Originally published May 6, 2014 on Forbes.
If you're in your twenties, you grew up in a different world than I did. You probably went to organized play dates, had tutors to help you improve your grade from a B+ to an A, and maybe even had a private counselor to help you write your college admissions essays.
After school, my parents told me to play in the street. If I was really in trouble, my parents bought an SAT study guide and told me to do the practice tests.
Some of my friends have written a steady stream of papers, in both high school and college, for their kids... your peers. Watching this happen solved one of the great mysteries of my career. I once hired a young manager from an Ivy League school, who turned out to be absolutely clueless. He couldn't write or think clearly. How, I wondered, did he manage to graduate from a top ten school?
One word: parents.
Not to offend you, but many of my clients and colleagues complain about your generation, suggesting you are well-spoken and groomed, but leaning towards an over-entitled state of mind. I'm not sure it's fair to blame you for this issue; let's blame your parents instead.
(As an aside, TIME reports: The National Institutes of Health found that for people in their 20s, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is three times as high than the generation that’s 65 or older.)
To be honest, as two of my "kids" have gone to college, I had to stop myself a few times from calling up the school to intervene. High school habits die hard, and when problems arose at that stage, I called or emailed the teacher. Fortunately, I never contacted any college faculty. But I know plenty of parents who have.
Now, I wonder how many parents are actively actively (that's not a typo) coaching your peers? Do you have friends who call their parents four times a day to ask for guidance? When they have to give their boss a presentation or important memo, does Mom or Dad stay up late helping?
In my day, our parents would send us into the wilderness with nothing but a loincloth and a sharpened stick, with the instructions to kill dinner or die trying.
Ok, I'm lying. But my Dad never helped me do my job. Mom never called my boss to chew him out.
Maybe my perspective is distorted. I live just outside New York City, and things happen here that certainly aren't commonplace elsewhere. But I know families in San Francisco, Houston and even London who seem to confuse wanting the best for your kids with doing the best work for your kids.
What do you think?
For some twenty-somethings, is every day Take Your Parents to Work Day? Please leave a comment.If you're in your twenties, you grew up in a different world than I did. You probably went to organized play dates, had tutors to help you improve your grade from a B+ to an A, and maybe even had a private counselor to help you write your college admissions essays.
After school, my parents told me to play in the street. If I was really in trouble, my parents bought an SAT study guide and told me to do the practice tests.
Some of my friends have written a steady stream of papers, in both high school and college, for their kids... your peers. Watching this happen solved one of the great mysteries of my career. I once hired a young manager from an Ivy League school, who turned out to be absolutely clueless. He couldn't write or think clearly. How, I wondered, did he manage to graduate from a top ten school?
One word: parents.
Not to offend you, but many of my clients and colleagues complain about your generation, suggesting you are well-spoken and groomed, but leaning towards an over-entitled state of mind. I'm not sure it's fair to blame you for this issue; let's blame your parents instead.
(As an aside, TIME reports: The National Institutes of Health found that for people in their 20s, Narcissistic Personality Disorder is three times as high than the generation that’s 65 or older.)
To be honest, as two of my "kids" have gone to college, I had to stop myself a few times from calling up the school to intervene. High school habits die hard, and when problems arose at that stage, I called or emailed the teacher. Fortunately, I never contacted any college faculty. But I know plenty of parents who have.
Now, I wonder how many parents are actively actively (that's not a typo) coaching your peers? Do you have friends who call their parents four times a day to ask for guidance? When they have to give their boss a presentation or important memo, does Mom or Dad stay up late helping?
In my day, our parents would send us into the wilderness with nothing but a loincloth and a sharpened stick, with the instructions to kill dinner or die trying.
Ok, I'm lying. But my Dad never helped me do my job. Mom never called my boss to chew him out.
Maybe my perspective is distorted. I live just outside New York City, and things happen here that certainly aren't commonplace elsewhere. But I know families in San Francisco, Houston and even London who seem to confuse wanting the best for your kids with doing the best work for your kids.
What do you think?
For some twenty-somethings, is every day Take Your Parents to Work Day?