Millennials will soon comprise about one third of the professional work force. Like every generation, they exhibit similar strengths and weaknesses influenced by their growing up experiences. It is my hypothesis, that this group of highly talented young people have the potential of being the most productive if they are competently managed in the business world.

Debbie Roan’s review of the book by Bruce Tulgan, “It’s Okay To Be the Boss,” addresses the issue that the current standards of managing people (Millennials) will no longer be sufficient and effective. Ms. Roan suggests that there is a crisis of “under-management” in the workplace today. Here are some excerpts from her reporting:

“The author believes there is an overwhelming lack of guidance, supervision, and encouragement for employees. Rather than managing in a proactive manner, the management style for many is reactive when problems arise. The under-management problem is costly; it robs employees of achieving their full potential; and it inhibits a manager’s ability to achieve optimal results. But do not despair because this book provides guidance if the appropriate effort is invested in the process. While the suggested steps to take to be the boss are simple and straightforward, the process requires time and discipline much like maintaining a fitness routine. It is not about cutting corners.”

“Mr. Tulgan states that many managers strive to avoid conflict, so they chose to spend their time focusing on other job responsibilities. He suggests there is a tendency to think of management work as an extra burden. Many organizations have an old school management mentality which has four components (1) figure out how to do your job; (2) wait to be noticed; (3) we’ll let you know if something is wrong; and (4) you’ll be rewarded like everyone else no matter how hard you work. Most work-related problems can be avoided or solved quickly by a highly engaged, hands-on manager who accepts his authority and the responsibility that goes with it.

The following facts about the Millennial generation are from the PDF –(PDF) 15 Economic Facts About Millennials – The White House. This report takes an early look at this generation’s adult lives so far, including how they are faring in the labor market and how they are organizing their personal lives.

“Millennials, the cohort of Americans born between 1980 and the mid-2000s, are the largest generation in the U.S., representing one-third of the total U.S. population in 2013.  With the first cohort of Millennials only in their early thirties, most members of this generation are at the beginning of their careers and so will be an important engine of the economy in the decades to come.
The significance of Millennials extends beyond their numbers. This is the first generation to have had access to the Internet during their formative years.”

1.”Millennials also stand out because they are the most diverse and educated generation to date: 42 percent identify with a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic white, around twice the share of the Baby Boomer generation when they were the same age.

2. “About 61 percent of adult Millennials have attended college, whereas only 46 percent of the Baby Boomers did so.”

3. “Yet perhaps the most important marker for Millennials is that many of them have come of age during a difficult time in our economy, as the oldest Millennials were just 27 years old when the recession began in December 2007. As unemployment surged from 2007 to 2009, many Millennials struggled to find a hold in the labor market. They made important decisions about their educational and career paths, including whether and where to attend college, during a time of great economic uncertainty. Their early adult lives have been shaped by the experience of establishing their careers at a time when economic opportunities are relatively scarce. Today, although the economy is well into its recovery, the recession still affects lives of Millennials and will continue to do so for years to come.”

“This generation is marked by transformations at nearly every important milestone: from changes in parenting practices and schooling choices, to the condition of the U.S. economy they entered, to their own choices about home and family. However, in many cases, Millennials are simply following the patterns of change that began generations ago.”
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(PDF) 15 Economic Facts About Millennials – The White House   https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/…/millennials_report.pdf