July 2019 – Newsletter

Fostering the Fresh Perspective Millennials Bring Into the Workplace
As the largest generation in the U.S. workforce, millennials have a lot to offer their employers, and savvy managers can find plenty of ways to benefit from the strengths of this highly motivated and well-educated cohort.

More diverse—both racially and ethnically—than previous generations, millennials contribute to a more well-rounded workplace, comprising 27 percent on the total minority population. As a result, millennials have long been well-informed as to the benefits of inclusion, such as creating a culture of innovation and engagement, and consider it to be a top priority. Today, there is a strong motivation among this population to create better and more effective D&I programs. According to SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, two simple ways to organically promote D&I are to celebrate employee differences and listen to employees’ unique perspectives.

This generation is also more educated than the ones that preceded it, with 39% having attained a bachelor’s degree (or higher) versus about 29% of Gen Xers and 25% of Baby Boomers. This, combined with access to online information at their fingertips during their formative years, means that millennials come to the workplace wanting to learn and excel. They’re innovative as well as goal-driven, and they challenge the “because this is the way we’ve always done it” mentality.

With the right direction from supervisors, millennials will find new, more effective ways to adapt to changing and evolving markets. Millennials came of age in an era where reactions to social media posts and news were instantaneous, so they are accustomed to immediate responses to their input. One way to achieve this is by giving frequent feedback, sharing opinions, and asking for their take. Another consideration is to offer mentoring and skills development that demonstrate an interest in their lifelong learning, success, and future with the organization.

Millennials come into a job with the skills and mindset that position them to do well from the start. By keeping in mind their unique perspective on the environments and relationships most conducive to their needs, they can flourish.
RS&F Summer Reading List
The Book on Qualified Opportunity Zones, by David Rosen, ESQ., CPA

The Book on Qualified Opportunity Zones, is a comprehensive source on the opportunity zone program issued to date. The development of the Book on Qualified Opportunity Zones arose following dozens of real-life transactions (many of which have culminated in the creation of qualified opportunity funds that are currently developing real estate and business projects under the program). Over the past year, we have prepared detailed transaction memos, researched every component of the statute and regulations and developed practical tools for stakeholders. Ultimately, we felt that combining our work into a comprehensive “book” will benefit our team, our clients, and other participants in the new industry focusing on the opportunity zone program.

Recommended by the team at RS&F and David Rosen.

Deep Work, by Cal Newport

Deep Work by Cal Newport is a book about the science of productivity. Cal argues the best way to get more meaningful work done is by working deeply – working in a state of high concentration without distractions on a single task. This book is split into two parts. The first explains why deep work maximizes productivity and why only few people practice it. The second part shows us how to actually do it and make deep work a regular practice in our lives.

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace, By Gary Chapman & Paul White

This book will give you the tools to improve staff morale, create a more positive workplace, and increase employee engagement. How? By teaching you to effectively communicate authentic appreciation and encouragement to employees, co-workers, and leaders. Most relational problems in organizations flow from this question: do people feel appreciated? This book will help you answer “Yes!”

Recommended by RS&F’s Elissa Gruenberg

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, By Max Tegmark

In this authoritative and eye-opening book, Max Tegmark describes and illuminates the recent, path-breaking advances in Artificial Intelligence and how it is poised to overtake human intelligence. How will AI affect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human? The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology—and there’s nobody better qualified or situated to explore that future than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who’s helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.
What sort of future do  you  want? This book empowers you to join what may be the most important conversation of our time. It doesn’t shy away from the full range of viewpoints or from the most controversial issues—from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story About A Powerful Business Idea, By Bob Burg and John David Mann
The Go-Giver  tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns for success. Joe is a true go-getter, though sometimes he feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. Desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees sim­ply as the Chairman. This expanded edition includes the text of the original business parable, together with a foreword by Arianna Huffington, a new intro­duction, a discussion guide, and a Q&A with the authors.
Here are a few articles we thought might interest you:

Congress Expands Taxpayer Rights with Taxpayer First Act of 2019
How to Survive an IRS Tax Audit
5 Common Tax Filing Mistakes to Avoid Next Year
HSAs Provide a Sweet Tax Break but Some May Increase Health Care Spending
Congress Approves IRS Reform Bill, Drops Free File Language
Final HRA Rules Permit Integration With Individual Health Insurance
IRS Changes Maximum-Value-Vehicle Rule
These are the Coolest Tax Deductions You’re Missing Out On
IRS Meeting Its E-File Goals (Sort Of) But Report Says There’s Still Work to be Done
How to Save for Retirement and How to Calculate How Much You Need For Retirement
5 Legal Deductions for Entrepreneurs With the New Tax Law’s ‘Consumption’ Approach

 

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