GorT is fairly fed up with the news and much of what he reads on social media.  The composite picture of a republican or conservative in this country as portrayed by the combination of social and traditional media, to include entertainment sources like comedians and late night talk show hosts, is one that fairly fictional, I would argue.  And it is a dangerous portrayal as it only separates this country at a time when we need to work together for many reasons: national security (to include physical, economic, and electronic/internet-based), healthcare, social relations, and economics.  This fictional representation does not match any conservative that I know.  And, when you consider all things, it doesn’t represent even the ones running for public office.  Yes, there are some truly crazy ideas and beliefs by some but if you objectively listen to the vitriolic descriptions by liberals of various conservative people and ideas, it will likely cause you to question how sane they are as well.

GorT isn’t sure this is going to change anytime soon.  It seems to me that it has become part of our culture and will take a lot to undo, if it is possible at all.

The National Journal has an interesting site (http://wheretheystand.nationaljournal.com/app/#/) that lays out where all the current 2016 Presidential candidates stand on certain hot topics.  Interestingly, taxes and/or the economy isn’t one of them that I think people would (and should) find interesting.  In going through a number of these, I think many will be surprised about the positions versus what they’ve heard or perceive.

But this isn’t just about politics and the right vs. left – this perception and twisted view of reality propagated through media channels exists elsewhere.  For example, I’m sure many of you have seen the post “Why Millennials Keep Dumping You: An Open Letter to Management”.  Before I dive in, let me set the stage, I’m a GenXer and I have three Millennial children.  I’ve worked for 23 years in private industry, many times as a team lead and manager including running an entire division and presence of a company in the DC area.  I’ve had successes and failures – both my own and being part of companies that experience them.  I’ve had good and bad managers.  I’ve had younger, older, female, male, engaged, distant, and all sorts of other adjective-described managers.  I have managed the same variety.  In 360 reviews, I have fared very well in assessments of my management skills and techniques.  So let me first address the post and then a rebuttal:

You hired us thinking this one might be different; this one might be in it for the long haul. We’re six months in, giving everything we have, then suddenly, we drop a bomb on you. We’re quitting.

We know the stereotypes. Millennials never settle down. We’re drowning in debt for useless degrees. We refuse to put our phone away. We are addicted to lattes even at the expense of our water bill. Our bosses aren’t wrong about these perceptions. But, pointing our sometimes irresponsible spending and fear of interpersonal commitment isn’t going to solve your problem. [GorT: agreed, bad bosses will, good bosses will focus elsewhere – and guess what – as you admit later, you’ll have good and bad bosses of all sorts of age ranges – including other millennials] You still need us. We’re the ones who’ve mastered social media, who have the energy of a thousand suns, and who will knock back 5-dollar macchiatos until the job is done perfectly [ GorT: hmm, a bit of a generalization as I bet not all millennials have that kind of dedication – I know some hard working and job-loving millennials who don’t work until perfection or log their 8 hours and figure they can fix it tomorrow].

…

1. You tolerate low-performance
   It’s downright debilitating to a high achiever. I’m working my heart out and every time I look up Donna-Do-Nothing is contemplating how long is too long to take for lunch. I start wondering why leadership tolerates this.

Is that the standard here? No thanks.

That’s the opening argument?  It’s flawed to begin with – you can be “working [your] heart out” and maybe you’re not a high-performer.  It depends on what “working hard” means to you.  If the author really means working diligently on tasking assigned – then the issue is that this is a bad company and a bad boss.  And be careful of being jealous of what another employee is doing – yes, it’s taxing – but casting stones is a dangerous behavior in life.  Look, I’ve been there – I was on a project in my early 20s where a small team worked 2 shifts (roughly 7am to 11pm) for almost two months straight to address an issue.  And we saw others in the same offices rolling in at 9, taking a full lunch, and rolling home after (maybe) eight hours.  But it didn’t bother me or the team I was on – we were motivated to excel and fix the issue.  Maybe in three months, they’ll be overtaxed.  Or, guess what, six months later the company had layoffs and guess who were the first cut?  Yeah, not the teams that busted ass working hard.  So maybe companies don’t move at the millennial caffeine-driven, Snapchat, and 140-character limited speed.  But it might realize the situation more than you think.  By the way, do I begrudge you quitting over this?  Nope.  If you were overtaxed and got no help and little recognition of your level of work while other resources (given that they could be pitching in) slacked off, then you’re probably better off somewhere else.

2. ROI is not enough for me.
   I spent Sunday thinking about how I can make a difference to our customers. Now it’s Monday morning, what do I hear? Stock price. Billing. ROI. Suddenly, my Monday power playlist seems useless. I’m sitting in a conference room listening to you drag on about cash flow.

I was making more money bartending in college than I am at this entry-level job. You say I’ll get a raise in a year if the company hits a certain number? So what? I need something to care about today. Talk to me about how we make a difference, not your ROI report.

Ok, hopefully your entry level job is not a job but the beginning of a career where you’ll gain experience and knowledge and rise in your role and responsibilities.  Plus, if it’s ROI isn’t enough for me, then don’t complain that your college bartending gig earned you more money (ROI).  It’s a self-defeating argument.  You need to find a job where what you do makes you happy.  I’ve tried carious things and I put up with a lot of frustrations so that I’m doing something day-to-day that matters to me.  It’s life.  This isn’t the Garden of Eden or Utopia.  And guess what, if companies in this country didn’t care about ROI, then our economy isn’t going to grow.  And we’ll have a lack of jobs.  And you’ll be stuck bartending in a college bar.

The next two points:

3. Culture is more than free Panera

4. It’s ok to get personal

are fine but basically hint (when considered with the previous two) that the author has worked at large corporations where these are problems.  Maybe the companies weren’t the right fit for the author.  It is fine to quit but don’t blame it on the company – it’s just not a fit.  There are plenty of folks out there in the workforce that enjoy being a day-in-day-out head-down worker in a cube.  And there are plenty who don’t.  Find your place.  Look around.  Ask better questions when you interview.

As a rebuttal, I’d refer to this post in Inc. Magazine.  It covers the perceived gap by the previous author fairly well.  I don’t buy into it 100% but it’s pretty good.  Let me provide a nuance to the point about point number eight: Business and going to work is primarily about one thing: making money.  Don’t misread this.  It matters but it’s not the end-all-be-all.  Millennials need to understand the following: if the economy doesn’t start improving better, if the country’s debt situation isn’t addressed, if government spending isn’t controlled, they’ll be burdened with the results illustrated in the charts below when they are older and trying to raise families…and someday retire.

Net worth of 18-34 year olds

US Debt as a Percentage of GDP

GorT

GorT is an eight-foot-tall robot from the 51ˢᵗ Century who routinely time-travels to steal expensive technology from the future and return it to the past for retroinvention. The profits from this pay all the Gormogons’ bills, including subsidizing this website. Some of the products he has introduced from the future include oven mitts, the Guinness widget, Oxy-Clean, and Dr. Pepper. Due to his immense cybernetic brain, GorT is able to produce a post in 0.023 seconds and research it in even less time. Only ’Puter spends less time on research. GorT speaks entirely in zeros and ones, but occasionally throws in a ڭ to annoy the Volgi. He is a massive proponent of science, technology, and energy development, and enjoys nothing more than taking the Czar’s more interesting scientific theories, going into the past, publishing them as his own, and then returning to take credit for them. He is the only Gormogon who is capable of doing math. Possessed of incredible strength, he understands the awesome responsibility that follows and only uses it to hurt people.