Young people want to be challenged all the time and they just don’t understand why older generations don’t see the possibilities of what they can do.

Older people think younger people need experience in order to make decisions and they don’t understand why young people think they can do so much without putting in their time.

Now, we can sit here and squabble over the differences about these two opinions, or we can adapt. There are great articles out there pointing out the differences in philosophy, and these make for an interesting read, but who cares? We all know there is a difference in opinion, the question is, how do we design the system?

But execution is hard. Everyone has ideas and lots of them: ways to improve products, new restaurant concepts, creative services, and the ideas go on and on. As people, we identify problems and then yearn to create solutions to these problems. These solutions are “businesses.”

“I can’t find what I search for” – Google.
“I wish my horse could go faster” – Ford.
“I can’t get a good burger quick” – McDonald’s.

You get the point.

How many ideas do you have?

So the question is: how do we take an idea and execute on it? Execution is the hard part. It requires time, work, sacrifice, money, and the most important element – courage. By acting on our ideas, we risk failure. Failing is scary. Risking failure can be quite intiminating. Is it safer just to throw around fresh, creative ideas to your friends and then go back to work on Monday morning….and do the same thing over and over?

Thinking up innovative solutions/ideas that could be a business is not difficult; however, executing is extremely difficult. Let’s think about McDonald’s. Their idea: we create decent food that is consistent and cheap. What if I told you this idea? You might say, “Okay, that sounds like a very mediocre idea.” But McDonald’s executes on this idea exceptionally well. Again, the idea is not hard, the execution is.

The people with the best ideas don’t win. The people that do things win. “We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” – Herb Kelleher (Founder, CEO Southwest)

It is not about tweaking the match between student and employer. It is not about giving a company highly qualified resume candidates. It is not about giving students tools to search from long lists of jobs. That is what the careerbuilder.coms and the monster.coms don’t realize: just listing entry level jobs is so very shallow.

First jobs are completely different than second jobs. Completely. The way you go about selecting and applying for a first job is completely different than the second time you do it.

The organizations responsible for connecting students with first jobs don’t understand this. Or, they don’t think there is enough potential revenue to invest in this area. Either way, they are wrong. Instead of focusing on selling job listings for $399, these organizations should be focusing on creating tools that allow companies to engage young people in ways that provide value and insight to both student and potential employer.

I also think that the executives making decisions at these companies are too far removed and forget what it is like to get a first job. It is so easy to connect the dots looking back and write off the first job or justify the process in a different way.

There is no shortcut. The solution is for companies to engage students earlier and in more creative ways. This takes more time and more money. But, if you believe that people make the difference, it is worth it.

Island Caretaker Job

What would happen? My guess is that your organization would get better people, take more time designing new jobs, and grow business.  Or, you could just type a couple sentences on craigslist. Your choice.

Picture this. You are in a conference room with a bunch of high powered decision makers. Then 45 minutes into the meeting, the messy guy in the corner looks up and speaks:

“Hey, what if we say it is so easy a caveman can do it” – “Brilliant Idea, John!” (Geico)
“Hey, Let’s make circular wooden chips and people hit them with metal” – “Brilliant Idea, Tom!” (Pogs)
“Hey, what if we dress up a rich guy as a bat and give him powers” – “Brilliant idea, Roger!” (Batman)
“Hey, what if we create rubber shoes with holes in them” – Brilliant idea, Tim!” (Crocs)

 Pretty hard to imagine, huh? Seldom do ideas (like the above mentioned)  come from people in ties making calculated decisions in conference rooms. Sure, there are a number of exceptions. Also, my point is not that ideas always stem from weird people on the fringe (even though most times this is true!).

My point is that after you muster the courage to share an idea; inevitably, there are people waiting to tell you how big of an idiot you are. These “idiots”  are the ones that normally change things while the others worry about their 401k investment options.

People are really, really good at crushing ideas. Your responsibility is to have the courage to ignore the idea crushers and find the idea champions that will offer support. And then have the courage and persistance to bring that idea to market.

“Hey, what if we go fly a kite in a thunderstorm?”  -  “You are an idiot Benjamin!”

My parents went out to eat at a local restaurant and my mom got food poisoning from the scallops. Unfortunately, she had to go to an emergency clinic and receive an IV for dehydration.

My mom contacted the restaurant and explained to the manager what happened in hopes that it would be avoided in the future. The manager simply replied, “Sorry about that, but we get our scallops from a reputable business in the northeast. But, we do understand you were sick and we hope you feel better soon.”

The manager actually tried to shift the blame to a distribution company. Unbelievable. What is the strategy behind this? My guess is that the manager was thinking: how can I be polite and end this conversation as quickly as possible?

Not only is this unreasonable customer service, but think about it from a business perspective. What is the first question everyone asks after you get food poisoning? – That’s right, “What did you eat? And where did you eat?” My mom must have responded 75 times, “It was the scallops at The Indigo Room.” This kills business.  Could the manager have handled this in a different way? You bet.

The Indigo Room actually had a chance to win business in this scenario. What would happen if the manager immediately drove over to my mother’s home and delivered some flowers (30 minutes and $40)? What if the manager gave my parents a $100 gift card and a dozen 50% off coupons for those that dined again with her? Not only would this would have been the right thing to do, this was a marketing investment opportunity. Imagine the positive word of mouth that the restaurant might and probably would  have received if the manager had taken this path as opposed to the one of  ”just be polite and get rid of her.” The restaurant had a chance to win my mom over and the 75 people with whom she shared her story.

Every time a customer contacts you is a chance to ”win” them. This isn’t just a feel good excerise. It’s an investment. And a solid one at that.