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This is really cool forward thinking. Now, give them a percentage interest in their success (let's not forget that money is the key measure of success - yes, it is!) and you just might have a winning formula. But can corporate America give up the goods like this?

Hmmm...it'll be interesting to see...I'd bet NOT. Look at all the hellabaloo over Michael Homula's idea to tie recruiter pay to performance...what'll we have next...free agents?

;)

I live and work in Boston so I have a lot of respect for the energy and insight that people in their early 20s can bring to the workplace. But my experience is that none but a very, very few are really ready for independent responsibility in a professional environment until they've been on the street for 3-5 years. It's kind of like what Mark Twain said about leaving home at 16 and returning at 21 and being amazed by how much wiser his parents had become in just five years.

While I agree with Maureen that money is an essential measure I do not think it's the best strategy for employers to take with early twentysomethings. The most valuable thing for these kids is professional development especially in the soft and mushy skills of how to deal with clients and coworkers, conflict resolution, and personal accountability. Part of workforce development is setting realistic expectations when people *aren't* ready for a bigger opportunity.

Colin, I wonder how my career would have shaped up if, in my 20s, my employers put me on an aggressive 'personal development' track as part of my career development. Even something as simple as a mentor in the company--someone possibly unrelated to my 'day-to-day' life, but was willing to help me set and achieve goals... that would have prevented some of the literal burnout (and then personal fallout) that I faced as a bright, unemployed 25 year-old as the bubble burst.

I learned my lessons thanks to the school of hard knocks. Would I trade them? Never... but I wonder how many people were spun out onto the street like I was when the economy crashed last time, who are, unfortunately, stiull paying that tough tuition called 'life'.

Hmmm...imagine this. Someone works hard and produces a result that generates revenue for a company and they get paid a fee/commission that is directly proportional the amount of effort exerted and the amount of revenue/production that comes out at the end. That pretty much sounds like capitalism to me.

Recruiter puts out effort, hires a talented high performer who generates revenue for a company. Recruiter should get paid, in direct proportion, to the results of the person they hired. Call me crazy. Oops, some have already beat you to it.

Gen Y is as entrepreneurial as they come and will not put up with static base pays that don't grow or improve based on what they produce. If ever, in the history of corporate America, there was a generation more poised to accept and get rewarded by performance based pay/commissions it is Gen Y. Will corporate America, and in my industry recruiting, be able to create the right situation for them to truly reach their full potential? I am skeptical!

Incredible thoughts, Michael. I don't know that corporate America can react that fast. But it's amazing how many new industries are being created, like mushrooms popping up overnight where a tree has fallen.

Companies do a great job of holding assets inside themselves. But these forces at work seem to be pulling assets apart and forcing companies to do business not on mass-media scales, but in one-to-one, private interactions, multiplied and duplicated a billion times over.

You can no longer air a commercial--you must also provide a feedback channel via the Internet or mobile phone to allow people who like your product or promotion to 'sneeze' it forward (ala viral marketing)

So it goes with Gen Y and the careers they choose: 'Give me something to get passionate about' they seem to be yelling...

...and they will be heard.