General

Posted on December 9, 2021

General, Generation Y, Generation Z, Generations, Millennials

An Unexpected Spring: How the pandemic is influencing students and why it matters

In previous years, the arrival of spring would feel like a welcome reward to students. It’s the time when months of work come to fruition and papers are presented, plays and concerts performed, and championships played. It's the time when the intense academic pressure is lifted, the gloomy winter is forgotten, and students spend more time with friends, preparing themselves for the time they will inevitably spend apart – for a summer, a year in college, or even longer. But...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on December 8, 2021

General

Sarah Sladek, XYZ University CEO, Appointed to Forbes Business Council

Richmond, VA — Sarah Sladek, the founder and CEO of XYZ University, LLC, has been appointed to the Forbes Business Council. Sladek was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of her experience. Council members must have a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors.“We are honored to welcome Sarah to the Council,” stated Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils. “Our mission is to...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on January 14, 2021

General, Generation Z, Membership

Gen Z: The Youth Vote and The 2020 Election

XYZ University defines Gen Z as those who were born between 1996 and 2009, now making up almost 30% of the world’s population. Since the oldest members of Generation Z are just starting to become adults, their impact on the political world is only just beginning. Gen Zers have grown up with massive interconnectivity to peers and strangers alike through access to social media, global news, and research, resulting in a high awareness of what is occurring around the world. This has...

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by Anna Sladek

Posted on February 3, 2020

General

Take It To The House, Kid – What the 2020 Super Bowl Ads Reveal About Ourselves, Our Society

By Sarah Sladek It’s the 100th anniversary of the NFL and the dawn of a new decade, and the advertisers who invested in the 54th Super Bowl made some history of their own. For starters, women and girls headlined the football extravaganza, headlining more ads than ever before. Secret’s Let’s Kick Inequality, Olay’s Make Space for Women, Microsoft Surface’s Be the One, and Pepsi’s Paint It Black ads featured the achievements of women and tackled feminism head on. The female-focused advertising aligned with...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on December 20, 2019

General, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, Generations

The Question Every Leader Should Ask

By Sarah Sladek - It’s happening again. Eight years ago I authored a blog on what was being referred to as “the big global crack up”. In nations throughout the world – Spain, China, Germany, Britain, and the United States, to name a few – economies were unable to generate enough jobs to absorb their young people, creating generations of disaffected, unemployed, or underemployed for which the world had little to offer. The youth revolted. Protests erupted throughout the world. Notably, thousands of students in...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on October 31, 2019

Company News, General, Industry - Construction, Industry - Education, Industry - Finance, Industry - Healthcare, Scary Stats

Terrifying Tidbits… #ScaryStats2019

Scary Stats is baaaaack… in its 7th edition! Workforce - 70% of the workforce is disengaged - The majority of workers are disengaged -- miserable, putting forth minimum effort, complaining, unattached, willing to leave for a slightly better offer. Insurance - 60 years old is the average age of insurance agents. One quarter of insurance workforce retired between 2015 and 2018. Retirements, turnover up. Many insurers trying to hire but struggling to fill demand, stay competitive. Construction - 1.1 million construction...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on April 25, 2019

General, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, Industry - Construction, Industry - Education, Industry - Finance, Industry - Healthcare, Millennials, Talent Development

Workplace Etiquette: The haunting truth of ‘ghosting’

By Sarah Sladek, XYZ University CEO Workplace etiquette. Turns out, that’s a pretty controversial subject right now. Recently I presented at a conference for healthcare executives and heard many complaints about the youngest generations in the workforce and their disregard for etiquette. Topping the list of complaints: quitting via text, not showing up for work, and calling the boss by his first name. Is the etiquette divide the indication of a generation gap or a social shift? Turns out, it’s both. Across the United States,...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on January 7, 2019

General, Generation Z, Membership, Save the Associations

The Future is Bright

By Josh Miller “If you take associations and put them in the middle of everything going on in society, I’d say that the association industry is way ahead of the curve. We are ready to embrace young people, and I think that Gen Z will find that associations are welcoming and inspiring places for them to work and give their talents.” - John Graham, CEO of the American Society of Association Executives This year was my first as Director of Gen Z...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on October 5, 2018

General, Generation Z

Future Forward: Don’t Overlook These 5 Shifts Changing Your Organization’s Future

By Sarah Sladek “An awful lot of companies are about to get punched in the face.” This bold claim came from Marcie Merriman, EY Americas Cultural Insights & Customer Strategy Leader, at the opening of Voxburner’s Youth Marketing Strategy conference in New York City this week. As marketers from throughout the world gathered to discuss how to reach the first mobile-first generation – Generation Z, currently ages 9-22 – I expected there to be conversations about change. What I didn’t expect was...

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by Sarah Sladek

Posted on September 19, 2018

General

Engaging Students Through Applied, Experiential Learning

By Josh Miller As we take a more in-depth look into what educational institutions are doing to modernize and better engage students, we can see that there is a direct link between experiential education and student engagement. In fact, a previous XYZ University study found that 55% of Gen Zs learn best by doing - not watching or listening. In our upcoming whitepaper, Gen Z in the Classroom, we explore and explain how schools have embraced learning outside the traditional classroom and...

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by Sarah Sladek

General

Sarah Sladek & Co