A study of S&P 500 companies over 20 years (1988-2007) shows that those companies that exclusively promote CEOs from within outperform companies that recruit CEOs from outside the company. An argument could be made that most internal promotions, CEO or otherwise, have great potential to add value to companies moving forward in the future. Sure, every now and then a company likes to find that maverick on the outside to shake things up – but I’d be willing to bet there is little use for shaking these days and more focus on sustainability. So if the focus is to stabilize and to grow conservatively by promoting from within, how do we position you to look your best, be at the top of every employer’s wish list and build a personal brand that exudes high potential?

Every generation experiences what is known as “shared sense-making.”  It is the process in which individuals within a generation jointly interpret their environment and create collective narratives from which they derive meaning.  This process, through the lens of being in the same generation, moves individual perceptions and feelings to a state of “group knowledge.”  We, as a generation, have some general beliefs about the world and all those other “misguided” generations.  A current example of this is how managers are experiencing millennials in the workplace.  “There is a coherent, if not unified, voice about what millennials are like and constant favorable comparison of themselves to the millennials,” state the authors of Managing the Millennials.  

This past week I had the opportunity to be a guest speaker at the Northern New England Center for Financial Training’s annual banquet.  While sitting at the table waiting to give a 20 minute talk on social learning through new social technologies, I asked the guests at the table how the influx of new workers (mainly millennials) was turning out for them.  Some were excited about the talent and passion the young generation brought to their businesses, some had struggles and challenges, but could see the light at the end of the tunnel, while others were just exasperated by the attitude and demand of the young professionals.  It was a good litmus test on where we are in the millennial influx.

A couple weeks ago we wrote about two types of millennial workers: the ones that fit “every negative stereotype” and the “connector” millennial, ready to progress in the work world.  Well, some called foul at the ease at which we sliced the millennial dilemma into a dichotomy of bad millennial, good millennial.

To the millennials: You were designed to win.  The cells of your body, the synapses of your brain, the muscles in your arms and legs, the consciousness of your soul, the interactions you have with others – all of these were specifically manufactured for you to win. They were put together like blueprints on a paper, carefully engineered, meticulously combed over, tweaked for maximum output.  You were constructed to succeed in life, at your job, in your relationships, and in your community.

The vast majority of Millennials (90%) do not plan to stay with any given employer for more than five years.  More than a third of Millennials (37%) say they plan to stay no more than two years.  Almost 40% of Millennials start a new role already planning their next career move in the immediate future.  These were the recent numbers coming from a five-year survey of Gen Y (Millennials) done by Adam Kingl and Richard Hytner of the London-based newspaper, The Guardian.

Last week we had the pleasure of presenting a half-day workshop for the Vermont Association of Talent Development (formerly ASTD) at Champlain College focused on the Millennial worker.  The room had a great mix of generations and professionals all wondering about this new emerging workforce. The assortment of organizations in the room and around the world are facing an enormous challenge:  how do we engage and lead the new Millennial worker, estimated to be 75% of our workforce in the next 15 years, and how do we transfer the knowledge of our existing generation, the Baby Boomers, who are estimated to be leaving the workforce at a staggering 6,000 a day.