What comes around goes around

When I was in grad school, I did my masters thesis on how to use marketing to improve your company's image among your employees. I was able to prove that if your employees think well of you, then it will improve your external image. I was working at a community college at the time, and that's where I executed the marketing plan and conducted the study.

After I completed the internal marketing effort, it was such a success that I entered for a state best practices award. I wasn't at the conference where the award was given, but my new boss - who DID NOT WORK AT THE COLLEGE WHEN I DID THIS MARKETING EFFORT - was at the conference.

The internal marketing plan won. And since my boss - the dean - was there, he thought the award was his. It sat on his desk (I left the college two years ago) until last June. That's when he was FIRED (probably for being such a schmuck).

Today, my former colleague who still works at the college presented me with my 2004 Best Practice Award. It now will sit on MY desk.

When my boss kept my award, it pissed me off. But I had forgotten about it until my friend emailed me that I could have it back. This award stealing all happened at a dark place in my career. And yet, I still plugged along and hoped for the best (while gaining 30 pounds). Today, I have my dream job, the career I'd always hoped for. I get to travel all across the U.S. talking to people about marketing. And I work with brilliant people who would never take credit for someone else's work.

Gee, I wonder where the dean is now? Probably at home - because he no longer has a job at all.

What Palin represents to Gen X women

I've been trying to put my finger on exactly why Gen Xers like myself are not supportive of Sarah Palin. Now, you could say it's because I'm a liberal democrat (which I am). However, I can respect John McCain - but why not Palin?

And then I figured it out. Actually, feministing.com had the answer. To paraphrase, a lot of Boomer feminists were upset by the Obama victory over Clinton, because Obama represented that guy they lost the job/promotion/whatever to. However, many Xer feminists don't like Palin because she represents the "incompetent yet babelicious woman is promoted over her head, then the boss orders the attention of the entire team/department/etc. to focus on ensuring that 'we' shield her from "mistakes" (or worse, we get blamed for her mistakes)."

Check out the post for yourself and report back what you think.

Brits do study to discover what Gen Xers already know

A recent British study found that Gen Xers are willing to work more hours - if those hours are flexible and they have control over their own time.

Penna, the "human capital research" firm that did the research, could have saved a lot of time and money if they just read my blog - or any Gen X blog for that matter.

Git-r-done: Outcomes-focused Xers want you to figure it out already

My husband once got in an argument with a colleague regarding how to complete an assignment (he works in the media) that ended with my husband saying, "F*cking figure it out!" While, not the most professional of lines, I do think it encapsulates the Gen X impatience with people who are process-focused, rather than outcome focused.

Two things happened recently that made me remember that story. The first is my good friend is struggling with managing Boomer and Gen Y employees, because she doesn't have a lot of extra time to discuss process.

The second was reading Jason Seiden's blog. He had this great post about Gen X and one of the things he pointed out is that Gen X has been flattening out the hierarchy of organizations since we entered the workforce.

I'm not sure there's a big lesson here as much as it's just something Xers have to deal with. Process is not that important to us. We tell you the result we want, and you figure out how. And when we're dealing with superiors, we just want to be told what result you want, and we'll figure it out.

Maybe that's why so many of us Xers run around quoting Larry the Cable Guy (an Xer, by the way). He's an idiot, but he's right.

Obama campaign staff: Social media genius

Barack Obama, who I follow on Twitter (and he follows me), just tweeted this YouTube. I bow to the master of social political marketing.

Are Xers appreciated?

I was on the phone with a friend last night when the topic of appreciation came up. It got me thinking. How many people feel appreciated at their jobs?

I feel appreciated at my job. Really, I do. However, I've been in the workforce since 1993 and this is the first time I have felt like the people I work with - and my boss - appreciate not just the work I do, but they appreciate the unique skills I bring to the table.

And when I say "unique skills," I don't just mean marketing or writing or public speaking. I'm great at those things, but so are a lot of other people. I mean things like the fact that people open up to me and say things to me that they wouldn't say to other people I work with. For instance:

Last summer I was facilitating a workshop with two other women on generational
marketing. We were talking about how younger generations tend to be more casual
in the workplace, which can annoy older (not that old, like my age) people. I was
sitting in the "circle" and the Xer next to me leaned over and said, "Yeah, they
really need to keep the junk in the trunk." She was talking about keeping your
butt crack covered.

When I told my boss the story, he thought it was great. Not because it was funny, which it was. Not because he agreed, which I'm sure he did. Then why? Because that meant that my student felt comfortable with me. You can't learn well under stress. And this student knew she could give me her opinion, which means interaction in the classroom, which means even more learning.

At my other jobs, I wouldn't have even mentioned this story, except to my Gen Xer friends. That's because my "superiors" wouldn't have even understood. That would have thought, "Oh, Gen Xers being inappropriate again." They didn't understand that Xers need to be able to communicate with their colleagues as peers - not as I'm "associate professors" but you're only "assistant professor" so you're not as cool as me. They didn't understand that the student was telling me she thought I'm "cool."

Gen X T-shirts: It's fun to annoy others!

I'm seriously considering buying this shirt. I love it. It says "Gen X - you know we're right."

So here are the pros:

• It's not that expensive
• When I run into a Boomer or a Millennial, it will probably piss them off
• All the other Xers will think I'm cool

Here are the cons:

Well, there is really only one con: I'm afraid that crew neck will make my chi chis look humongous - and that's not a look I strive for. Plus there's the whole issue of sausage belly - if it's clingy, this could squeeze me around the middle enough to make me look like the poster girl for Krysiak House Kielbasa.

So I'm wondering if the other Xers will still think I'm cool if I look like a sausage while being irreverent.

What would you do?