Attracting the New Workforce: IBM Stops Talking and Starts Acting

I am a huge golf fan (I am lousy at the game, but my son, Jack, will be playing for the University of North Carolina in Fall of 08, so watch the game...I don't necessarily play, and when I play, I spend a lot of time wet and hunting in the pine straw), so I spent the week-end watching the Masters. I was quite happy to see two Gen Y’s at the top of the leaderboard yesterday and of course, the magnificent day ended with a Gen Y, Trevor Immelman born in December of 1979 slip on the coveted green jacket. It was a very exciting day indeed.

I was also quite tickled throughout the week-end by something I feel everyone needs to know about. It all started on Saturday during a commercial break. A black and white film comes across my screen. It features a Baby Boomer leader/manager sitting behind a big, almost intimidating traditional desk. On the other side of the desk is an eager Gen Y young woman, pitching her boss on her latest proposal to "Go Green". The Boomer endulges her (in a somewhat patronizing tone), telling her that "this ought to make the tree huggers happy but that the people he reports to don't eat granola". She then tells him about how the company can save 40% on their energy costs in the upcoming year with her idea and that the company spent $18 million in energy costs in the past year. At this point, the room turns into a scene from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where birds are flying, flowers are growing and the black and white room comes to life…it “goes green", and her boss is estatic with joy about this proposal. Brilliant!

I was quite surprised to learn that this commercial (watch it online at http://ibm.com/gogreen) is just one of many being produced by IBM, several of which were broadcast over the week-end. I found each commercial to be classic Gen Y...funny, edgy, pithy, quirky and spot on about what it's going to take to compete in tomorrow's world. I asked a few Gen Y's to watch the online commercials this morning, and they responded with "WOW! That's cool" and "He he...that's funny."

The other ads which followed were equally witty.

Take for instance, the one with a young Gen Y man talking about his social network to his boss (“I have 826 friends, and I can locate anyone” he says…She says “Wow…that’s a lot of friends”). The boss then proceeds to tell him to locate some top global leaders in the finance industry by following day, followed by his response “I don’t have those kind of friends”. Check out the video here: http://ibm.com/connecting.

I am not going to go through the various videos. You can check them out online at the above links. The bottom line is that IBM, a company founded in the late 1880's is not just "Going Green", they are "Going Gen Y". These moves (and the ones below) tell me that IBM is certainly making the generational shift and will do it with style...no doubt in my mind. Here are just a few things they are up to that is creating a magetic attraction for Gen Y:

Podcasting: IBM is using regular podcasting to educate customers about product offerings and company progress.

Second Life: IBM is making the plunge into using Second Life as a meeting place for corporate meetings, virtual planning, and a block party.

Speaking to Gen Y's values. IBM is addressing the buzz topic of authenticity and flexibility in software (both big Gen Y values).

Leadership in a Distributed World: IBM is making the connection between the leadership lessons that can be learned from the world of computer games. This article by Michael DeMarco, Eric Lesser and Tony O’Driscoll goes into detail about this topic (great stuff!)

With this approach, IBM is stepping forward and challenging all of us to Stop Talking. Start Acting. Hear hear!

If IBM can do it, so can you!

I want to thank Carol Graser, Founder of Next Gen Leaders for providing a few of the resources for this article. Carol is a former IBM leader who is now a consultant and executive coach, and one of her specialities is leadership for the Millennials.