Generations Blog

I stopped by the local McDonald’s yesterday for a snack. The voice emanating from the drive-through speaker was that of a delightful young lady. She sounded genuinely interested in how I was. Then she pointed out that I’d save a few cents if I purchased the 42 oz. Diet Coke that was on special.

When I got the the first window, she greeted me once again and took my money. We exhanged pleasantries while I sat in line waiting to reach the second window for my food. At the same time, she continued to take orders and text her friends, all with a bit of music in the background. The Boomer in me wanted to say, “you should concentrate on what you’re doing.”  But then I asked myself, “Is she accomplishing the duties assigned?” I hear from lots of managers about young workers who seem to have such a desire to keep stimulated while they work. To many of these managers, the work itself should be stimulation enough. But shouldn’t we let the employee decide that, as long as the work assigned is performed within expectations?

There are also those managers who complain about the young person who performs the task assigned and then stops without looking around for something else to do. With so many possible distractions/stimulations at young people’s fingertips, they don’t feel a need to look around for something to do. All it takes is flipping open your hand-held device. It is incumbent on managers, now more than ever, to be assertive with assigning tasks. Complaining that many young workers possess no self-initiative may be accurate. But this doesn’t get the job done. I’m finding that those effectively managing young people work harder to stay on top of what everyone is doing. Is this more time consuming? Yes, at first. But over time, the good performers adapt to those expectations and begin to self-initiate . 

It has become fashionable among Millennials to display a little underwear, especially around the waist. While some find it bothersome, this is no more troubling than tie-dye shirts were a couple of generations ago. But in an attempt to legislate this horrifying practice out of existence, the village of Lynwood, IL, a suburb of Chicago, has passed an ordinance that levys a $25 fine on anyone showing three inches or more of his or her underwear in public. Question — Does this also apply to aging plumbers?

If there is one universal way to engage today’s emerging generation of consumers, it is through technology. While this may appear obvious, the subtleties of doing so are more elusive. Regardless of the platform, there are five characteristics that all electronic marketing efforts share if they are to be successful with young buyers:

Informal personalization - Emerging consumers have come of age immersed in a world that treats them impersonally.  After all, who knows their neighbors anymore?  But on the Internet, the sites they visit address them by name, if they have been willing to share that name on a previous visit. If they are willing to embrace this kind of relationship with other sites, it is incumbent upon you and your organization to do the same.  Remember the old saying?  Continue reading “Millennial Generation and the Big Click”

For more than a year, I have been informally polling the Millennials in my audiences. I simply ask them to raise their hands if they have twenty dollars or more in cash in their pocket at that point. Consistently, about five percent do. While we generally get a chuckle out of this, I have to wonder about the impact of this shift on our society. What does it mean for our understanding of money? Continue reading “The Cashless Millennial Generation: What Does It Mean for You?”