This Week's Herman Trend Alert Purpose Emerging as Important Driver of Engagement

The Herman Trend Alert April 14, 1999 Y2K Vacations 262 days until January 1, 2000 The millennium is coming! The millennium is coming! The warning is loud and clear. Doomsayers sound the cry of the end of the earth. If we don't get slammed by a stray asteroid, at least humanity will cease to exist. Soothsayers foretell plagues, pestilence, and horrible misery all over the planet. And, as if that weren't enough, our computers will crash! "Here comes Doomsday! Y2K! Here comes doomsday! Y2K!" You can almost hear the chants as you read these words. Everything we depend on will simply stop, producing a Great Silence heard round the world. As computers roll over to "00," they'll think they're back at 1900. Nothing will work. Electrical power grids, aviation control, communications systems, the financial community, medical devices, and so much more—all are vulnerable to dramatic failure just after 11:59 p.m. December 31. Even with all the preparation, there's a good chance that something, somewhere, won't work. Computer technologists are scrambling to find all the code anomalies and fix them, but risk managers are not so confident. As corporate executives hear their caution, human decisions are being considered. There's a move afoot in the corporate world to require employees to not take vacation in December 1999 or January 2000. Companies anticipate, perhaps correctly, that they will face some serious problems during that period. Some employers are even considering 12-hour shifts, with cots for workers to sleep in company facilities. Whether you believe these policies are driven by panic or just good sense, they are happening. Some thoughts about implications of these vacation restriction policies . . . . The tourist industry, usually the beneficiary of a nice flow of business during the year-end holidays, will suffer. All those children home from school while their parents are required to work will present significant childcare challenges. Imagine Times Square, burgeoning with a much larger than usual New Year's Eve crowd. The police will have their hands full, even without the lights going out! Ready to live your life without computers while everything gets fixed? Try it for a day to discover how dependent you are. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." WHO SENDS OUT YOUR NEWSLETTERS? We are convinced there is no better choice than ours! We have happily used DataBack Systems to deliver The Herman Trend Alert for over 10 years and. Visit their website (http://www.databack.com) or call Byron directly at 503.941.0427. You'll be glad you did. IS YOUR EMPLOYER AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE®? Our effective, onsite seminars, workshops, and consulting can help you get there. We offer 1-, 2-, 3-hour, and full-day programs to help you communicate what it takes to become an Employer of Choice® and inspire your folks to get it done. In the future, being an Employer of Choice® will not be optional. Call Carol at 336-210-3547 to arrange a no-obligation conference call. Or order the electronic version of the Employer of Choice book on your desktop for only $17.80 @ http://hermangroup.com/store/books_all.html#2. STRUGGLING TO FIND THE PEOPLE YOU NEED? VETJOBS CAN HELP! Recently, hundreds of thousands of jobs remain unfilled due to a lack of capable people. If you are looking for qualified candidates, you need to hire a veteran using VFW-sponsored VetJobs, the largest military employment site on the Internet. Thousands of returning veterans are looking for good jobs now. Mention this ad in The Herman Trend Alert and receive a 10% discount on job postings. Call Ted Daywalt at 877-838-5627 or inquire at info@VetJobs.com. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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