Welcome to the September 12, 2007 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

It's here! Perfect Labor Storm 2.0

"Just got your new Labor Storm book and I am blown away! You did a fantastic job!  Kudos!!!!!  I will most likely order this for everyone in my organization. Just pat yourself on the back....this is a fantastic contribution to our field."

Beverly Kaye

Founder/CEO

Author, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay

What's Inside:

1.  High dropout rates are a silent epidemic afflicting our nation's high schools.

There are nearly 2,000 high schools in the U.S. where 40 percent of the typical freshman class leaves school by its senior year.

Of public high school students who entered 9th grade in Pennsylvania during the 2001-02 school year, 22 percent failed to graduate four years later.   And Pennsylvania did better than many states.

Nationally, research puts the graduation rate between 68 and 71 percent, which means that almost one-third of all public high school students in America fail to graduate. 

Breaking it down even further, every 29 seconds another student gives up on school, resulting in more than one million American high school students who drop out every year. 

Nearly one-third of all public high school students-and nearly one half of all African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans-fail to graduate from public high school with their class.

The dropout problem is likely to increase substantially through 2020 unless significant improvements are made.

A lack of educated workers isn't the only problem with a high dropout rate. Dropouts are more likely than high school graduates to be unemployed, in poor health, living in poverty, on public assistance, and single parents with children who drop out of high school.

The economic costs to our community and society are tremendous.  

• Four out of every 10 young adults (ages 16 - 24) lacking a high school diploma received some type of government assistance in 2001.
• A dropout is more than eight times as likely to be in jail or prison as a person with at least a high school diploma.
• Studies show that the lifetime cost to the nation for each youth who drops out of school and later moves into a life of crime and drugs ranges from $1.7 to $2.3 million.
• Dropouts earn $9,200 less per year than high school graduates and more than $1 million less over a lifetime than college graduates.
• The government would reap $45 billion in extra tax revenues and reduced costs in public health, crime, and welfare payments if the number of high school dropouts among 20-year olds in the U.S. today, which numbers more than 700,000 individuals, were cut in half.

Learn more about how low education and literacy rates will affect employer's abilities to hire qualified workers. Watch these brief Perfect Labor Storm videos now:

Where Have All The Workers Gone? Skills Gaps  (6:33)
Where Have All The Workers Gone? Skilled Worker Crisis  (5:19)

New!  Diversity: Wake Up Everybody! (6:54)

Then please forward these links to co-workers, colleagues, bosses, reports, and customers.  Thanks.    

The videos are also available on The Perfect Labor Storm website.  

To discuss how to evaluate your workforce or leadership preparedness, call us at 800.803.4303 or 717.291.4640 or 717.291.4640.

2. Now on Sale!  Perfect Labor Storm 2.0 (soft and hard cover versions)  (Delivery date on or about September 20, 2007.)  Order today and save 25%.  

NEW Chapters!  Generational Conflicts in the Workplace, Managing the Future Workforce, Attracting Young Employees in a Seller's Job Market plus hundreds of new facts, trends and stats.

View Table of Contents  

Read what one reader has said:  

"The policy and practical ramifications of the Perfect Labor Storm are astounding.  It should be required reading for every Human Resource Professional."

Save 25% off retail by ordering now.

Hard Cover: $29.99         Soft Cover: $19.99  

Your Price: $22.49           Your Price: $14.99

To order Perfect Labor Storm 2.0, call 800.803.4303.  Discounts for orders of 10 or more.  Specify hard or soft cover.

Read the pre-publication reviews:  

Below you will find just a sampling of the trends, stats, and facts that will change the way you do business.

If you took every single job in the U.S. today and shipped it to China . . .       

                                                                                                       .......China would still have a labor surplus.  

China's Generation Y accounts for nearly one-sixth of the Chinese population, equivalent to two-thirds of the entire U.S. population.   

By 2025 more than 75% of the workforce in India will be from Generation Y and younger generations.  

In the United States, Gen Y and younger will make up just less than 60%.

