Have you heard this concept before? ‘365 degree feedback’ Assuming that you have done some HR subjects before, you should know what it is – it is about ‘getting feedback/opinion from people around you’. Somewhat I have been always against this (that’s probably why I got 50 out of 100 for my HR management subject of my MBA study) Why? Because this exercise completely pointless unless you are in the position to have your ‘opinion’ heard otherwise what you said will be considered as ‘crap’. Perhaps I should clearly define the difference between ‘opinion’ and ‘crap’ here, for the avoidance of doubt.

Here is an example – Michael Smith who was born in 1989 and finished his undergraduate study. He joined a company about 1 year ago as a sales executive. Judging by his age, obviously he belongs to Gen-Y who does not understand the meaning of this word ‘loyalty’ but knows how to explore & exploit his ‘entitlements’ for procuring benefits for himself only. One day, he was having an annual review with the Directors whose characters do not quite align with Gen-Y. During the review Michael Smith said 1) we need to have a vending machine; 2) we need to have a pool table; 3) we need to have weekly Friday night drinks for free; and 4) we need to increase our bonuses.

Considering the Directors are biologically ‘old’ and they were grown up without such privileges and they have been working without them. Therefore the Directors failed to understand the needs of having those 4 points Michael raised and they were simply ignored – in this event, what Michael said was not classified as an ‘opinion’ but ‘crap’ because he completely failed to convenience the parties who hold the power to either accept or reject his requests.

Here is the key differentiator – if a request is considered/accepted by the power holders, then it is classified as a valuable ‘opinion’. If a request is considered/outright utterly rejected by the power holders, then it is classified as a piece of ‘crap’.

Here is a significant problem with Gen-Y – they complain about their ultimate ‘crap’ not being heard and accepted by the power holders whom claimed to be ‘narrow minded and old fashioned’ by Gen-Y. However, you (if you belong to Gen-Y) must understand this – the power holders pay your salary. If you do anything to piss them off (e.g. by saying ‘crap’), then you just manage to put yourself on a ‘sh!t list’. Remember – people do not like have their authority challenged especially older people in the management.

There is a Chinese (probably Japanese) proverb – a) If you want to keep your job, remember your boss’ birthday; b) If you want to be promoted, remember your boss’ wife’s birthday. If you are one of those ‘opinionated’ Gen-Y, then my recommendation is at least starting with a).