HR Matters | Column. Robert Wendover

COLUMN

Is Collaboration the New Critical Thinking?
Oct 2011 | When John is struggling to fix one of the large tractors he’s been repairing for 30 years, he uses his experience to come up with the solution. After three decades, he has seen every variation possible.

Succession Planning and the Emerging Generations
Seven Trends You Need to Know
Jul 2011 | Look forward a few years from now. Who will be leading your organisation? Perhaps it will be the same people. Perhaps some will have changed. Perhaps the next generation of leaders will have assumed responsibility. How will they be different? What experiences and expectations will they bring to the job?

Menu-driven Thinking
Managing Technology-Dependent Employees.
Apr 2011 | She spends most of her time staring at the screen in front of her. Whether it’s the keypad on her handheld or the keyboard on her laptop, her fingers move at lightning speed. She sends more than three thousand text messages per month. She can manipulate a spreadsheet and purchase an item on Amazon.com while e-mailing her mother and maintaining a conversation with you. By the way, she also serves as de facto tech support for many of those around her > read the article.

POSTS

Why Take Time to Think?
posted 15 Nov 2011
A hard-charging twenty-something with a smart phone asked me the question above a few days ago. Armed with two thumbs and endless menus, he’s making the assumption that all the answers he needs are on-line. Sadly, I fear that many digital natives will evolve into choice-led automatons unless someone disrupts their thinking once in a while.

Whether you’re a parent, a manager, a teacher or just a good friend, take the time to play devil’s advocate with those who seem to navigate their way through life using the options provided by others. Former US senator, Sam Ervin, Jr. is quoted as saying "Adversity is the diamond dust with which life polishes its jewels." Throw some diamond dust into someone’s thinking today and watch them grow.

Do We Really Need a System for Transferring Knowledge?
posted 15 Dec 2011

As I have talked with those under 30 and the managers who supervise them, it has become blindingly apparent that digital technology is enabling eager young contributors to gather the information and insights they need without waiting for the organisation to dispense it.

An entire business discipline has grown up around so-called knowledge management so we can organize what we know. But while the Baby Boomers are cogitating over taxonomies, young people are seeking what they need in other ways. Who says the information they need to do their job has to come from a sanctioned source?

In some cases, novice eyes develop better solutions. While there is certainly something to be said for passing along established insights, we should also be careful not dampen their enthusiasm by imparting old thinking.

NEWS

Calling all millennials

Looking for managers in all walks of life who are successful at fostering critical thinking and problem solving skills among those under 30

Robert W. Wendover has been researching and writing about workforce trends for more than 20 years. He currently serves as Managing Director of the Center for Generational Studies.

Robert has authored the Center’s training curriculum, Generations: Understanding Age Diversity in Today’s Workplace. His nine books include Crossing the Generational Divide: Essential Skills for Managing the Modern Workforce, On Cloud Nine: Weathering the Challenge of Many Generations in the Workplace, High Performance Hiring, High Performance Recruiting, Two Minute Motivation: How to Inspire Superior Performance and Handpicked: Finding and Hiring the Best Employees. His first book, Smart Hiring, originally published in 1988, has been released in its sixth edition.

Robert serves as the editorial director of the Center’s monthly newsletter, GenTrends now in its 14th year of publication. He has written or contributed to more than 200 articles for a wide variety of publications. Robert is a regular guest on radio and TV across the U.S. His credits include CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly, Supervisory Management, Human Resources Professional, Women’s Wear Daily, Entrepreneur and Money magazine. In addition, he has written monthly columns for both retailers and Realtors.

Robert has served as a special advisor to the American Productivity and Quality Council (APQC). Robert's education includes degrees in psychology, education and industrial arts. He served on the management faculty of the University of Phoenix for more than ten years. He holds the earned designation of Certified Speaking Professional from the National Speakers Association. Along with being past president of both the Colorado Speakers Association and the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, he is a two-time past chair of the National Meetings Industry Council.

His clients have included IBM, Intel, KPMG, Discover Card Services, Shell Oil, International Dairy Queen, Kaiser Permanente, CITGO, Chevron USA, the Food Marketing Institute, Searle Pharmaceuticals, Super 8 Motels, Ace Hardware, Major League Baseball, the Professional Golfers Association and a host of other household names, government agencies and educational institutions.

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