I started reading Buzz Bin after @wilreynolds twittered about a different post earlier today. I really like this post because it highlights the largest contributor to American decline over the last 50 years, at least from my perspective. Somehow we have lost our strong work ethic, the single most important factor for our success from the revolution to World War II.
Disclaimer: Some people do need the social programs and rules that are alluded to below; I’m not suggesting that we remove them altogether. They just need to be tightened up.
Everyone feels entitled to this or that, and no one wants to work for it. There are so many programs for people to “take advantage of” and so many rules that protect people from the consequences of negligence these days. It’s actually a difficult decision to take the other path and work hard for yourself when you know you don’t need to.
We are actually “supplementing” ourselves out of an increasingly competitive global market with this attitude and these legislated rewards for indifference.
Considering this: http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2006/MateNagy.shtml why do we reward people for doing less?
In summary, I think we’re legislating our work ethic attitudes by providing protection for poor work ethic and social programs that encourage people not to work.

Great post. I think Rotary International has put it succinctly in its 4-Way Test:
1. Is the the TRUTH?
2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?
3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we used the 4-Way Test in all aspects of our lives?!

Happy Holidays.

But the work ethic point is solid and there’s a reason it’s lasted a long, long time.

Anyway, in the interest of helping move the baton, here are three tenets my father passed on to me. I think they mesh with and reflect yours quite well:
1) Always do your tasks well, not matter how “minor.” You never know who you’ll impress.
2) Make your own luck. #1 is a big part of that. When people say opportunities fell out of the sky, it’s usually because they put themselves in a position to have them fall.
3) Find a job you love, and you’ll never have a day of work in your life. This might seem to be a personal branding statement, but in fact it’s about knowing what moves you and chasing it, even through what others might say is beneath you, treating others with respect, and not always going for what pays the most.

I’ll refrain from making blanket statements about the work ethic of millennials as then I’ll sound like the cranky lady yelling at the kids to get off my lawn. There were slackers in my day just like there are today.

As soon as they move out of their parents’ house, have kids & a mortgage to pay, that sense of entitlement will be shattered by the realities of having to pay their own way through life. It’s part of the passage that middle- & upper-class kids college-educated kids go through in their 20s. It was just shorter for those of us whose parents refused to bail us out of every financial problem we encountered.

I think kids only feel that sense of entitlement if their parents place no demands on them and make them the center of their universe. It’s not a bad thing to not have all of your needs fulfilled. And it’s no surprise that a huge percentage of successful entrepreneurs are immigrants or the children of immigrants. Success isn’t (or shouldn’t be!) handed to you, you have to be hungry for it.

Cheers and Happy Holidays to the Buzz Bin!

Per a comment I left on Jeremiah Owyang’s blog (http://tinyurl.com/828d8p), intelligent management avoids the Scoble personality dominating social media situation. At the same time companies should allow people to be brilliant.

This is important for the work ethic post… Showing a team is what companies are about — more than one. Personal brands come and go, much like stars come and go on casts and sports teams. No one star is responsible for a team winning, nor should they be viewed as such.

Using sports again, even MJ and Kobe could/can not power the Bulls and Lakers to championships without other key players. It’s the same with social media. Highlighting those other players allows a company to maintain its program in the wake of inevitable departures.