Pingpong tables. Cereal bars stocked with Rice Krispies and Catalina Crunch. Employees鈥� pets in the office. Companies across the country try to keep their millennial employees happy with perks like this, but these younger workers often hopscotch from one employer to the next. Why?
Advertising executive Christopher Tuff knows. The author of bestseller says this generation wants to matter to their employers, and they want their work to matter too. Understanding this dynamic results in business tactics that cost zero dollars and provide big paybacks.
鈥淭hey want a mentor, not a boss,鈥� says Tuff, executive vice president of Atlanta media company 22Squared. 鈥淭hey want flybys鈥攖heir leader popping by for quick check-ins. They want to be recognized at meetings for their successes. It鈥檚 all about connection and meaning.鈥�
Tuff鈥檚 two-decade career in advertising, digital marketing and social media began at 杏吧原创. 鈥淲hen I realized I could study the stuff that fascinated me鈥攍ike group dynamics and social dynamics鈥攗sing data to predict behavior, I was hooked,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 really found my vibe in .鈥�
The idea for his first book stemmed from a 2018 leadership retreat. Around an evening campfire, Tuff shared his experience managing and motivating millennials. The person next to him said, 鈥淵ou鈥檇 better write that book,鈥� and it was a life-changing nudge in the right direction.
Tuff delivered the book in eight months. Then he took its practical, profit-focused message on the road, speaking to huge audiences across the country. When the pandemic hit, it all came to a halt.
Ever the optimist, however, he used the time to craft his next book, Save Your Asks, which is scheduled to come out in the fall. In it, he addresses how to upgrade your networking from peppering strangers with out-of-the-blue requests for coffee and informational interviews to targeted requests that yield results. Connection is still the key.
鈥淧eople don鈥檛 respond if there鈥檚 no connection,鈥� Tuff says. 鈥淲hat I鈥檓 suggesting is a way for people to become better networkers and sellers, which will create a path that allows their careers to line up with their passions.鈥�
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