New Book Explains How to Manage Gen Y

New Haven, CT -- Here may be one of the few bright sides to the economic downturn: This might be the perfect time for business leaders, managers, and other "grown-ups" to give a much needed reality check to Generation Y employees (those born 1978 and later).

The needed reality check? "Not everyone gets a trophy!" declares Bruce Tulgan. That is the title of his new book, "NOT EVERYONE GETS A TROPHY: How to Manage Generation Y" (Jossey-Bass, March 2009, $24.95).

Based on more than a decade of research, Tulgan's message is simple:
"Generation Y calls for strong leadership, not weak."

Tulgan says his research demonstrates that "most of the so-called 'experts' on Generation Y have been leading managers in the wrong direction." In many recent books and articles, 'experts' have said that the key to recruiting, managing, and retaining this generation is to try making the workplace more 'fun'; to focus on praise and rewards; to deliver 'thank-you' notes to GenY employees just for showing up to work on time; rearranging training so it revolves around interactive computer gaming; encouraging young workers to find 'best friends' at work; and teaching managers to soft-pedal their authority.

Tulgan insists, "This approach is all wrong and totally out of touch with reality, especially right now in these hard economic times."

Tulgan's approach is a clear departure from most everything previously written on the subject. Tulgan says his approach is "less GOOGLE and more United States Army." Tulgan urges managers of Generation Y employees:

-NEVER undermine your own authority;
-NEVER pretend that the job is going to be more fun than it is;
-NEVER suggest that things are up to GenYers when they are not;
-NEVER gloss over details;
-NEVER let problems slide;
-NEVER offer praise or rewards for less than excellent performance.

Tulgan's strong-management message is especially timely given today's economic hard times, but it is the same message he's been delivering for several years behind closed doors with leaders in hundreds of organizations. Tulgan's clients in the last few years alone range across the private and public sectors including the insurance giant Aetna, Wal-Mart, Applebee's, the YMCA, the United States Army, the CIA, and the United States Peace Corps.

Based on his work with dozens of world-class organizations, Tulgan shares compelling and funny first-hand stories featuring poignant quotes from GenYers and those who manage them, putting the two perspectives in conversation throughout the book. Along the way, Tulgan catalogues hundreds of step-by-step best-practices for engaging, developing, managing, and retaining GenYers.

While this book is written primarily for managers, it is of special interest also to parents of Generation Y. The irony is that the devoted helicopter parents of GenYers often go to work and quickly become the outraged managers and co-workers of GenY employees. In a chapter entitled, "In Loco Parentis Management," Tulgan writes, "You can't fight the over-parenting phenomenon, so run with it. In the workplace, there is a void where their parents have always been. Step into the void." Indeed, Tulgan urges managers to give GenYers boundaries and structure, negotiate special rewards in very small increments, teach them how to manage themselves, and teach them how to be managed.

What is the ultimate prognosis? Tulgan writes, "Generation Y is the most high-maintenance workforce in history, but they also have the potential to be the most high-performing if they are managed the right way."