Throw Out the Trophies!
It does not seem possible, given the high unemployment rate, that companies report they are having difficulty filling jobs. The "real unemployment rate" is between 16.6% and 22.7%, not the reported 9.1%. You can see the explanation here and prove it to yourself. No one in the media is reporting this.
The WSJ came out with The Journal Report on Monday - the lead article Why Companies Aren't Getting the Employees They Need reported:
- 52% of US Companies report difficulty filling jobs
- 47% of employers blame the prospects lack of hard job skills or technical skills
- 35% cite of a lack of candidates experience
Dr. Cappelli who wrote the article and lays the blame at our educational system and at companies for not doing the training and apprenticeship programs like in the past. I agree fault can be found in both arenas and what about the potential employees themselves? Could it be they can share the blame?
Could it be the responsibility is with many of today's Trophy Generation? When I was a kid, only the champion of the league got trophies or medals, not everyone on every team in the league like it has been for decades in the USA. We came to believe that the American child’s ego is a delicate flower that needs to protected and nourished. If an ego is not protected, the child may very well feel distressed or sad. This might lead to self-esteem issues which, if requiring the help of a therapist to overcome, might lead to lawsuits against whoever didn’t give the kid a prize for just participating.
Do you believe that it is still very possible to achieve success ? I do because there are so many satisfied with being mediocre. They are average and OK with it. Just look around you each day. How many people do you run into who are switched on and truly great at what they do? We have embraced mediocrity and entitlement. Each day the entitlement mentality grows in America and has led us and much of the world to the brink of disaster.
Just look at the current Occupy Wall Street movement. What does that even mean? What do they want to have happen - an even bigger government? That has not been working too well. Check out this montage of signs from the event in NYC. A big complaint of many there seems to be this: I went to college, I deserve a job. I think we have pushed the "follow your passion" movement too far. It has to be balanced with reality.
Going into debt for $138,000 and walking away with a degree in Poetry, Art History, Philosophy, Native American Feminism, Recreation and Leisure Studies may not be a good idea. Especially when the total student loans now exceeds the nation's credit card debt at 1.0 trillion and counting . There are now 111 colleges in the USA that cost over $50,000 a year! I agree with Bill Goss, founder and Managing Director of PIMCO, " College was great as long as the jobs were there." Read the entire article here .
Wouldn't it be better, if you had that kind of money to invest, to instead create/buy a business and train your child to run it?
That way you create a salable asset and have no debt! College or technical schools (enrollment has been booming) can be a good investment for many to acquire tangible skills that are in demand in today’s economy . I know I am reconsidering the common track of attending college for our kids (14, 12 and 7) right now. I think it requires a paradigm shift around education, creating income and a lifestyle. Money is an exchange of value not time. Do you believe that?
Many think it is unfair that some earn so much money. It is not the hour of time, it is what happens in that hour. How much value do you bring to the hour? If you have skills that are easily duplicated than you severely limit your earning ability.
The question is; what are you willing to do each day to become more valuable? Are you actively working on yourself each day, not just on your job? There are many with a great education, perhaps even earning an MBA or even a PhD who do not have the common sense, people skills or ability to apply their knowledge to be a great employee. They may be darn near unemployable.
What can you do? I suggest you adopt what I call the 4% Solution - invest 4% of your day, one hour, back into the most valuable resource you have - you! Are you getting better? Are you more valuable than your were five years ago? What is your plan? It is even more important the farther you are into your career. You must believe that you are good and that you can get better!
What do you think? I would love to hear from you.
Posted by Chip Eichelberger on November 9, 2011 in All Posts
Tags: debt, jobs, money, occupy wall street, success, trophy generation, valuable
Comments
Posted by Dean Ethridge on November 18, 2011 12:56:14 PM
This is a great article Chip! It's easy to be mediocre, but doing the simple, daily income producing activity can make a huge difference.
Posted by Chris Knapp on November 14, 2011 4:41:07 PM
How can I get the most out of my 4%?
Posted by Mike Carleton on November 11, 2011 10:36:10 AM
So True, I believe that being mediocre is a choice. Our kids need to be motivated and pushed to achieve greatness. The 4% solution is a great place to start.
Posted by Peter Droubay on November 11, 2011 9:47:43 AM
Great article. In it you mention questioning college for your kids. Thought I'd let you know that we have a plan that we are in the middle of which is working well so far (ask me in ten years and I'll tell you whether it really worked or not). We tried traditional schools and were left very disappointed. Here's what we are doing that has worked well so far:
1. Both my boys have attended a Montessori grade school, which is focused on individual work plans in which they complete "jobs" each day. This causes them to think in terms of achievement and completion, not just spending time.
2. We have enrolled my older son (now in High School) in CAVA (California Virtual Academy), which is an online school that he does from home.
3. With CAVA, he is able to get a couple of years worth of college done by the time he graduates from high school.
4. We have also been focused on giving the kids real educational experiences through travel.
5. We have them participate in numerous extracurricular activities that require work and achievement. Both have grown up in boy scouts and taekwondo, both of which require work to achieve the next "rank".
6. Both boys are also allowed to choose one sport at a time. We pay the extra money and devote the extra time for them to be able be in the competitive leagues, where winning and losing is real.
7. We also feel that education in religious scripture is very important. How can Christians make a truly informed choice about what to believe if they've never read the Bible?
8. Both boys also work for their money. I do not believe in "allowances". They are clear that the chores they do around the house are for the privilege of living here and having food to eat.
9. We have well-defined rules for their social life - we want them to date and be happy, so we also want them to see relationships as a privilege that they receive when they are respectful, honest, and disciplined.
10. After high school, my sons plan to attend local colleges (community or state) for a year to finish up a 2-year degree or get more of the general ed classes out of the way. We would then like them to devote two years to being a missionary. It will obviously be their choice, but in my opinion, there is no better way to "grow up" and learn to be very responsible than to spend a couple of years in a strange place serving the people there.
11. After a mission, I will pay to help them attend the college of their choice, including graduate school if they desire to do so. I will not pay the entire amount because I want them to have some investment in it, but I am certainly willing to pay a large portion of it. I do not want them to incur debt for their education.
I am biased, but I can already see the difference in our kids. They are normal kids who occasionally complain and who struggle with things along the way, but they are much more mature than most of the kids around them. I am absolutely certain that not all will go as planned and that each child will make choices that will derail our plan a bit, but they will still be much better off than they would have been otherwise.
Of course, we are able to provide these things for our sons because my wife and I have made certain choices in our lives. We choose to run our own businesses. We choose to travel and study, We choose to work hard and be respectful to each other and to other people. We choose to live our lives a little different than most people do. Whether or not our plan for our kids is a good one doesn't matter much. The scary thing is that most people do not have a plan at all, and if they do, they lack the resources to carry it out. In the end, kids become like their parents to a large degree, which scares us into trying to be better people.
Sorry for being long-winded and getting on my soap box, but I liked your article and thought I'd share.