Generations Blog

Lou Heckler, a long-time colleague of mine, made an interesting comment during a session I attended recently. “People,” he observed, “are more connnected and yet less engaged.” The same might be said of the generations. I wonder, for instance, about the depth of emotion that can be expressed between two individuals whose primary means of communication is texting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticizing them. It’s just that there is just so much nuance that can be expressed than through electronic means.  Does this practice allow some to hide from uncomfortable encounters, much the same way as a few companies have laid off people via e-mail? Does time between electronic exchanges have an impact on our level of anxiety waiting for the reponse?  Do we succumb to the temptation to manipulate others’ feelings using the keypad on our Blackberry? Are we, as a society, watching an entire generation of young people come of age without the maturity of interpersonal communication skills because they have been able to avoid the agonizing encounters that would have made them grow?

I have nothing against texting or its allied methods of communication. They are tremendously efficient. I use them daily myself. It is one thing, however,  to get to know someone in person and then use electronic means to stay in touch. It is quite another to collect hundreds of “friends” with whom you have no emotional ties. What’s the point? Meaningful communication can be tough stuff. It can be gloriously vibrant when you look into someone’s eyes and see a gleam of understanding, devotion, joy, or exhilaration.  It can also be frustrating, depressing or irritating when emotions clash. But we need all of these conditions and many others to refine the relationships we will treasure.

So go ahead, take the time to call someone you’d like to know better. Better still, meet them face-to-face. I dare you!

A colleague and I were discussing our kids over lunch. “You know,” he said, “one of the things I have noticed about the video games my kids play is the nature of the feedback they receive.  It’s simple. You die or go to the next level.”

While this is a rather overly simplistic analogy, it got me thinking about the impressions today’s children must be developing about the speed with which all decisions seem to be made. I have written previously on the loss of time to reflect in this busy world. But when I refer to this loss, I am referring to those who remember a time when one not only had a chance, but was forced to reflect on decisions large and small. The technology just didn’t exist in many cases to make instantaneous choices. I can sometimes feel overwhelmed by the number of choices in purchasing an airline ticket, appliance or automobile. I finally get to a point where I just stop and say to myself, “Wait a minute. Take your time. Make the right decision.” Then I breathe a relief. Of course, I have sources of references outside of today’s pressure-filled point-and-click world.

What about my kids, and so many of their peers, who are coming of age in a society that increasingly forces them to make instant decisions? Some enjoy the stimulation. Others it overwhelms. But in all cases, it prohibits them from reflecting on decisions before making them. I didn’t make the best decisions when I was young. No one does. But I had a chance to reflect on the outcomes, good or bad. I learned from those experiences and use this learning as part of my everyday critical thinking.

I also have the confidence to take the time to think in spite of outside pressures. If I make a mistake, I learn to live with the consequences and move on. But how will my kids handle these pressures when there appears no room for mistakes? You die or go to the next level.

I was on the phone the other night with Claire, a cherry young tech support person with Qwest Communications. Together, we were attempting to fix the broadband connection into my house. As we waited for the modem to boot and reboot after every step, I struck up a conversation.

“That’s a wonderful British accent you have, ” I said.

“Thank you,” she replied. “I grew up in Leeds, just outside of West Yorkshire.” We exchanged a few pleasantries about England and the sites to see.

“Are you living in the States now,” I asked.

“Oh no,” she chuckled. “I’m in Manila in the Philippines.”

“How did you end up there?” I asked.

“Well, this is where my family is from,” she replied. “We decided to move back here a couple of years ago. One day, I’ll come to Colorado where you are. I’d like to climb your mountains.”

So here I was in Denver, receiving technical support from a young lady with a crystal clear British accent who was in the Philippines, who had grown up in England, but is at the present time working for a telecommunications company based in Colorado.

Is it any wonder that there is sometimes a gap in worldly perception between the older generations and those coming of age in today’s marketplace?

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?”

This past week, the Walt Disney Company released its new blockbuster, Camp Rock, which will be viewed by the younger half of the Millennial generation endlessly for months to come. As I watched it with my kids Friday evening, I marveled once again at the power of the Disney machine and the creativity that can take any mundane subject and turn it into a sensation.

At the same time, I found myself saddened by two things: 1. The fact that the innocence of summer camp has now been transformed into an experience that requires high dollar production numbers and 2. The downright meanness of the script. Camp Directors throughout the US must be cringing at the expectations now being created for them due to this production. It has been bad enough having to compete with iPods, cell phones, digital cameras and the like to maintain kids’ attention. Now they will be faced with the disappointment of some that the Jonas Brothers are not headlining the main stage on the last night of camp or serenading girls in the dining hall.

 Then there’s the script. As I watched my daughters watch this movie, I was dumbfounded by the cruelty written into the script for the purposes of building a storyline. This was simply Mean Girls transformed onto a Disney platform. My girls, or any other children, don’t need to see this type of viciousness illustrated once again. They’ve seen it too much of it already. I’ve said more than once that my wife and I feel like we’re competing with the rest of society to teach our kids the values we want them to have. Sadly, the Disney Company, which has produced so many socially redeeming productions over the years, has surrendered to the times and we parents are left to processing this drivel with our kids.

I had a chat with a young professional in the natural gas industry this past week. During the conversation, I asked him about his pet peeves in working with older co-workers. ”One would be the subtle comments that can be rather belittling,” he said. I asked him for an example. “Well, last week one of the senior managers here told me ‘You’re the smartest 25-year-old we’re had around here in a while,’” he replied. ”I didn’t know if he thought I was the best of a bunch Continue reading “Subtle Comments and the Millennial Generation”

This past Sunday, The Denver Post published an editorial entitled Millennials: Large and In Charge. It was written by T.J. Wihera, a newly minted graduate of the University of Colorado. In the article, he takes Baby Boomers to task for coddling their kids and then complaining about the way they behave in the workplace. Along that line, he does have a point. The Boomers, as a generation, have always believed that they can have their cake and eat it too. He goes on to say that veteran workers should simply get over themselves because his emering generation is going to be in the workplace for the long term and employers should get out of the way and let them take over. He concludes by saying that Millennials will be paying the Social Security tab for their parents and he will never see a dime.  As we know, the issues are “a bit” more complex than he has concluded. Perhaps he will discover this as he matures in the workplace that he derides with such abandon.  I’d like to think that the classes that Mr. Wihera attended at the University of Colorado provided him with a little more understanding of context. Sadly, he does not display it in his writing.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Wihera chose such a polarizing approach with what he had to say. While he could have opened the door to collaboration,  his rant instead seemed to reinforce the self-serving nature perceived by many of the veteran managers and professionals with whom I and others work. I have to wonder why the Post would print such a one-sided piece that does little more that accentuate the differences we we see in the workplace already. I, and a number of others, spend our days trying to promote understanding between the age groups.  This kind of thing does not promote productive discussion. It instead promotes resentment.

It’s true that many Millennials’ parents have gone out of their ways to over-protect their kids. In turn, managers find themselves acting as surrogate parents when these young people fail to behave productively in the workplace. Perhaps Mr. Wihera will be able to land a job where the employer has the time and resources to coddle him and respond to his every emotional need. I wish him well on his journey.

I have received a number of comments over the past week about my posting regarding the value of reflection. One reader asked, “Can someone develop the perspective necessary to thrive in life without taking time to think and reflect.” This is an interesting thought to consider. So much of our lives seem to be driven these days by outside distractions and stimuli that we have to work at finding times and locations to simply Continue reading “Can the Young Generation Develop Perspective without Reflection?”