Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization Show

Whether you believe that change is going to impact your business 2 years, 5 years, or 10 years from now, Ira S Wolfe has some breaking news.  There is something extraordinary happening.  And many of us haven’t noticed. We go about our business as usual while the environment in which we operate is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. Whatever time frame you believe you have to adapt… cut reduce it by half. The future is happening much faster on a greater scale than ever before. That was his message during an interview with Curt Tueffert, VP of Sales Development at DXP Enterprises. As an example of how quickly things are changing, he mentioned that he wrote and published Geeks, Geezers, and Googlization in 2009, just 7 years ago. The oldest Millennials were under 30 and the youngest just became teenagers. And Steve Jobs hadn’t yet unveiled the iPad yet while smartphones were in still their infancy.  Today the oldest Millennials are 36 years old and the youngest are eligible to vote. There are 2,638 smartphones are sold, 24,733 apps are downloaded from the Apple store, and 3, 437,500 videos are viewed on YouTube…every 60 seconds!  Watch this short video (https://vimeo.com/179740436) about other events that happen every minute! That’s just the tip of the iceberg. While many organizations are still trying to figure out how to recruit, manage, and market to Millennials, Generation Z has entered in the workforce and college. Things are changing so fast and on such as scale, the U.S. military about 25 years ago realized it needed a new game plan. It came up with a pretty funny acronym to deal with it. They called it VUCA which stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous.  It’s a brilliant assessment of the how unpredictable and fragile our world can be at times.  Apparently I’m not alone in feeling that way because many organizations and businesses have adopted VUCA as their baseline of a new normal too. So how can management as well as individuals silence all the noise and get a clear direction and understanding of the immediate and not-so-distant future? First listen to this interview and then download When The SHIFT Hits Your Plan. (http://wp.me/P4nyWz-Sz) It's free!

Talent management is in a “state of confusion.” Those were the words of Mike Haberman, a long term friend and colleague of mine. I respect Mike a lot and scheduled him for a very long overdue interview. One reason organizations struggle to attract and retain talent is that no one seems to be able to agree on the definition of talent. And if you can't identify it, how can you manage it? During this brief interview we covered a lot of territory from the current state of talent management to the biggest challenges facing HR. We probably raised more questions than answers but we did agree upon this: organizations hinge their growth and future success on talent management as the solution and yet the definition of talent is ambiguous and rarely agreed upon.  Management, HR, recruiters and even employees have different descriptions and therefore different expectations.  What's next for HR? What are the biggest challenges facing HR in the months and years to come?  Listen now to HR expert Mike Haberman and workforce and hiring thought leader Ira S Wolfe the current state and future role of HR and talent management. You can follow Mike on Twitter @MikeHaberman and Ira Wolfe @hireauthority

DISC is one of the most popular assessment tools on the planet. Millions of people complete the assessment each year. And still it's often misunderstood and misused. Many participants in training and coaching describe their experience as "fun" and "informative" but then fail to apply its diverse and universal approach toward communicating with others. During this podcast DISC experts Ira S Wolfe and Jennifer Zamecki discuss "what is DISC" and how it can be used to build better teams, increase emotional intelligence, enhance customer service and even increase sales.   A few of the topics that Ira and Jennifer discuss are: How the DISC Profile can be used to detect what "energizes" and "de-energizes" us How we can use DISC to build trust with others (or misuse it and lose credibility) Why it is one of the very best team building tools How DISC can identify people under stress and on the verge of job burnout Why DISC is not an emotional skill test but it is an essential tool to help increase emotional intelligence And much more. Don't forget to download the bonus slides about DISC and follow along as Ira and Jennifer discuss the ABC's of DISC.

Bashing Millennials has become a national pastime. Older generations watch and wonder who invaded the souls of nearly 80 million American youth...along with hundreds of millions worldwide. As Rick Anthony from The Anthony Group shares in this podcast, “{management seems to fear] the Millennials, almost like they are aliens who have come from another planet.” Millennial James Goodnow, an attorney with Fennemore Craig and the youngest partner to ever be selected for its management team, takes a slightly different view…and offers some advice to managers: ”There’s nothing about the DNA of a Millennial that is different from a Gen Xer or Baby Boomer.” Chavaz Kingman from AYF Consulting shares his opinions that resonate loud and clear with many Baby Boomers. He feels that too many Millennials expect to be rewarded for doing their job “when it’s really just as basic as brushing your teeth.” What may surprise you about Chavaz … well you’ll just have to listen to what he has to say. So what happens when aging Baby Boomers and up-and-coming Millennials are immersed into a sea of rapidly changing technology?  Well, it’s time to click “play” and start listening. Enjoy! A special thank you goes out to all our special guests: Rick Anthony, The Anthony Group James Goodnow, Fennemore Craig Chavaz Kingman, AYF Consulting  Steve Schulz, Business2Business Magazine Jim Shaffer from The Shaffer Group It is our hope that you’ll share this podcast with your colleagues, clients, and friends as well as post your comments and experiences about living and working in a converging world of the Tired, Wired, and Technology.

