The New Yorker Missed Something in the Planning

The New Yorker had to engage in some major damage control after the cover of its latest issue, a caricature of Barack Obama wearing a turban, fist-bumping his wife, Michelle, in military garb with a semi-automatic weapon slung over her shoulder, as they stood in the Oval Office. To the right of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee: an American flag ablaze in a fireplace, under a portrait of Osama bin Laden.

Satirical? In the minds of the magazine's editors who planned the issue, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say, yes, it was meant to be satirical, a representation of the worst of the virulent slime that oozes out of the minds and mouths of some of the most partisan among us every four years.

Obama cried foul. To his credit, John McCain did as well.

The editors of The New Yorker certainly exercised creativity. But they're guilty of bad judgment. When editors plan an upcoming issue - be it a magazine or a newspaper - they need to keep the readers' interests and sensitivities in mind. And in the middle of what is potentially one of the most pivotal presidential elections in U.S. history, The New Yorker debacle holds a lesson for all media from now until November: Be fair, be balanced, think, rethink, and think yet again before you publish something that could be seen as even the least bit controversial or biased.

Does Anyone Teach Writing Anymore?

Back when I was in elementary school (yes, it was a long time ago), there was a lot of emphasis - maybe a bit too much - on using proper grammar. That was fairly endemic of American education, from pits and pieces of stuff I've picked up over the years. Later, U.S. schools changed to de-emphasize mechanics in favor of allowing schoolchildren to freely express themselves in their writing.

While all this was going on, I admittedly wasn't paying much attention because I was in the early stages of my journalism career. But I saw it quite clearly as I woke up into parenthood one day. What happened is that we sent millions of people into the workforce who weren't schooled all that well in the basics of English grammar. And as business relies increasingly on e-mail and other Internet-based communication, that lack of emphasis is manifesting itself in writing gaffes and goofs.

The College Board added a writing section to the SAT in 2005. Although many colleges don't pay much attention to the writing score when it comes to admissions, business may feel compelled to pressure colleges as well as pre-secondary school systems to turn out better writers. If they want to improve productivity and profitability, it may well be in their best interest.

All the more reason schools need to get back to teaching the basics of writing.

Lesson from the Celtics: Branding Can Breed Success

The Boston Celtics won their 17th NBA championship this past week. While that is a story unto itself, and a satisfying victory for we fans who have waited more than two decades since the 16th championship, the bigger story is how their ownership put the team in position to win through savvy marketing.

The lesson here, after you read this article from CNNfn.com, is this: You can succeed as a team or as an individual if you can effectively market yourself. To do that, you need to know what skills and talents you have and who you want to reach out to so that they know you're there. Fan interest in the Celtics began to wane after Larry Bird retired in 1992. It jumped a bit a few years later after the previous ownership hired Rick Pitino to take over the team. But he failed to take them to the playoffs. And as the success of the Red Sox and New England Patriots pushed the Celtics into the background, new owners came in with a new strategy: Invest in marketing and boost name recognition.

The upshot, the CNN article pointed out, was that attendance rose in the two seasons before the just-completed campaign. So, before the team traded for veteran stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett last summer to complement long-suffering All-Star Paul Pierce, a key piece was in place for the success that the 2007-2008 season brought: better brand recognition.

Anyone can draw lessons from the Celtics' success in this challenging economy, in which you could be a star at work one moment, and out the door the next. You need to take charge of your own career, and it begins with personal brand management. So, to begin that process, ask yourself these questions (and answer honestly):

(1) Am I prepared to begin a job search in case I lose my current job? (In other words, can I easily put together a resume should I see a great job opportunity?)
(2) Do I have an online presence such as my own web site, or a profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, or some other networking site?
(3) Do I know what kind of value and experience I can offer an employer? (Or, can I be successful working for myself, with all its potential risks?)
(4) Can I verbalize that experience in a well articulated statement lasting no more than 30 seconds?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, start thinking about possible answers and get to work on your personal brand. If you approach it like the Celtics did, it just might pay off down the road in the form of greater career success.

What do you think of the role of "personal branding" in advancing your career? I welcome your thoughts.

Hire Job Hoppers? Sure, if You Believe You Can Stop the Hopping

My post this week on The Pongo Blog tackled a question that perplexes many a hiring manager today: Would you hire a job hopper? The topic, when it was addressed last month on the BNET blog, garnered more than 100 responses, which is danged good for a business blog (Frankly, I'm more than a bit jealous, but hardly anyone in the blogosphere knows me through this blog).

My most recent Internet reading finds that the younger workers, aka Generation Y, is more prone to job hopping (roughly defined as working an average of one job a year), largely because they're not being challenged enough or they don't want to work for a company that expects complete and undying fealty to the corporate mission - even it means working 60-70 hours a week, and leisure and family time be damned. (Uh, no, I don't think so!)

The problem, as I see it, is not with the workers, but with the employers. Some are only now beginning to see the potential payback in investing in worker development and training as a means to prolong tenure and hang onto their most promising talent. I'm sure it's tough for many of these companies to do since they've been doing it the "Work comes first" and "Just do it no matter how long it takes" philosophies for so long. But if companies believe you can train and develop workers who would otherwise job hop, and value their off-work hours as much as they do, then you shouldn't have a problem. Right?

