seem to have limitless energy when it comes to doing the things they’re passionate about, but they aren’t frantic. They can keep that energy under control. They work hard and focus on the task at hand with devoted concentration, but they’re so smooth that they make it look both easy and fun. Some people are so energetic that they’re hyperactive and unfocused and constantly bouncing from one thing to another. Successful people know how to harness their energy so that it works in the service of progress and doesn’t undermine it.
5. They like to work and play. Successful people personify the often-repeated quote, “Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Because they love what they do, they find brainstorming, problem-solving, and grinding out tough projects thought-provoking, engaging, and deeply satisfying. And though they take their work very seriously, the enjoyment and gratification they derive from it blurs the common demarcation between work and play.
6. They’re ambiverts. Successful people are comfortable acting in ways that amplify their introversion and extraversion, depending on what the situation calls for. They can sit in the back of a conference room and silently listen to what’s going on, or they can go up on stage, grab a microphone, and engage a huge crowd—and they look just as comfortable doing one as they do the other.
7. They’re naïve and smart. No one would argue that intelligence isn’t an important part of success, but many successful people also have a childlike lack of awareness (or maybe it’s a lack of respect) for the type of constraints that other people blindly accept. They’re not limited by what other people tell them is possible.
8. They’re both humble and proud. Taking pride in your work is absolutely essential for success, but successful people know they wouldn’t be where they are without the people who came before them and those they’ve worked with along the way. They know that they didn’t achieve their success all on their own, and because they’re OK with that, they don’t have anything to prove. That’s why so many incredibly successful people end up coming across as grounded and humble when you meet them in person.
Bringing It All Together
The reason that there are so many different opinions on what traits are necessary for success—and the reason that so many of them contradict each other—is that successful people are complex. They have a wide variety of paradoxical skills that they call upon as needed, like a mechanic with a well-stocked toolbox.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Bad Habits You Must Get Rid of from Your Daily Routine

10 Bad Habits You Must Eliminate from Your Daily Routine

You are the sum of your habits. When you allow bad habits to take over, they dramatically impede your path to success. The challenge is bad habits are insidious, creeping up on you slowly until you don’t even notice the damage they’re causing.
“Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”   –Warren Buffett

