Friday, January 7, 2011

12,000 baby-boomers are leaving the workforce daily

According to the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2010:

As you read this, over 12,000 baby-boomers are leaving the workforce daily. Most due to age, many due to reductions.   

This leaves us with a shortfall of over 42 million people in the workforce, 8 million of which are professionals.

Gen-X is not making up the difference simply because Gen-X is half the size of the Boomer generation. 

Gen-Y/Millennials are nearly as big as the baby-boomers but it will take another 3-5 years before they are ready to take their place.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Entrepreneurs say they desperately need more foreign workers

According to a brief from Worldwide ERC, U.S. entrepreneurs say they desperately need more foreign workers but the government is only making it harder. Maureen Torrey, who owns Torrey Farms in upstate New York, says she cannot find Americans with the skills she needs to tend her crops and her farm has lost money for the past two years. Meanwhile Atul Jain of Global Software Solutions says he may have to send work overseas this year because there are not enough Americans with technology skills and a willingness to spend months overseas. “We’re in a crisis situation as we see no action by Washington,” he says. He and other entrepreneurs had hoped immigration reform would bring in more foreign talent, but Congress has not moved on the issue and federal agencies are making it harder to get employment visas. Regulators say they are protecting U.S. jobs and want to make sure they are not being taken by foreigners, but Jain says “The economy will not improve just because foreign workers can’t come.” The problem is tougher for small companies, as they have fewer resources for managing visa applications or establishing units overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor.

It's Getting Harder to Hire Foreign Workers

According to a brief from Worldwide ERC, U.S. entrepreneurs say they desperately need more foreign workers but the government is only making it harder. Maureen Torrey, who owns Torrey Farms in upstate New York, says she cannot find Americans with the skills she needs to tend her crops and her farm has lost money for the past two years. Meanwhile Atul Jain of Global Software Solutions says he may have to send work overseas this year because there are not enough Americans with technology skills and a willingness to spend months overseas. “We’re in a crisis situation as we see no action by Washington,” he says. He and other entrepreneurs had hoped immigration reform would bring in more foreign talent, but Congress has not moved on the issue and federal agencies are making it harder to get employment visas. Regulators say they are protecting U.S. jobs and want to make sure they are not being taken by foreigners, but Jain says “The economy will not improve just because foreign workers can’t come.” The problem is tougher for small companies, as they have fewer resources for managing visa applications or establishing units overseas to take advantage of cheaper labor.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Immigration - some countries want it!

Here's an interesting snippet from the Guardian.co.uk - especially in light of the current debate about immigration into the United States:
With the financial crisis a thing of the past, the authorities in Singapore are looking at ways of letting in a fresh wave of immigrants. This year 100,000 foreign workers should be needed to cope with the powerful surge in the city-state's economy, with 18% growth for the first half of the year.
The full article is worh a read - see it HERE

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Left Brain, Right Brain

One of the things I have learned during my career is the need to develop synergy between both hemispheres of the brain. In order to be truly effective, we need to use the logical and analytical left side of our brain without neglecting the creative and intuitive right side of the brain.

Most analytical, logical, and rational thought takes place in the left hemisphere, where the tasks for well reasoned arguments take place. That may be the reason most people prefer to hold their phones against their right ear. The right ear connects directly to the left side of the brain - the side that processes language and analytical thought.

In today’s work environment, I find the right side of the brain is not used nearly enough. The right hemisphere is where our brains focus on the big picture. It is where we are creative and intuitive. In order to gain a competitive edge, especially in the realm of international business, we need to be able to draw on the resources of our whole brain – creativity and intuition to find the possible solutions and alternatives to a problem and logical and analytical reasoning to implement the solution.

In the world of organizations and business, the logical thinkers who tend to concentrate on data and details often dominate. In my consulting work, I find many teams where not one team-member is right-brain dominant. In part the reason for this is that the detail oriented logical thinkers find it hard to recruit personalities different to their own. The result of such self-selection is quite predictable – the team gets lost in data, details and processes, struggling to see the big picture.

During my career (see my memoir "Driving Straight on Crooked Lines"), I think I was able to develop synergy between both halves of my brain.  My boss, for many years, was a logical thinker who focused on detail. He didn’t spend a lot of energy on feelings – but he always seemed to manage to stay in touch with his intuitive side. He trained us to see the big picture, to seek creative solutions and then focus on process and implementation. Like so many corporate and organizational types, I tended to be a data-focused logical thinker and the organization I was with became quite left-brain dominant. The how of getting things done tended to be more important than the why.  As a result, we tended to focus on a rational approach to life and spirituality with a decided bias towards action. On the positive side, that is one of the reasons we got so much support from powerful business people – we knew how to get things done and we spoke the action oriented language of business.

Our bias toward action was tempered with an intense dedication to prayer – although our prayer life too tended to be structured and regimented. That approach probably worked best for our dominant personality type. A solid prayer life does help one keep in touch with the creative and intuitive side of the brain. I have since learned that optimism is probably the most important emotional asset in business. There’s nothing like a good prayer life to cultivate optimism.