It's a changing world, and while the Baby Boomers have made their mark with long hours and hard work in the workplace, Generation Y is taking the workplace in another direction. And as its numbers grow, the attitudes in the workplace, as well as business practices, are bound to change.

What about you? Are things changing where you are? How does your company feel about job hoppers? I welcome your thoughts and observations.

No Drama, Just Seeking Your Attention

Earlier this month, Seth Godin had a decent post on his blog on how the news media enjoy a flair for the dramatic (Read it here). I quote:

"There's media bias in favor of drama. Most of us are inclined to believe that government officials, doctors and the media are making an effort to tell us the truth. Actually, just like all marketers, they tell us a story."

I agree with Seth - to a point. He argues that we get most of our news today via online media, but the reader may infer (at least I do) that the more traditional media lean toward the dramatic. I believe there is indeed some degree of that in TV news, which is struggling to maintain the attention of their audience. Resorting to a dramatic approach is indeed cheesy ("There was a big 5-car pileup out on the interstate today. We'll tell you how many people were killed right after the commercial break."), but when you're in an uphill struggle against the growing behemoth that is the online media, you can't help but resort to creativity and opt for the easy (How many times within the last year has your local newscast led with the weather?).

I've spoken my bit about the future of newspapers. I can't help but think that we're at a crossroads in the lives of media, both old and new. I grew up with the old and worked in it for many years. In some respects, it's sad to see it fade away. But everything changes and we all adjust. I ran into someone a couple of days ago who is an editor on her high school paper and intends to major in journalism in college. I didn't dissuade her; in fact, I was excited for her. But I made sure that my unsolicited message of advice for her was clear: "Online! That's where the action is and where it's gonna be."

How do you see the future of newspapers and broadcast journalism? I welcome your thoughts.

The IT Department: Still the Same?

During much of my tenure as an IT journalist and research analyst, the general perception of the corporate IT organization by the rest of the business was one of disdain. In short, IT got no respect and, in some cases, it deserved little or no respect. It was seen as insular, a place where the geeks hung out - usually in a corner - to test new whiz-bang technology that may not necessarily be a help to the business as a whole. It lacked people skills and was more concerned with technology than the overall health of the business.

Fast forward a few years and there are signs of respect emerging. For one, the rise of the Internet as a commercial tool has helped boost IT into a major player. Better applications that have been a help to customer relationship management have been instrumental in keeping customers and increasing revenue. Add to that the fact that more "end user" workers have technical chops today than a decade ago, and you have the foundation for a better understanding of IT and the business units that can benefit both sides.

Now, there may be evidence that IT is indeed finding religion and providing a lot more value for the business. Recent research from The Hackett Group concludes that companies that are top performers in IT "business value management" also outperform their peers across a wide range of financial and profitability metrics. What's even more encouraging is the potential melding of IT and the business units through what another research firm calls "enterprise guerrilla application development," involving applications developed outside the IT organization by technically competent information workers in the end-user business units. "End users who used to be wholly dependent on IT will start relying on enterprise mashup platforms in a bid to be more self-sufficient in their application development needs," said Vishwanath Venugopalan, analyst at The 451 Group. "IT departments will seek to cede just enough control to empower end users while maintaining a consistent operating environment that adheres to regulatory requirements."

So, rather than being judged solely on its efficiency (read: keeping its own costs as low as possible), there are some forward-thinking organizations who are seeing the effectiveness of IT in boosting revenue and profitability, and how it can work with the entire enterprise to help spur business growth. I'm sure there are companies that still judge IT by its ability to spend less. If they're serious about growing, they'll have to rethink their metrics.

Closing the `Generation Gap' at Work

I have to admit being somewhat amused with the cross-generation sneering match I sometimes see between Generation Y (aka, the Millennials) and the Baby Boomers when it comes to work. While the former are largely trying to find their way in the workplace, they tend to butt heads with the latter, the ones who are running much of corporate America today.

For instance, close to 20% of North American companies polled in a recent survey say it's hard to reach Millennials, more than twice as hard to reach other demographic groups, such as women, the physically challenged, and major ethnic groups. From my vantage point as a commentator on workplace issues, plus the fact that I work with quite a few Gen Ys, the solution comes down to understanding and empathy, mainly on the part of the Boomers.

Gen Y may like to march to its own beat, but it's we Boomers who have encouraged that! You might respond with "Really?!?" Yes, really! As we reared our children, many of us instilled in them the notion that they could accomplish anything they put their mind to accomplishing, as well as to stand up for themselves and realize that they had something positive to contribute to society. But in the workplace, Gen Y sees our Boomer brethren acting differently, especially in companies that value (read: demand) long hours and dedication to the job.

But Gen Y isn't stupid. In fact, I believe they're smarter and savvier than we would like to give them credit for. If they know they can improve their work lot elsewhere, they will. That's why they're more apt to change jobs more frequently, unlike our generation and our parents'. That's why they're more likely than we are to value their leisure time.

And it's why we need to recognize that and re-engineer our workplaces if we are to enjoy business success. Gen Y is not made up of inmates who want to run the asylum; they represent a new order that could well make revolutionary changes in the workforce as we move further into this century.

If you're a Baby Boomer or part of Gen Y, how do you see this generational clash playing out in the workplace. I invite you to share your perspectives.