Breaking bad habits requires self-control—and lots of it. Research indicates that it’s worth the effort, as self-control has huge implications for success.
University of Pennsylvania psychologists Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman conducted a study where they measured college students’ IQ scores and levels of self-control upon entering university. Four years later, they looked at the students’ grade point averages (GPA) and found that self-control was twice as important as IQ in earning a high GPA.
The self-control required to develop good habits (and stop bad ones) also serves as the foundation for a strong work ethic and high productivity. Self-control is like a muscle—to build it up you need to exercise it. Practice flexing your self-control muscle by breaking the following bad habits:
1. Using your phone, tablet, or computer in bed. This is a big one that most people don’t even realize harms their sleep and productivity. Short-wavelength blue light plays an important role in your mood, energy level, and sleep quality. In the morning, sunlight contains high concentrations of this blue light. When your eyes are exposed to it directly, the blue light halts production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and makes you feel more alert. In the afternoon, the sun’s rays lose their blue light, which allows your body to produce melatonin and start making you sleepy. By the evening, your brain doesn’t expect any blue light exposure and is very sensitive to it.
Most of our favorite evening devices—laptops, tablets, and mobile phones—emit short-wavelength blue light brightly and right in your face. This exposure impairs melatonin production and interferes with your ability to fall asleep as well as with the quality of your sleep once you do nod off. As we’ve all experienced, a poor night’s sleep has disastrous effects. The best thing you can do is to avoid these devices after dinner (television is OK for most people as long as they sit far enough away from the set).
2. Impulsively surfing the Internet. It takes you 15 consecutive minutes of focus before you can fully engage in a task. Once you do, you fall into a euphoric state of increased productivity called flow. Research shows that people in a flow state are five times more productive than they otherwise would be. When you click out of your work because you get an itch to check the news, Facebook, a sport’s score, or what have you, this pulls you out of flow. This means you have to go through another 15 minutes of continuous focus to reenter the flow state. Click in and out of your work enough times, and you can go through an entire day without experiencing flow.
3. Checking your phone during a conversation. Nothing turns people off like a mid-conversation text message or even a quick glance at your phone. When you commit to a conversation, focus all your energy on the conversation. You will find that conversations are more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.
4. Using multiple notifications. Multiple notifications are a productivity nightmare. Studies have shown that hopping on your phone and e-mail every time they ping for your attention causes your productivity to plummet. Getting notified every time a message drops onto your phone or an e-mail arrives in your inbox might feel productive, but it isn’t. Instead of working at the whim of your notifications, pool all your e-mails/texts and check them at designated times (e.g., respond to your e-mails every hour). This is a proven, productive way to work.
5. Saying “yes” when you should say “no.” Research conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout, and even depression, all of which erode self-control. Saying no is indeed a major self-control challenge for many people. “No” is a powerful word that you should not be afraid to wield. When it’s time to say no, emotionally intelligent people avoid phrases like “I don’t think I can” or “I’m not certain.” Saying no to a new commitment honors your existing commitments and gives you the opportunity to successfully fulfill them. Just remind yourself that saying no is an act of self-control now that will increase your future self-control by preventing the negative effects of over commitment.
6. Thinking about toxic people. There are always going to be toxic people who have a way of getting under your skin and staying there. Each time you find yourself thinking about a coworker or person who makes your blood boil, practice being grateful for someone else in your life instead. There are plenty of people out there who deserve your attention, and the last thing you want to do is think about the people who don’t matter when there are people who do.
7. Multitasking during meetings. You should never give anything half of your attention, especially meetings. If a meeting isn’t worth your full attention, then you shouldn’t be attending it in the first place; and if the meeting is worth your full attention, then you need to get everything you can out of it. Multitasking during meetings hurts you by creating the impression that you believe you are more important than everyone else.
8. Gossiping. Gossipers derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes. It might be fun to peer into somebody else’s personal or professional faux pas at first, but over time, it gets tiring, makes you feel gross, and hurts other people. There are too many positives out there and too much to learn from interesting people to waste your time talking about the misfortune of others.
“Great minds discuss ideas, average ones discuss events, and small minds discuss people.”   –Eleanor Roosevelt

9. Waiting to act until you know you’ll succeed. Most writers spend countless hours brainstorming their characters and plots, and they even write page after page that they know they’ll never include in the books. They do this because they know that ideas need time to develop. We tend to freeze up when it’s time to get started because we know that our ideas aren’t perfect and that what we produce might not be any good. But how can you ever produce something great if you don’t get started and give your ideas time to evolve? Author Jodi Picoult summarized the importance of avoiding perfectionism perfectly: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.”
10. Comparing yourself to other people. When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to others, you are no longer the master of your own happiness. When you feel good about something that you’ve done, don’t allow anyone’s opinions or accomplishments take that away from you. While it’s impossible to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to compare yourself to others, and you can always take people’s opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain—you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.
Bringing It All Together
By practicing self-control to break these bad habits, you can simultaneously strengthen your self-control muscle and abolish nasty habits that have the power to bring your career to a grinding halt.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

6 Things No One Tells You About No Shave November

When you think of November, election season and Thanksgiving typically come to mind. This November there are bigger things to be concerned with other than who to vote for or what dishes to make for the big feast. To shave, or not to shave. It’s an important decision.
If you find yourself asking “What is no shave November for?” or “What does no shave November support?” you might want to do some research before shaving your face. The decision to shave or to not shave is a crucial one. So before you let your beard get a little native and type November No Shave in your calendar, you should take a look at the facts first.

What is No Shave November?

This is when guys all across the country drop their razors for an entire month until December 1st rolls around. Some men view it as a competition to see who grows the best beard and others do it truly to support the cause.

