I started thinking about this two years ago when the target protagonists would have been thirty four and thirty five years old. Any professional person today is at risk of realizing a status of “lost generation”. We don’t have enough mentors. And, if people try, they probably don’t know how. That’s another topic for debate destined for another time. But, I’m confident it set’s the stage for an audience that will feel it’s truth at the back of their collective necks.

Today that focus group is best exampled by thirty five and thirty six year olds. I say that because thirty five is the most difficult year for people in their personal and professional lives. It’s the proverbial cross-roads. Through my Coaching practice I realized the epiphany that thirty five is the truest point of mid-life crisis. That is, in itself, another terrific topic.

It can be argued that the most significant difference between decision-makers today is how they receive and process information, and then what they do with it in terms of “situational awareness”, relevance, and execution.

For example, most decision-makers (I can define this better some other time – but, broadly executives from startups to the Fortune 1000) that are under thirty five are comfortable receiving critical information on a mobile device (ie. smart phone of iPad), trusting it’s veracity, distributing and sharing it, and, most importantly, acting upon it. Remarkably, this includes texting. When you think about it, you’ll begin to notice that decision-makers over thirty five are still more comfortable with a desk top computer. NOTE: We more often today include Powerbooks/ laptops in this category. And, more and more over thirty five decision-makers don’t like to use SKYPE for business because they are concerned about how they will be perceived (that is yet ANOTHER great topic, for later). So, under thirty five decision-makers are more likely to believe what they read on the internet is true (it’s the old-line thinking: “if it’s in writing it must be true”). And, with the crowd-sourcing mentality of that age demographic they want to rely on that type of information. It’s a “herd” mentality. Some times the effort results in a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, more often than not they are making decisions that alienate them from their older peers because it’s not genuinely informed decision-making based on emperical research.

DATA, Information, Mobility, and Bandwidth are HOT industries probably because we want more visual-oriented information piped through our mobile devices. An example of this is the growing popularity and proliferation of Video Blogs. But, these are rarely done by people over thirty five. But, much of the information is derived from sources like Google (which I find jaw-droppingly naive and astounding), Facebook and Tumblr (that is a VERY broad generalization).

This schism is broadening. The amazing thing is the cut-off point is so dramatic. But, the level-of-trust between these groups is dropping-off at a remarkable pace. A result that we are tracking is the fall-off in numbers of “young” executive hires and promotions. And, reduced value placed on post graduate degrees like MBA’s. But, the hiring of CPA’s is tracking upward. Probably because the internet can lie, but numbers won’t.

More later.

Let’s be part of the solution.

brian patrick cork

Related posts:

1. all you need to know is what others use
2. taking a position on Faith instead of making a stand
3. the Law says eat Apples and spit out Androids
4. flash This
5. are computers portals to chaos or confusion?
6. getting Down on Google’s Upside
7. being part of the solution evolution revolution
8. super vision for what really matters
9. androids doing it the Apple way
10. samsung galaxy being Stuffed by the iPad2

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hint…

during a recent interview I was asked if I knew what type of “machine” Apple developers use.

so, if you care, I know they use iMacs.  but, for OSX Build Servers they use what might be best described as mini-towers (not necessarily Mac Mini’s on steroids, as pithy as that may read). something the masses won’t see for a while to come.

by the way… I was also asked why I thought Sprint recently committed to Apple and the iPhone and not Android devices.

well… the answer lays within their reaction to seeing the road-map for the iPhone 5.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Related posts:

1. Apple always bites back
2. androids can't dance
3. it’s okay for Apple to make great products and Profits
4. you can eat an Apple but be careful not to choke on Google
5. androids doing it the Apple way
6. a tasty Apple update
7. brian cork’s iPad 2
8. apple has my back (up)
9. that heavy-handed arbiter
10. two Apples equal one Kidney

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Google GOOG has a recruiting challenge. although, in truth, they have many problems.

I may be one of them.

…but, only if helping people make informed decisions is deemed problematic.

earlier this month I posted: the Microsoft curse.

through that post I outlined three core issues Google is facing (you need to read it. do it!). one of them is most apropos to this current post:

“finally, but not really, there is so much more. but, neither employees or shareholders can build wealth owning Google stock. so, the company is easy to recruit from. the company built it’s collective employment foundation on greed and a sense of entitlement. if you understand my core business, you get how I know this. let’s be clear, I stand against such things. I fight them.”

I’ll remind you that last month I also posted: no more Apples.

“suddenly Apple isn’t as cool as it’s products. It’s much like Google. Working at either place won’t change your life financially unless you are a very senior executive. it took Google three years to drive itself into a share value rut. Apple’s story is awesome and sustained itself for almost thirty years. but, I think the joy ride is over (unless the stock splits).”

so…

with all of that there has been a great deal of fist shaking and the gnashing of teeth. there has also been reports of pushing and shoving. but, more of that was realized on the West coast, and less so, here.

but, the bottom-line is that, evidently in response to my blog post, Google recently gave its workers an across-the-board 10% pay raise.

but mega-employers like Google, Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) and Facebook offer untraditional incentives like free lunch, laundry, massages, oil changes and dentistry to keep their employees. they, like Google, splash around cash.

and, this is going to create a bubble of sorts that makes for a much bigger problem over the next three years. efforts such as this inflates the value, or perceived value, of everything such as real estate, certain brands of automobiles, job titles, etc. but, what can you expect from a culture that does not really create anything but the illusion of something undefined, like Google (and wannabes)?

our country values and measures itself by the stock market. so, insiders, analysts and some other bloggers want Silicon valley to keep up the pressure that creates an image. but, most people don’t have access to the data, analysis and stock at the earliest stages to change their lives as I’ve discussed earlier.

I’ll discuss what to do about all of this this soon. so, hang in there and stick with me.

more later.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Related posts:

1. Google has to grow (up)
2. the Microsoft curse
3. turns out Google is evil after all
4. bank on Brian
5. Apple and Google United
6. no more Apples
7. Apple at $305 in 2010
8. the scales of justice don't, often enough, balance out against evil
9. selfless acts of Commerce
10. Brian Cork on those Wall Street Rascals

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