You see what people your age sees in a situation. When you look at a challenge, you see it based on the vehicle, in the business, and everything you’re in. An intern in college would see that business challenge, that marketing problem, or that that idea for a new product totally different from what an experienced colleague sees. You can leverage that and experience business growth from youth because tomorrow’s customers are today’s nineteen-year-olds.
Tomorrow’s people buying the mega homes and the mega yachts are today’s nineteen-year-olds. We have to understand how these people think, walk, and tick because they’re influencing their parents and grandparents. Interns see problems differently and they see opportunities differently as well. They look forward and they’re not pickled with experience. If you’re not getting some young people, whether interns or full-timers, it’s time to do so.
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Growth From Youth
This is part four of a four-part series on vision and how sight lines and vision force and create growth. I have covered this topic about twenty different times in a very minor way. I’ve never specifically spoken about this issue directly, but I’ve nibbled at it and I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to hit it directly between the eyes. This is entitled Interns and I mean this figuratively and literally. What is an intern? An intern is an 18 to 22-year-old who goes to school. They need a job but they can’t get a job because they don’t have any work experience on their résumé. Companies will take them in, sometimes they’ll pay them or sometimes they won’t. Experience becomes the payment and then they get to say, “I worked for six months at IBM or whatever as an intern.” That is considered real life and real work experience.
I do speak a lot on Reticular Activation. As a reminder, if you haven’t heard the prior podcasts, reticular activation says, you see everything you’re currently in and involved in. I always use this example. My first car was a 1979 Ford Mustang. When I drove that car, I saw every 1979 Ford Mustang from miles away. I noticed them everywhere. I was in that car. I loved that car. My next car was a Buick Skylark. As soon as I started driving the Buick Skylark, I saw them everywhere. The same make and the same model. I had never ever in my life noticed a Buick Skylark on the streets before. I wasn’t in it. It wasn’t part of what I was involved in.
Then my next car was a Toyota Supra. Of course, I started noticing all the other Toyota Supras all over the world. Once I got into the Supra, I never noticed ‘79 Ford Mustang again. You see what you’re in. How old are you? Answer that to yourself. It doesn’t make sense when I tell you that you see what people your age sees in a situation. What if I told you that when you look at a challenge, you see it based on the vehicle, in the business and everything you’re in.
What if I told you that an intern in college would see that business challenge or that marketing problem or that idea for a new product totally differently. I’m going to guess there are going to be very few similarities in what you see and what they see. Is it fair to say that an intern’s reticular activation is set to things that are hot, fresh and new? Would it make sense if an intern grew up thumbing Facebook on a smart phone, where you grew up with a Motorola Brick or flipping a phone open and texting by hitting the number three three times for the C or whatever? They see everything different.
A study came out, the post-Millennials, these are the people that are nineteen and under, they believe Millennials are the most spoiled generation in world history. They believe Millennials had no work ethic. They see Millennials that were handed everything. It drives them nuts that Millennials are knocking business people and entrepreneurs and they’re a working machine.
They see Millennials have very little savings account, if any. No work habits. This is not me and this is the study. I still want the Millennials to take on everything. My company is run by Millennials but I want the post-Millennial view on everything, but I also want the 30, 40, 50-year-old view on everything. I can’t wait to get the 60, 70 and 80-year-old take on everything because they all have a different reticular activation.
This is about interns. It boggles my mind when I talk to someone that has ten or more employees but no interns. Ten or more employees but none of them under 22 years old. I can’t understand that because tomorrow’s customers are now’s nineteen-year-olds. Tomorrow’s people buying the mega homes and the mega yachts are now’s nineteen-year-olds. We have to understand how these people think, walk and tick because they’re influencing their parents and grandparents.
How do you do this? You immediately bring on some interns. It costs you very little if anything. Interns can not only work in your office, they can work from home or from other countries. Due to incentives and the potential of how much an intern needs a job, I’m going to guess that interns might even outwork your staff for the potential insurance of a future job.
They see problems differently but they see opportunities different as well. How many interns are currently in your office? If there are none, ask yourself this question, “Are you and your staff pickled by experience?” I think you are. How many times have you heard me say that people live life either walking forward or walking backward? I’ve done this exercise from a stage in four different countries.
What if I said you had to double your company? You’ve got eighteen months to go, it’s not an option or I keep children. Almost all answers I get on how to grow, where it’s guaranteed doubling the company, 80% of the answers involved stuff they’ve already done before that have worked but they would just press the gas pedal down harder. They would do what works more. What if I said I’m keeping your children unless you grow 10X in the next eighteen months, tenfold?
The shift goes from 80% of all answers to what you would do being things you’ve done before. This answer when you have to grow 10X, 80% of the answers that come out are, “I would do things I’ve never done before. I’d find a way to get a Super Bowl commercial. I’d find a way to get on national radio. I’d get a celebrity or as a spokesperson. I would get some famous person to make a mention on Twitter or Facebook or down their huge email list for us.”
You would do the things you didn’t have the guts, time or money to do before. What does this say? This tells us that most people are living life walking backwards. You’re looking at what you’ve done before. Here’s the deal, all interns, 100% of them, can’t face backwards. They don’t have any business experience. All interns look forward. They think 5X and 10X. That’s all they know. They’re not pickled with experience. Trust me on this. Get out of your own way and get some young people whether they’re interns or full-timers but goodness gracious, get it done now. I hope this helps. Take care.
Important Links:
- Reticular Activation – previous episode
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