Meaning of No Shave November

At some point in the last couple of years you have probably heard of “no shave November”. The whole purpose of no shave November is not to let your beards grow crazy, but to raise awareness for different kinds of cancer including prostate cancer. The goal is to donate the money you normally would use to get a haircut or groom your facial hair to St. Jude or other cancer research charities.
This is a great tradition but the real no shave November meaning and significance often gets lost among all of the jokes, hashtags and hype created by the media. Many men don’t even realize why they do it. Some use it as an excuse to not shave for a whole month. Although the no shave November cause of cancer is a great cause to support, there are other alternative ways to show your support.

No Shave November Origin

So, how did no shave November start? No Shave November started after a father in Chicago passed away from colon cancer. His 8 sons and daughters started this campaign in 2009 in honor of their father. Over 6 years this became a popular thing to do among many throughout the country.
There are a lot of things that people don’t tell you before you decide to participate in this official month of no shaving. From trends to setbacks and to just straight opinions. Even if you like facial hair on a guy, or as a guy it only goes to a certain point. No one likes beards or mustaches that look unkept. Many girls like a man with a well groomed beard, but if you happen to be one who doesn’t, chances are “No Shave November” is not your month.

So What Don’t They Tell You About No Shave November?

1. Not Everyone Can Pull Off or Grow Facial Hair

What about those people who can’t really grow facial hair? If you fall into this category you might already be disappointed that you can’t produce a macho beard. The disappointments will only continue when No Shave November comes around. We hate to break it to you, but no one wants to see a man that can only grow patches of uneven gross facial hair.

no-shave-november-reality
Let’s face it; not everyone looks good with a beard. They might not have the face shape or personality for a beard. Sure there is Movember where those who prefer to have a mustache instead of a beard can participate, but not everyone looks good with facial hair, PERIOD. For most women facial hair is only considered attractive when it is well kept and groomed and with No Shave November, that is not the case.

2. Hipster Beards Aren’t “In”

For the longest time every man’s goal was to rock the hipster beard. You couldn’t go to a trendy coffee shop or hip restaurant without becoming lost in a crowd of wannabe lumberjacks. We don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s just not cool anymore. The time for hipster beards is long gone.

3. Not Everyone Can Participate


no-shave-november-job
Some jobs frown upon facial hair. For those guys with jobs that do not allow them to grow a beard, how do they show their support for this cause. Or maybe even the women out there who want to join the movement but are too scared of being judged? There are many people in the world who wish they could, but can’t.

4. Your Beard Has Poop In It

Okay, maybe your beard doesn’t have actual poop in it, but multiple studies (KOAT & NY Post) have shown that your beard might be just as dirty as a toilet. Just because you wash your face or take daily showers does not mean that your beard is squeaky clean.

5. It Takes Longer Than 1 Month to Grow a Good Beard

Usually it takes months and months for any man to grow the most glorious, luscious beard that many women go crazy about. According to Beardoholic, a beard on average only grows half an inch per month. If you expect to grow a hip beard in just one month, you can take your so-called beard to the World Beard and Mustache Championships and see what they have to say.

6. If You Already Have a Beard, You Have to Shave It

You have spent months and maybe years perfecting your beard. If you want to be a part of No Shave November, your hard earned beard will be history. One of the No Shave November rules is that you start out with a clean face. If you don’t feel like saying goodbye to the beard you worked so hard to get you are not able to do No Shave November.
In order to support the charity of cancer research there are other events, products and things you can do to make a difference. The whole reason for No Shave November is to raise money and awareness for cancer. Why can’t we just dedicate a whole month or host another event to do the exact same thing? An event where there are no rules, photos, memes, or other aspects that draw away from the original goal. Before you decide to start letting your hair grow for No Shave November, think about all of these reasons why you should not take part in No Shave November.

Monday, October 31, 2016

9 Ways to Motivate & Lead Millennials



Leading talented people is challenging. Managing Generation Y (‘Millennial’) people – typical those between the ages of 18 and 25 – has many older managers frustrated and confused!
One style definitely does not fit all! And given that Millennials will soon make up the largest share of the working population, if you aren’t managing a Millennial person yet, you soon will be….
Based on some latest research – and our own personal experience of working with Millennials here are our top 10 tips on how to manage Millennial people successfully.