Most everyone recognizes that technology is changing the way we work and the pace of change is accelerating ...except when it comes to how companies recruit and hire employees. It seems that many companies are sitting back and expecting change to stand still until they have the time and feel the urge to react. Unfortunately that's never happened...and likely never will.  Many businesses are getting trampled when it comes to recruiting, especially Millennials.  The disconnect between new technology and adaptation within the recruiting and HR fields is widening. In this 3 minute excerpt from an interview on Rob McKay's Tips for Hiring Podcast, Millennial Generation and hiring expert Ira S Wolfe explains how the pace of change is leaving many companies scrambling for workers. You can also watch this video, recorded during a recent presentation.    

85 percent of Americans ages 18-29 (Millennials) are smartphone owners. For many of them, the recruiting pitch lobbed to Millennials is so far outside the strike zone, the candidates just step back and vanish. If your company wants to be reach Millennials, it’s essential that you walk in the shoes of a young job candidate. In recruiting speak…If you want to attract young top talent, it's crucial to optimize your career site and join the Millennial world of mobile. This podcast is a 3 1/2 minute excerpt of an interview Ira S Wolfe had with Rob McKay on Tips for Hiring (New Zealand). You can also read more about recruiting and hiring Millennials here.  

Bashing Millennials has become a national pastime. Described as narcissistic, immature, trophy kid slackers, this generation (born between 1980 and 1996) has become the "alien" generation. Other generations watch and wonder who snatched the life and soul out of nearly 80 million American youth...and hundreds of millions worldwide.   If only these labels were true. For sure, the stereotypes stick for many Millennials. But as this podcast of an article published by Millennial and hiring expert Ira S Wolfe reveals, the Millennials are really not much that different than older generations when they too were passing through their late teens and early 20s.  Listen as blogger Ira Wolfe reads his article, Confessions of a Recovering Millennial Basher. You can also read the article on Cornerstone's ReWork Blog.

Truth be told, the cost of a bad hire induces widespread collateral damage — like spending $100 bills to earn pennies. When you consider that a toxic employee has a negative impact on both coworkers and customers, the costs skyrocket. According to a recent Cornerstone report, bad hires make their teammates 54 percent more likely to quit and can cost organizations up to three times more in hiring fees. Instead of leading, managing and delivering excellent customer service, bad hires force managers into damage control. The cost-to-hire is just one ingredient in a more complex formula that should be used when evaluating a poor hire. Additional variables include unemployment compensation, missed business opportunities, loss of team productivity, poor customer service, outplacement, weakened employer brand, litigation fees... just to name a few. So, what can a company do to reduce the risk of a bad hire and mitigate financial and other collateral damage? Listen to this interview with hiring expert Ira S Wolfe.

“This [interview] is a clinic for small business owners and HR.” Those were the words used by Business Builder Show hosts Marty Wolff and Kerry Kearney to describe this interview with Success Performance Solutions President and author Ira S Wolfe. zyou might be asking what is Recrooglization? The word was coined by Ira Wolfe to describe the current state of recruiting.  It’s simple – it’s the practice of blending the art of recruiting with the science of Google. What does Google have to do with recruiting you might be asking? Google has disrupted and transformed the way people operate, communicate and interact online. The digital age offers many ways for companies to engage job seekers, especially those companies struggling to hire enough qualified workers. Listen now to Recrooglization and learn how to attract and acquire top talent in 2016 and beyond. And don't forget to download our white paper.

Until recently emotional intelligence was largely ignored or dismissed. But with volatility, uncertainty, complexity,and ambiguity confronting us on a daily basis, past experience and education is often not enough to achieve and thrive in today's hyper-competitive business environment. Many studies have confirmed that the difference between top performers (especially at the executive and management level) and mediocre ones is emotional intelligence. During this podcast, Ira S Wolfe interviews emotional intelligence expert and executive coach Jennifer Zamecki from Well-Run Consulting.  They discuss what emotional intelligence is, how to test for EQ, and how individuals can develop it. Ira and Jennifer even venture into the emotional intelligence of presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as that of the Millennial Generation.