By JOYCE GANNON, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Leadership consultant Joanne Sujansky is a baby boomer. Her three children belong to Generation Y -- also known as the millennials. She has experienced first-hand the culture clash between the age groups and how it can impact a business.

Before ordering French onion soup during a business lunch with a potential employer, consider the cheese.
The effort it takes to maneuver those long, gooey strings of melted Swiss around your spoon in between slurps of broth can be a major distraction to you as well as the person who's thinking about hiring you.

Shoppers who still have enough cash and confidence to hit upscale jewelry stores after this holiday season might pause before they scoop up a bunch of bracelets and bangles.
Rather than spend their money on a lot of accessories, they could be more inclined to purchase an heirloom-style watch that will be passed down through the family for generations.

Tom Dowling, managing director of the Pittsburgh office of public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, deliberated recently as deadlines loomed for several key year-end and holiday-related decisions.
In front of him was an application for Steelers playoff tickets -- a hefty investment his firm typically makes to entertain select clients at Heinz Field during the post-season.

You walk out of the staff meeting your boss holds every Thursday morning, head to the company cafeteria for coffee, and once again find yourself discussing with co-workers how little the 45-minute gathering accomplished.

PITTSBURGH -- Your home phone rings, but you don't pick up because you don't recognize the number that flashes on your caller ID. Or maybe you abandoned your landline months ago because it's more economical to use your cell phone.

Linda Babcock, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University, had been teaching negotiations and dispute resolution for years before she had an epiphany about why women weren't achieving the same results as men in negotiable situations.Put simply, the women didn't ask for what they wanted.

Valentine's Day is almost upon us. So get ready for workplaces abuzz with flower deliveries, chatter about whether to buy chocolate or jewelry and last-minute calls to snag dinner reservations.