The Rypple Team just watched Quantum of Solace, the new James Bond. Reviews were mixed, but one thing is certain – this Bond was different. Love it or hate it, it’s a departure from the old formula of spy gadgets, one-dimensional villains we love to hate, and Bond girls who capture our attention and then fade like shooting stars.

Daniel Craig is a more realistic James Bond. Instead of seducing every woman he meets, he nurses his lost love and channels his rage towards removing every obstacle in his way. His friends are double agents and his lover betrayed him. He rarely uses gadgets and he actually bleeds after a fight! Bond villains give up their doomsday devices & world domination plans for believable schemes involving money & greed.

The Bond franchise has matured. Goodbye to one-dimensional characters following pedantic & predictable plots. The creators of Bond have a new formula for Box Office success. But they are not the only ones with a new formula for success. Change is afoot among Gen Y’s and corporate HR departments.

Love it or hate it, the arrival of Gen Y employees created a tectonic shift in the corporate world. Most Gen Y’s need continuous feedback from their managers and a motivational career path. Instead, they get the dreaded Year End Comprehensive Performance Review, a morale shattering exercise that is the polar opposite of what Gen Y’s need. These Annual Reviews are a shock for Gen Y’s accustomed to instant communication through text messages and MSN, and continuous feedback throughout their academic lives. Fortunately, we created Rypple to fill this void providing Gen Y’s and their managers with a new formula for success.

I walked out of Quantum of Solace feeling less excited than after Casino Royale. This new direction was unexpected. Casino Royale when it came out, but still familiar. Yet, I prefer this more sophisticated and less chauvinist and black-and-white Bond franchise.

I also understand now why some HR specialists prefer to stick to traditional performance review and career guidance policies rather than adapt to Gen Y’s.  Taking a step in a new direction represents the unknown. And that is stressful. It takes a lot of effort to unlearn old ways and embrace new ones for what they are, and not for what they are not.

Just like Daniel Craig ushered the new James Bond, I hope Rypple will help herald a new era in employer-employee relationships.