Marketing to young people can teach you valuable lessons about managing Millennials.

I think this is such a great piece and some of the most sensible thing I have read on managing Gen Y. From Brazen Careerist.

Which Wich, a quick casual sandwich concept has a very cool offer here in Colorado. If you take a picture of yourself and a Which Wich bag on top of one of Colorado’s 54 peaks that is 14,000 feet or higher and bring that picture into Which Wich, you get a free sandwich.

Now, in addition to being a very cool word-of-mouth marketing tactic (I heard about the plan from a couple of climbers on the top of Torrey’s Peak), I think that this could be a very effective model for managers looking to build relationships with their Generation Y employees.

Imagine that you put up an “Employee Achievement” bulletin board in back. Each period (week, month, quarter, etc.), your employees can bring in a picture of themselves accomplishing something impressive, and you can hook them up with something cool and post the picture.

Off hand, four things I would consider impressive:

* Climbing a mountain
* Swimming with a dolphin
* Accepting a scholarship
* Building a house for Habitat for Humanity

Now, not only are you celebrating what your employees do, you’re getting to know who they are. You’re learning about their interests, their hobbies, and their passions. You’ll be tapping into the same impulse that drives employees to post pictures on Facebook, and you don’t even need an internet connection to do it.

Read Manage Gen Y Like You’re Marketing To Them

The top books every professional who works with Parents and Youth must read

In no particular order

Why are They So Weird?: What’s Really Going on in a Teenager’s Brain
A amazing scientific look at teenagers

Spark
How exercise impacts how teenagers learn and loads of other groovy stuff

Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School
Will help you help teenagers learn better

21st Century Boys: How Modern Life is driving them off the rails and how we can get them back on track
Latest insights from the author of “Toxic Childhood”

Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
Great book that will get you thinking

Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes
A tough going book but worth the read

They Are What You Feed Them: How Food Can Improve Your Child’s Behaviour, Learning and Mood
Need I say more

The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids
A look into helicopter parenting

As always just my faves so please feel free to add yours.

I know how challenging working with young people can be, especially when you are bound by the constraints of the system.

I can partner with youth clubs, churches, social workers, coaches and professionals and support you to implement some innovative, fresh approaches to connecting and engaging with the young people around you.

My expertise lies in using innovative techniques that blend the already fantastic work you are doing with a coaching approach, so that you can have a greater impact.

My work with professionals is far-reaching. I am passionate about supporting forward-thinking people and organisations who believe in youth participation and challenging the status quo. I am driven by a desire to make our young people feel supportive and part of the wider community.

On a a personal level

I am an information junkie and am constantly topping up on information about generations, human behaviour, diet and exercise and its effect on behaviour and learning and when I am felling particularly intelligent, neuroscience. I can get very animated about the wider impact that everyday interactions with young people can have on society as a whole and if I was a scholar, ( which I am not), this is what I would study. My current obsession is linking Restorative Justice techniques with work with youth.

My Work

The brilliance of my work emerges when I partner with enthusiastic, community-minded change makers who believe our young people deserve more and want to strive to achieve that, using innovative, fresh approaches.When connecting and enagaging the youth of today I have some great internet-based strategies up my sleeve and one the world’s best web divas in my personal team.

Whatever you need I reckon that my team and I can do it, If not, I will find someone I trust that can – now there’s a promise!

Here are some ideas to get us going

• If you work with youth, you could work with Sarah to expand your skills and knowledge
• You could hire Sarah to consult with your group about how better to engage with youth
• You could co-create a coach training programme with Sarah for your group
• You could learn some of Sarah’s methods to use with the young people/parents you work with
• You could consult with Sarah and her team about implementing social media strategies to connect with youth

In fact, the world is our oyster

Sarah and her team can also offer Equine Leadership Development for your team or the young people you work with.

To speak with me to see how we can help each other please e-mail me at professionals@genyguide.com or call my mobile 07921 166998.

What are we doing, as a society, that has some young people go to such extremes?

That is the question I recently asked one of my teen writers. I shared this quote with her – “What we do to our children, they will do to society.” I asked her what we as the adults may be doing to make a young person feel that certain options are their only choice?

Here is Anne’s  answer

Though the answer to this question could have a million possibilities and outcomes, I have chosen a more basic, general route. I think the answer to the question is a simple formula.

A supportive, present parent= an independent child= a better society

If a parent is present in a child’s life, is there to love them, and be there when they need help, support or someone to talk to, then their child will feel supported. I think when a child feels supported, they will grow into a teen that is more independent and confident, knowing that they have support to fall back on. With that independence, they can make everyday decisions based on what they want and think is right, rather than what their peers think, and will probably be successful in life and a benefit to society.

A vacant parent= a dependent child= a weak society

When a parent is not present in their child’s life, but just there to give them the necessities (food, shelter, clothes) but no attention, support or love, their child will probably lack confidence, crave attention and feel lost. When a child feels like that, especially when they age into a teenager, rather then going to their parents for support and attention, they will turn to their friends. A teenage friend may be nice and listen to the teen, but they do not love and really care about the teen. It is not hard for the teen to be taken advantage of and to make poor decisions that could be harmful. And of course a society of people who don’t believe in themselves and who don’t know how to express their feelings in a positive, confident way, is not a strong society.

Though there are exceptions to my formula, I think it is the basic reason as to why some teens do the extreme things they do, and why society is not reaching its full potential. In my opinion, the exception is not worth the risk.

About Annie

My name is Annie Brebner. I am fourteen years old and am the eldest of three kids. I live In Ontario, Canada. I am in Grade 9 and am in my first year of high school. I like to read, play the gutair, cook, hang out with my friends, and watch movies. I play on a girls ice hockey team, I run and I also am pretty dedicated to my ballet.
I am really interested in travel and I want to one day visit Europe!