6. Social capitalists. GenY has a keen sense of social justice. A study by Cone, Inc., and Amp Insights of 1,800 young people shows that 61 percent of 13- to 25-year-olds feel responsible for making a difference in the world, and 79 percent of them want to work for a company that feels the same way. In 2005, a report by the Higher Education Research at the University of California at Los Angeles found that entering freshmen were the most civically minded class in 25 years -- 86 percent were engaged in some sort of volunteer activity. While it's true that a good number of people in GenY felt compelled to volunteer, either by socially conscience parents, high school graduation requirements, or simply the desire to build a résumé, the spirit of volunteerism seems to have worked its way into the ethos of this generation. GenY companies very often make the commitment to give back right from the start, not just when the profits start pouring in. They consistently blur the dividing line between for-profit and not-for-profit endeavors, a characteristic that helps them to attract and retain younger workers.
7. Workplace renegades. Upstart companies tend to be flexible, mission-driven, employee-centric meritocracies; it's tough to find a traditional hierarchical, clock-punching workplace among them. These CEOs saw their parents forfeit huge chunks of their lives to the office for precious little thanks; they flatly refuse to do the same. And so they build companies where work-life balance, flexibility, and fun are core values. Upstarts create work environments where employees who excel are promoted quickly, where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the idea pool, and where decision making is transparent. They're more likely to think of themselves as "servant leaders" -- company founders whose jobs are not only to build successful companies but also to create work environments that are democratic and autonomous. "Work hard, play hard" is their mantra. While you're highly likely to find a Foosball table and Wii in the break room, you'll also find employees who are checking e-mail or working on projects at night and on weekends.
8. Morph masters. GenY entrepreneurs are fabulous improvisers -- they're more likely to take a "just do it approach" to business than they are to spend huge chunks of time on business plans. Failure doesn't faze them; they adapt and reinvent as necessary, very often changing business strategies as rapidly changing markets demand. To them, part of the excitement of business is that it's dynamic, and they're always prepared to pounce on unexpected opportunities. When they fail, they tend to "fail fast" and then quickly move on to the next big thing.
In every generation, some entrepreneurs successfully make that transition from startup to mature company, and others fail to meet the demands of the companies that outgrow them. It's potentially a bigger problem for GenY than for their older counterparts because so many lack the traditional management experience that entrepreneurs often draw on when faced with the challenges of scaling their companies. So what happens to GenY companies as they grow, become more sophisticated, and place more demands on their young owners? Often, adult supervision is in order, and young founders hire older, more experienced CEOs to take their companies to the next level. They also may find that managing a growing company isn't nearly as fun as starting a new one and decide that selling doesn't necessarily mean selling out. Or they stick to their knitting, put their own stamp on the art and science of management, and remain firmly at the helm as they grow their companies.
In the chapters that follow, I'll introduce you to a number of young CEOs who are in the process of starting and growing their companies. I've chosen some of them because they are industry leaders and innovators; others seemed to me to have cornered niches that their competitors had not even heard of; a great number are breaking the mold by disregarding conventional wisdom and creating their own business models in companies that may seem traditional and are anything but. Some have had tremendous revenue growth, whereas others are still very much in the startup phase. And I fully expect that some of them may not exist by the time this book is published. But I promise you this: GenY is at the very center of an entrepreneurial revolution that's being driven by demographics and technology; its members are highly motivated, nimble, and intuitive, and there are lots of them. Yes, they are Upstarts with far less experience than their more seasoned counterparts, but they come hard-wired with an impressive -- and, to some, threatening -- set of competitive tools. To ignore them is perilous; an inside look at their playbook is priceless. So get ready because the Upstarts are coming!
From UPSTARTS! How Gen Y Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success, reprinted with permission from McGraw-Hill Professional, Copyright 2010.