1. They want feedback in real time

Millennials are used to constant feedback, from social media ‘liking’ to gaming where incorrect strategies can have immediate results…Not unreasonably, they therefore want regular ongoing feedback from their managers, not just a couple of times of year during a performance review. Keep in mind that they have been raised with continuous (usually supportive) feedback from their Generation X parents and teachers. So – they have a desire to know exactly how they are doing at all times in the mind of their manager. Are you doing this – for example either face to face or through real-time dashboards?

2. They ARE money motivated – but there is more to it than that…

It’s easy to assume that Millennials aren’t ‘all about the money’ compared with their 1980s -1990s Generation X predecessors but recent research suggests this isn’t the whole picture. Millennials are money motivated (especially given the rising price of housing in most cities!), but they have other motivations too…. probably linked to the rapidly changing world of technology.
For example, Millennials are more likely than Generation X people to worry about their personal development – they have grown up in a world where then can clearly see that today’s skills and knowledge won’t work tomorrow. So show them and help them build transferable skills they can use in the future as well….

3. On-the-job training

If your training programmes consist of people sitting in a room and listening to a lecturer or following a non-interactive e-learning course, it is unlikely to be effective. We find that Millennials are very action-oriented – even more so than previous generations – and prefer experiential learning (again think gaming) in other words, doing it rather than reading about it. They are used to learning things rapidly and immediately putting those skills to use.

4. Tell me what to do, not how to do it

Millennials want very clear objectives and want to know specifically what you expect from them. But they do not want to follow a rigid process or one way to achieve their goals. We find that they just love to try out their skills in short, frequent role-play or real-play situations so that they can come up with their own style that feels authentic to them. Telling them what to say and how to say it feels “fake” and ineffective to them. Think “mentor,” rather than “micro-manager.”

5. They are not necessarily “job jumpers”

While Millennials in general have been tagged as “job jumpers,” that isn’t necessarily the case. A 2012 Vorsight and The Bridge Group research study found that 75% of Millennials answered “yes” to the question, “Do you see yourself at this company in 2 years?” Their study showed that this was the same percentage as Generation X and Boomer respondents. However, you do have to make sure you are discussing career growth with them on a consistent and regular basis to earn this loyalty.

6. They want your job

Yes, Millennials are impatient and many feel they should be a Manager or even Director after a year of experience. The key is to channel that ambition to get the most out of them. Use that thirst to challenge them with more and more responsibility. Find additional areas and ways for them to continue to learn new things and grow.
Millennials are about “fairness,” not “seniority.” They do not believe in “paying dues” or ‘time serving’ to get advancement, rather, they expect their skills and performance to merit promotion. So let them know exactly what is expected of them in order to move up and advance in the company.

7. They are risk averse

We continually hear about Millennials and how they are natural entrepreneurs. This doesn’t mean however, that they are natural risk takers – many are actually risk averse. This probably stems from having ‘helicopter’ parents to catch them when they fall (or even before they fall!) and also from seeing the effects recession on their parents. For instance this generation of sales professionals tends NOT to be comfortable with commission-only compensation. They want a base so that they know their basic expenses are covered.

8. Reward me

Remember that this is the “Trophy Generation” that has been raised (in some parts of the world at least) on being rewarded just for participating. Money is therefore not enough. Millennials respond to rewards that are personalised – a day extra vacation – or a later start in the morning might be even more valuable than cash. Some creativity may be needed here. We know of call centres where reaching a certain target is rewarded with time away from the phone for gaming. Or you can choose to reward them by boosting their visibility within the company to help them become more marketable internally rather than externally.

9. Build the relationship

Millennials want to have a strong relationship with their manager. They want to look to their boss as a mentor and someone who is genuinely interested in them as a person and the success of their career. You have to be available to them and build trust. Yes, they are digital natives, but they need face-to-face contact, not just emails.

Of course the best way to know exactly what your Millennial people want is to ask them. Take the time to find out their expectations, needs, motivations, career aspirations and you'll be able to successfully manage these talented young people and harness all the energy and talent that they bring to your business.