As part of our prayer life, I would have to include the enormously healing, holistic effect of Gregorian chant.  The French doctor Alfred Tomatis pioneered research on the neurophysiologic effects of chant on the minds and bodies of its singers and listeners. According to his theory, there are two kinds of sound: "discharge" sounds (those that tire, fatigue and drain the listener) and "charge" sounds (those that give energy and health). According to Dr. Tomatis, Gregorian chant may be the most potent "charge" sound to promote strength and vitality. Unlike other types of music, the rhythm of the chant is based on the breathing of the participants rather than on a mathematically calculated beat. Just try listening to a small amount of it each day, or better still, chanting some of the traditional melodies, and you will quickly notice how calming it is as you get in touch with your intuitive and creative side.

I am thankful that most of us analytical types got to spend a balanced amount of time on creativity-enhancing exercises. A solid physical exercise regime helped us manage stress; we all spent a lot of time on writing, metaphysics and brainstorming. We listened to well selected classical music and had ample time for silent meditation.  I think the positive result of all of the above, for me, is that I learned to be in touch with both hemispheres of my brain. As I wrote at the beginning, this is not a skill I come across often in the corporate, technically oriented world I live in.  Did I learn anything usefulfor the oft-maligned creative types? Yes. My creatively inclined confreres got in touch with their logical left-brain processes by playing dominoes and chess, studying scholastic philosophy, developing plans and budgets and adhering to the strict schedules that marked our life in community.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

New Memoir About Life in the Controversial Legion of Christ by a Former Member Reveals Insights into the Double Life of Founder Father Marcial Maciel

Press Release

TRUMBULL, Conn., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As Vatican-watchers await the appointment of a papal delegate to oversee the Legion of Christ, a new memoir by a former member claims that few Legionaries were aware of the double life led by their founder, the late Father Marcial Maciel.

Driving Straight on Crooked Lines: How an Irishman Found his heart and Nearly Lost his Mind, http://www.drivingstraight.com (ISBN 978-0-9845227-0-5, Trade paperback, 352 pp, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2) provides author Jack Keogh's insights into the inner workings of the Legion of Christ and the intimate thoughts of a former priest who collaborated with the controversial Maciel, the founder of the Mexican congregation.

Keogh, the first Irish-born Legionary to set foot in Mexico, tells how he ultimately came to believe that God does indeed drive straight on the crooked lines of our lives after first nearly losing his mind.

Spanning locations across the globe, Keogh's "gripping story offers realistic insight, told with a subjective, non-judgmental outlook," says Australian writer and editor Cerian Griffiths. "Keogh's sincere narrative, in which he faces many challenges, inspires an attitude of hope for the future. His story is told with candor, a sparkle in the eye, plenty of blarney, and Irish good humor."

Investigative reporter, author and film director Jason Berry, whose recent report on the Legion of Christ's Father Marcial Maciel was published in the National Catholic Reporter says, "I was pulled along by the story of a young Irishman drawn into the world of the Legionaries of Christ, unable to see the raw truth of Father Maciel, coming to the painful realization of Maciel's psychological tyranny as time passed, and having the fortune to leave early enough to make a new life. This is a sad yet, in the final measure, uplifting memoir."

Keogh is Managing Director of Keogh & Associates Consulting, LLC of Trumbull, CT, which advises multinational corporations on leadership and cross-cultural communications. A resident of Fairfield County, CT, Keogh studied in Spain and Italy and is fluent in their languages. Many thousands of people around the globe have attended his presentations.

For more information about Driving Straight on Crooked Lines or to schedule an interview, please contact Jack Keogh at (203) 268-3126 or visit http://www.drivingstraight.com. The book is available on http://www.amazon.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Book Cover: http://www.ereleases.com/pic/DrivingStraightonCrookedLines.jpg

CONTACT: Jack Keogh Iveagh Lodge Press Trumbull, CT (203) 268-3126 info@iveaghlodgepress.com


This press release was issued through eReleases(R). For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE Jack Keogh

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Matcing the right hire to the right job: a critical managerial skill

No one can guarantee the performance of a manager or executive appointed to a new position.
The reports and surveys we are constantly bombarded suggest we can safely say most executives make poor promotion and staffing decisions.

Peter F. Drucker repeatedly said:

“In no other area of management would we put up with such miserable performance (as we do in people decisions)...indeed, we need not and should not...Managers making people decisions will never be perfect...But they should come pretty close to batting 1,000, especially because in no other area of management do we know so much..."

I completely agree with the following points taken from Human Resources. Read the full article here.

1) Think through the assignment. Failure to think through the assignment, Drucker observed, was the number-one reason for staffing failures. Put differently, executives making staffing decisions must “match strengths to opportunity.” many times when thinking through the assignment, the necessity for reorganizing the existing organization becomes apparent. The nature of the assignment requires multiple knowledges and a variety of skills impossible to find in one person.

2) Make sure the appointee understands the job.“It is not intuitively obvious to most people that a new and different job requires new and different behavior,” Drucker said. “Most people continue to do what they've done before.”

3) Match The Right New Hire For the Right Job. A successful bus driver, in all likelihood, cannot run the bus company.

Questions to ask:
"What is the task?” “What is the experience and knowledge base required to carry out the task?" "Does the appointee understand the job?"

Creating new opportunities for people involves helping them learn and develop. That's something Keogh & Associates Consulting, LLC specializes in - but that is a topic for another day.