Y-Size Your Business

In today's economy, maximizing the performance of every employee is critical to business survival and growth. Gen Y—sometimes called Millennials—provides an enticing opportunity for employers to increase their short-term profitability and create a long-term competitive advantage. Almost 80 million strong, Gen Y is the fastest growing segment in the US workforce—and now comprises the entire 18 to 32 demographic. Along with their ever-present cell phone and occasional backpack, Gen Y brings tremendous potential and timely skills to the workplace (just ask, they’ll tell you). However, Gen Y can be notoriously difficult to attract, retain, motivate, and develop. Gen Y's new approach to work makes them a growing challenge or strategic opportunity—depending entirely on how you choose to employ them.

In Y-Size Your Business, Jason Ryan Dorsey, The Gen Y Guy, presents a step-by-step methodology for best employing Gen Y without investing a lot of time or money. A member of Gen Y himself he delivers an insider's view of his generation as well as more than fifty cost-effective, ready-to-use strategies that deliver immediate measurable results. Dorsey collected these creative strategies from the frontlines of business during his work with executives, managers, and entrepreneurs in businesses large and small around the world. He shows you exactly how to attract the best Gen Y employees, quickly develop their workplace skills, and then unlock their performance, motivation, and loyalty.

• Reveals creative ways to attract, retain, motivate, and develop Gen Y employees without paying them more money (or meeting their Mom)
• Includes a behind-the-scenes view of Gen Y from someone in Gen Y (including why they text message without vowels)
• Explains the primary workplace differences between the four generations and how to leverage their strengths
• Features funny, outrageous, and candid stories that expose the generation gap in the office (Is that a tattoo?)
• Helps you view the Gen Y employee life cycle and key business operations in a new way—one you can use to your business and career advantage

Companies that wisely choose to embrace Gen Y today will be well positioned to navigate the global economy tomorrow. Not only will these companies benefit from the talents and ambitions of Gen Y—they’ll also benefit from Gen Y's increasing economic influence as well as their massive social networks. Based on Dorsey's work with business leaders at companies around the world, as a keynote speaker, consultant, and generational expert, Y-Size Your Business presents precisely the solutions you need to make the most of an increasingly important generation that is ready to make an impact from their first day at work (and then blog about it!).

Chapter 1 Hiring Gen Y Makes Dollars and Sense 1

Chapter 2 Behind the Scenes (and Screen Names) with Gen Y 13

Chapter 3 Four Generations, One Workplace, Lots of Issues 29

Chapter 4 An Overview on How to Y-Size Your Business 43

Chapter 5 What Gen Y Really Looks for in a Job 55

Chapter 6 Attract Quality Gen Y Employees Faster than Free Pizza at 2 am 65

Chapter 7 Day One Is All-Important 81

Chapter 8 Orientation: Confirming Our Fit within Your Culture 91

Chapter 9 Keep Gen Y Engaged @ Work 105

Chapter 10 Develop Gen Y Talent by Making “Good Enough” Unacceptable 121

Chapter 11 Professionalism Is More than Bling 139

Chapter 12 Motivate Gen Y by NOT Giving Us a Trophy 155

Chapter 13 Retain Gen Y—and Our Enthusiasm 171

Chapter 14 Lead Me to Loyalty 189

Chapter 15 Build a Talent Pipeline Like American Idol 207

A Call to Action: Why Reach Out to Gen Y—Your Legacy and Opportunity 217

Acknowledgments 221

About the Author 223

Index 225

Jason Ryan Dorsey is an award-winning entrepreneur and an acclaimed keynote speaker often referred to as “The Gen Y Guy”^®. He has been featured as a Generation Y expert on 60 Minutes, 20/20, the Today show, and The View, as well as in Fortune magazine.

For more information, please visit www.JasonDorsey.com or www.YSize.com.

Generation Y—sometimes called Millennials—are the fastest growing segment in America’s workforce. Almost 80 million strong, they already comprise the entire 18-to-32 demographic. Along with their ever-present cell phones and new definition of “business casual,” they bring tremendous potential to the workplace (just ask, they’ll tell you). However, Generation Y’s approach to employment can make them a challenge for managers and executives to attract, retain, motivate, and develop.

In Y-Size Your Business, Jason Ryan Dorsey—The Gen Y Guy^®—shows you why embracing Gen Y employees gives you an immediate competitive advantage and positions your business for long-term growth. In today’s economy, the opportunity Gen Y presents has never been more attractive. Gen Y is cost-effective to employ, brings a timely skill set to the workplace, and wants to make a difference from their first day of employment.

A member of Gen Y himself, Dorsey gives you an insider’s perspective on how these career starters and young professionals think and act. He then reveals a step-by-step methodology for attracting, retaining, and motivating productive, high-performing Gen Y employees—and how to do so without investing a lot of time or money. To make the methodology easy to implement, Dorsey includes more than fifty inexpensive, ready-to-us`e strategies that deliver fast, measurable results.

Companies that wisely choose to embrace Gen Y employees today will be well positioned to navigate the global economy tomorrow. Not only will these companies benefit from the talents and ambitions of Gen Y—they’ll also benefit from Gen Y’s increasing economic influence and massive social networks.

Based on Dorsey’s frontline work with business leaders around the world—as a keynote speaker, consultant, and generational expert—Y-Size Your Business presents precisely the solutions you need to make the most of a generation growing in importance and ready to make an impact on your bottom line right away (and blog about it!).