What we’re blaming millennials for this week: saving too much
Posted On October 10, 2019
They’re entitled, we said. Self-absorbed. The products of participation trophy culture. But now millennials are frugal? Citing research from Raymond James, cnbc.com noted that millennials might be to blame for slower economic growth. Raymond James analyst Travis McCourt cited the rise of the U.S. personal savings rate — 8.1 percent this August, as compared to […]
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Recession Economy
One way to survive lean times: Keeping your operation lean
Posted On February 26, 2019
When the housing market crashed in 2008, Mobile builder Rogers & Willard found themselves in the same situation as pretty much every other construction company in America. After the crash, the company limped through 2009 on only a third of the revenue it had enjoyed in 2008. Times were lean. But fortunately for Rogers & […]
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Real Estate, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston, Work
Are tariffs a good idea? One economist’s take
Posted On December 26, 2018
We all want to see the economy grow and create jobs. A favored method in the current U.S. administration’s efforts to accomplish this has been to use or threaten to use tariffs against foreign countries to level the playing field for American businesses. We’ve been told they will save American jobs, but our guest in […]
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston
Banking in the digital age means doing more with less
Posted On September 26, 2018
During the recession about a decade ago, many banks found themselves saddled with bad debt and forced to freeze their lending. This created an opportunity for new banks to gain a foothold – smaller, more nimble institutions with fewer branches and more flexibility. One such institution was ServisFirst Bank, a Birmingham-based bank that’s now operating […]
Categories: Financial Services, Podcast, Recession Economy, What's Working with Cam Marston
On today’s episode in the Generational Blame Game: The Baby Boomers
Posted On January 16, 2018
A favorite narrative these days goes something like this: If you’re wondering about the source of society’s ills, look no further than the millennials. Participation trophies. Entitlement. Pumpkin spice lattes. No wonder we’re in such a mess. You can hardly run a Google search without finding another blustery column by a Generation X or Baby […]
Categories: Baby Boomers, Recession Economy, Work
Entitled? Or bad timing? Or maybe a little of both?
Posted On July 21, 2016
Are millennials really the lazy, entitled brats they’re made out to be? Or is the millennial stereotype a media creation? Sarah Kendzior suggests in a recent article for Quartz that the image of millennials as spoiled narcissists is a media-generated “myth” that ignores the economic conditions under which the generation has grown. Far from expecting […]
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Recession Economy, Uncategorized, Work
Today’s young adults are a new breed
Posted On July 11, 2014
Bosses, parents and peers shake their heads at today’s “peter pan” kids – young adults who won’t grow up and seem to have lost their way. There were some in the Xer generation and even more with the Millennials – as they stepped out into the great big world right as the world folded in […]
Categories: Generation Y / Millennials, Recession EconomyGenerational mix-up? Bloomberg Businessweek campaign causes a stir
Posted On June 20, 2013
The first rule of advertising is to know your target audience. The second rule should be a no-brainer: don’t actively offend them. Somewhere on the way to being creative Bloomberg Businessweek advertisers seem to have forgotten rule number two. In a “funny if it didn’t happen to you” subscription campaign, the Bloomberg affiliate encourages parents, […]
Categories: Advertising, Generations, Recession EconomyMillennials showing another hint of Mature-like behavior
Posted On June 11, 2013
One of the core theories in generational management is that generational norms exist based largely in response to the world environment during a group’s formative years. For the older half of the millennial generation (those currently 18 – 34) the rollercoaster economy seems to be making its mark. According to a report in the Los […]
Categories: Generations, Matures, Recession EconomyAre cynical Xers wearing rose-colored glasses?
Posted On May 21, 2013
Just last week we were talking about how 50% of Gen Xers are confident in their retirement savings. Today, we’re hearing that the confidence may not match up with the bank accounts. The Associated Press reported on the findings of a recent Pew study of the retirement readiness of Boomers and Gen Xers. While retirees […]
Categories: Financial Services, Generations, Recession Economy