So Papa John Sumser writes poetry. Who knew? But, here's a sample, straight out of his highschool yearbook.
I Can't Wait For Web 3.0 -- by Papa John SumserSometimes,
The noise generated by the recruitosphere
Evokes an empty feeling.Stalkers who make big names for themselves,
Thought leaders with no thoughts,
Strong opinion that amounts to nothing.It's sad to understand
That user generated content
Means a lot of bad manners
And thoughtlessness.
Once he has that out of his system, however, he does revert to prose.
Recently, I read a diatribe on leadership. The idea was that Gen Y people do not evidence traditional leadership skills because they are so good at collaboration. ... I half expected the Animal to jump out of the bushes screaming "See, I told you."
Wouldn't you know it? The crankiest voice in the Recruitosphere doesn't get it when I crankyize on good old Gen Y. Look, we all want to be pals with everybody, don't we? But pals know their limits and when they don't, it's up to their pals to let them know. And, when it comes to Gen Y, The Recruiting Animal has taken it upon himself to be a pal. Its most consistent pal.
Not a pal who lets it fill up on bravado which is going to leave it begging for redemption when it's middle-aged. But a pal who tells it here and now to "Hey, smarten up. What you're saying isn't true. Sure, you're terrific. Who isn't? But, you know what? You're not the greatest thing since sliced bread. And if you keep telling everyone you are, everyone is going to hate you." Even your peers. (At least, your smarter peers).
Papa, however, seems to think that The Recruiting Animal is against team work and freedom and industrial democracy. He thinks that I'm advocating on behalf of arrogant bosses who are trying to keep their eager-beavers down. Well, I do hate eager beavers but that's beside the point because I hate bosses, too.
And, what is the point? Well, how much does Papa love Gen Y, himself? Not that much. He claims that "The change we are facing is more than generational." Inotherwords, any new business culture will not be a manifestation of Gen Y but of a larger historical process -- something the Recruiting Animal has been saying for a long time.
But you know what? I love it when it I'm Sumserized. So, I say: Hey, Papa, bring it on.
Note: Papa believes that the new form of business organization will be something like a gas. Does that mean it stinks?