Trends and stats like this are just an inkling of the information you'll find in the revised, updated and expanded Perfect Labor Storm 2.0, including several chapters about managing generational clashes.  

Keep reading future issues of this newsletter for more announcements about the book release and updated Perfect Storm Indicators.  

Perfect Labor Storm e-book published earlier this year is still available.

You can order a download copy of PLS, a great value at $9.95. 

3. Save this date - November 2, 2007

Performance Appraisals - Give Them More than Just Lip Service

You can't improve your company performance with a process that employees don't want to use.  In a recent survey, only 11% of companies indicated that they are very satisfied with the current performance management process utilized by their organization.  

This indicates an obvious disconnect between where senior management sees their business going and how the plan gets executed.  

The catalyst that converts planning to results is effective employee performance management.  

Join us on November 2, 2007 to learn about a revolutionary performance management system that links your organization's vision, values and operating objectives with the daily activities of your people.   

Who should attend this workshop:

• Managers who dread your current performance review process
• Executives who want to improve overall company performance
• Human Resource Professionals who want to improve employee productivity
• Business Owners who want to increase employee satisfaction
• Organizations who want to link individual performance to business objectives (pay for performance)

Call us today - 800-803-4304 - to register for this FREE workshop on November 2, 2007 in Lancaster, PA.

Registration: 8:00 AM

Seminar begins: 8:15 AM

Seminar ends: 11:30 AM  

Can't attend?  Call or reply to this email and schedule a FREE web demonstration or onsite consultation.  

Learn more about KeyneLink Performance Management System

4.  NEW!  CriteriaOne DISC Training - November 1, 2007  

Position yourself as THE DISC subject matter expert in your organization!  When you become a CriteriaOne® DISC Behavioral Analyst*, you will have the know-how to deliver communication and team-building workshops and interpret CriteriaOne® DISC reports.  Success Performance Solutions' professional staff - experts in Marston's DISC model, building effective teams, and job matching using CriteriaOne® DISC reports - will conduct this training.

This fast-paced, comprehensive certification training will provide an in-depth understanding of DISC model, the CriteriaOne® DISC system and its many team building, conflict-reducing and job matching applications.

What's included in this workshop?  Register before October 1 and receive products and services worth nearly $1600.00, much more than the cost of this training!  

Learn more about CriteriaOne DISC reports.   To register for CriteriaOne DISC Training or request more information, call 800-803-4303 or send an email.  

5. Speaking Schedule: Ira S Wolfe  

2007:  

September 14 - ISA Worldwide (New York City)

September 18 - 2007 Material Handling & Logistics Conference (Salt Lake City) October 16 - Shumaker Williams PC (Camp Hill PA)

October 17 - Associated Builders and Contractors (Lancaster PA)

November 13 - Carlisle (PA) Chamber of Commerce  

2008:  

January 21 - Institute of Management Consultants (Dallas, TX)

January 22 - Optimance (Dallas, TX)  

Call 717.291.4640 to schedule Ira for your next meeting or conference.

6. Quotes from Hire Authorities

"Many schools in America can't tell us on any given day who's in school and who's not, nor in any given year how many students have successfully made it through their four years of schooling to graduate and how many have dropped out."

The Silent Epidemic (PDF)

New White Paper!

Performance Management: 10 Steps to Bridge Strategy and Execution

Unlocking the potential of your organization requires discipline of definition, communication and alignment. Without these disciplines, your business "plans" will become at best, broken dreams and unfilled "hopes." The following 10 steps will guide your organization on the disciplined path to a successful future.

Download Performance Management: 10 Steps to Bridge Strategy and Execution

Permission is granted to consultants, managers, business owners and HR professionals to reproduce content from this newsletter for your internal publications, or to distribute copies to your workforce, on the condition that you reproduce the credits and contact information as follows: "Reprinted with permission from Ira S Wolfe and Success Performance Solutions. Copyright 2007 Ira S Wolfe." We also hope you will forward the newsletter in its entirety and recommend to others that they subscribe.

Ira S. Wolfe Copyright 2007 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission