Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com June 27, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 29 BIZ BOOKS Tips for Millennials who want to be managers "M anager 3.0: A Millennial's Guide to Rewriting the Rules of Management" By Brad Karsh and Courtney Templin (AMA- COM, $17.95). Last year, the U.S. workforce officially became much younger as Millennials (i.e. Gen Y) outnumbered Baby Boomers. With not enough Gen X workers to backfill the retiring Boomers, business will have to turn over its management reins to Mil- lennials stereotyped by tra- dition-bound Boomers as impatient, entitled, spoiled and disrespectful. The stereotype will per- sist until Millennials show that their assets (i.e. tech-sav- vy, fast-paced, collaborative, do what I love) translate into profits. The authors provide their CONNECT (Communi- cate, Own it, Navigate, Negoti- ate, Engage & Empower, Col- laborate, Teach) template for doing just that: Communicate — Managers have to assemble the jigsaw-puzzle pieces of staff personalities and skills into a focused team. Constructive conversations connect staff and their passions with their work. They involve discussions of expectations, out- comes and challenge goals that show staff the importance of their roles and frame growth opportunities. Emphasize feedback, too. When setting goals think PUSH — Passionate (belief), Urgent (action now), Specific (clarity establishes path), Hairy (out- side the comfort zone). When your team sees you PUSH yourself, it will buy in. Own it — Hold yourself accountable. It's rare that a manager's decisions don't play a role in individual staff and team issues. Think about whether you provid- ed the tools and the coach- ing required for the job. Humility plays a role in ownership; just because you're the manager, doesn't make you the smartest one in the room. Also, managers should remember that playing the "blame game" destroys staff con- nections. When dealing with problems, set per- sonalities aside, too. Identify causes and find solutions; you'll need team input to do both. Navigate — There's no such thing as a normal day. Priorities shift as new tasks and projects arrive in the inbox, and inter- ruptions always occur. To adapt yourself and your team, you'll need to effectively manage time and find answers to questions like: "How can we do things better, faster, bolder?" "How do the dots connect and who can help connect them?" "Where can we find the information we need?" When it comes to your staff's personali- ties, navigate by the manager's Golden Rule: "Do unto others as they would have you do unto them." Negotiate — Listening remains the key. Go-go Millennials also need to remember that full speed ahead won't help them see the organizational picture. Understanding the perspectives of others drives persua- sion and enables learning. The authors believe assumptions are the biggest barrier to listening. Why? They pre- condition you to ignore what doesn't square with what you thought. Go into a negotia- tion with an open mind. Engage & Empower — The top five driv- ers of employee engagement are 1. Recogni- tion, 2. Career development, 3. Manager, 4. Strategy and mission and 5. Job content. Daily, managers have an impact on the top two. Recognition can be given through praise, responsibility, visibility to senior managers, responsibility and autonomy (i.e. flexibility on how). Career development deals with training and s-t-r-e-t-c-h assignments that develop and test their skills. It also deals with encouraging ideation and BYOB (Be Your Own Boss). Collaborate — Notice that labor centers the word. It's a word that demands action. From a manager's view, it deals with capi- talizing on the individual strengths of team members. By playing to their strengths, "What do you think?" leads to 1+1=3. Teach — Lead by example. Be a mentor; think of your staff as protégés. Use stories rather than rhetoric to make your learn- ing points. Why? People remember stories because they have people, not numbers, imbedded in them. They can create context and vision, and spur discussion and action. Key takeaway: Using some old-school knowledge can help Millennials become better managers. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak OTHER VOICES Congress sends DOD strong message to 'Buy American' By James T. Brett I n mid-May, the U.S. House of Representa- tives passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fis- cal year 2017, and just this week, the U.S. Senate followed suit. The NDAA is the federal law that lays out the annual budget and expenditures for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), including all branch- es of the military. Both the House and Senate versions of the NDAA included language instructing the DOD to adhere to a long-established law known as the Berry Amendment. First passed in 1941, the Berry Amendment requires DOD to purchase — to the greatest extent possible — American- made clothing and textiles for U.S. soldiers. Unfortunately, for more than a decade, DOD has not abided by this rule with respect to training shoes for new recruits. Since fiscal 2002, DOD has instead provided new recruits with cash allowances to purchase training shoes, which are not required to be American- made. The explanation: DOD asserted that it was difficult to find suitable athletic footwear that was made entirely in the United States. However in recent years, American com- panies — such as New England's own New Balance and Saucony — have made signifi- cant financial investments in equipment in order to produce footwear that is 100 percent American made and therefore fully compli- ant with the Berry Amendment. In adding this Berry Amendment language to the NDAA, Congress has sent a clear mes- sage that DOD needs to drop their reasoning for circumventing the law, buy American with regard to training shoes, and support U.S. manufacturing jobs. Here in New England, New Balance employs some 1,400 people at five manufactur- ing facilities throughout the region. When and if DOD follows the Berry Amendment and pur- chases American-made recruit training shoes, American companies like New Balance could compete for work to produce some 150,000 pairs of shoes for the military, potentially add- ing even more valuable New England jobs. Inclusion of this important provision in the NDAA is the result of a strong bipartisan effort on the part of several New England lawmak- ers. Massachusetts Democratic Congress- woman Niki Tsongas partnered with Maine Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin to introduce the Berry Amendment legislation that was included in the House NDAA, and Maine's Independent U.S. Senator Angus King ensured that similar language was included in the Senate version. These New Englanders have had the backing of many of their col- leagues in our region, and all should be com- mended for working in such a collaborative way to protect the interests of U.S. businesses and safeguard American jobs. The law on this matter is clear and it has been on the books for 75 years. The time has come for DOD to listen to Congress and follow the Berry Amendment — to ensure that our troops are wearing "Made in the USA" shoes as they train to defend our country and in doing so support American jobs. The New England Council commends Congress for addressing this important issue in this year's NDAA and looks forward to the economic boost it will give our region's footwear industry. . n James T. Brett is the president & CEO of The New England Council, a non-partisan alliance of businesses, academic and health institutions throughout New England formed to promote economic growth James T. Brett ▶ ▶ Humility plays a role in ownership; just because you're the manager, doesn't make you the smartest one in the room. ▶ ▶ In adding this Berry Amendment language to the NDAA, Congress has sent a clear message that DOD needs to drop their reasoning for circumventing the law … and support U.S. manufacturing jobs.

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