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The Politics of American Innovation Today by Laura Schlafly

February 7, 2012 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

I want to thank Laura Schlafly of Career Choices With Laura for submitting this great post on The Politics of American Innovation Today.

Within an organization, be it a local non-profit or an international manufacturing behemoth like Apple, we will always find individuals who are the internal politicians and influencers within any decision process.  If we have a proposal, our agenda, for some significant change then it behooves us to entice the influencers to be inclined to our idea by offering something which will be seen as a desirable advantage for them.

Similarly, but on a more global scale, the decisions that stem from the desire for companies and countries to be ever more innovative to achieve mastery of global markets, growth of emerging economies, and international political hegemony, creates tremendous pressures on a country’s leadership. I read with great fascination a recent January 21, 2012 N.Y. Times article, titled:

“How the U.S. Lost Out on IPhone Work” This well-researched article elicited many comments and opinions on the current state of innovation in America, which has been widely decried as having become substandard in various ways, when compared to that of China.  To me, it is an economic … Read the rest of the post

Why Does Generation Y Love Ron Paul?

February 4, 2012 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

Congressman Ron Paul: 12 term Congressman from the state of Texas? Check!

Ron Paul: MD who graduated from Duke University who, as an OBGYN, delivered over 4,000 babies: Check!

Ron Paul: Served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. Check!

Ron Paul:  A member of the Beatles who draws crowds of young people like a magnet…just like John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  Can’t check that one, because he was not a member of the Beatles.  BUT…he is drawing in the under 30 voters like flies to honey (Being a Southerner talking about a Texan…just had to throw that analogy in).  He is truly drawing the under 30 voters like a rockstar would!

This really has the media baffled, and quite frankly, Congressman Paul is somewhat baffled.  Here he is…a man born in 1934, and he is truly the political rockstar of the men and women born between about 1985-1994.  This is the age of men and women who are currently ages 18-28.  Generation Y spans the birth years of 1977-1997, but we are seeing young voters from ages 18-28 showing up in huge packs to cheer the elder leader on.  They are walking … Read the rest of the post

Gaining Loyal Customer By Building a Strong Leadership Brand

January 30, 2012 By Bea Fields 2 Comments

LEADERSHIP BRANDING:     When you read this term, do you really know what it means?  I really did not know until the year 2008, when I read the book Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.  Because I had not heard of the term until then, it made me scratch my head and wonder if others found the term to be something they had not yet heard about.

So, I went out and polled a few business leaders, simply asked them to fill out a form based on what they knew, and many even admitted they did not know what the term really meant…but they took a stab at the questions I asked anyway.

We talk everyday about branding our “company” and making sure that our marketing collateral matches the “company brand”.  But what would be different if you branded your company through the eyes of your leadership brand?  My hunch is that it would be much tougher, and here is why:

When you build a brand based on true, enduring leadership, each person in the company not only speaks about the brand and and the promises you make to your customers in your marketing strategies, but each person … Read the rest of the post

Why Does Generation Y Love Ron Paul?

February 4, 2012 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

Congressman Ron Paul: 12 term Congressman from the state of Texas? Check!

Ron Paul: MD who graduated from Duke University who, as an OBGYN, delivered over 4,000 babies: Check!

Ron Paul: Served as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s. Check!

Ron Paul:  A member of the Beatles who draws crowds of young people like a magnet…just like John Lennon and Paul McCartney.  Can’t check that one, because he was not a member of the Beatles.  BUT…he is drawing in the under 30 voters like flies to honey (Being a Southerner talking about a Texan…just had to throw that analogy in).  He is truly drawing the under 30 voters like a rockstar would!

This really has the media baffled, and quite frankly, Congressman Paul is somewhat baffled.  Here he is…a man born in 1934, and he is truly the political rockstar of the men and women born between about 1985-1994.  This is the age of men and women who are currently ages 18-28.  Generation Y spans the birth years of 1977-1997, but we are seeing young voters from ages 18-28 showing up in huge packs to cheer the elder leader on.  They are walking … Read the rest of the post

5 Ways to Identify Your Next Generation Leaders and How to Train Them Up

July 12, 2011 By Bea Fields Leave a Comment

As many of you are aware, our world is at a critical point in history. Many studies are estimating that in the next 10-12 years, approximately 45-50% of the workforce in the United States alone will be gone, and most of the workers are from the Baby Boomer generation. They will be leaving in droves in leadership roles in business, education, government, the medical field and the world of non profits.

Many people argue that Generation X will fill these leadership roles and that all will be fine. Well…if you do the math, you will find our three main demographics in our world today include these numbers:

Baby Boomers: Approximately 70 million
Generation X: Approximately 45 million
Generation Y: Approximately 80 million

If you look at these figures, it is obvious that once the Baby  Boomer Generation is out of the workforce, we are most definitely going to have a shortage of leadership talent.

I speak with young men and women under the age of 30 every day, and many tell me that they have been thrust into early leadership positions without any training, coaching or shadowing. They show up for work and hear “Hey…Margaret…Bob’s last day is tomorrow, … Read the rest of the post

Are You Praising Generation Y or Complaining and Calling Them Names?

September 21, 2010 By Bea Fields 1 Comment

Look at this poor guy to the right . When you think about Generation Y, is this what you look like? Or, when you are in a presentation, hearing about all of the good, the not so great and the challenges with this new generation, do you find yourself:

• Rolling your eyes
• Smirking
• Having side conversations with your colleagues about their “entitlement” issues
• Sighing…wishing this Generation would just do things the way YOU do them
• Thinking of all of the ugly names you can call Gen Y like lazy, narcissistic and demanding
• Walking out of the room , because you just don’t like what you’re hearing

If so, the Generation Ys in your life may not be the problem…the problem may be YOU!

You may think I am exaggerating about the above bullet list, but I am not.  The above six things are what I witness every time I lead a presentation to an audience of  Generation Xers  and Baby Boomers about our rising generation of leaders, parents and community caretakers…Generation Y OR as they would preferred to be called “The Millennials”.  I was even asked one time why they “had to have their own name”.  My response:  “If … Read the rest of the post