by Don Harkey
You hear a lot about Baby Boomers, Generation Jones, Generation X, Millenials, and the current "yet to be named" generation. How does society impact the social and work habits of each generation? As a professional, how do you deal differently with each generation?
What about the apparent existence of "micro-generations"? Its a fact that many of the most influential computer pioneers were born within a year of each other (Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, James Gosling, and Bill Joy were all born within 11 months of each other). Its also a fact that of the 75 riches people to have ever lived, 14 of them were born within 9 years of each other in the United States (in the 1830's). Both of these examples come from Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers: The Story of Success".
What about the book "The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy" by William Strauss and Neil Howe that suggests that there is a pattern to history that cycles with various generations?
In the workplace in 2009, there are workers who keep calendars on their walls and still send out handwritten letters to people. There are also workers who communicate through Twitter, text messaging, instant messaging, email, and Google calendars. Technology certainly highlights generational issues.
What about the end goal of each generation? Does the view of the "perfect life" vary between generations? Is it true that the younger generations demand a more balanced life? Is our society getting lazier?
All of these issues will have a huge impact on the world as the largest generation ever to walk the planet nears retirement age and the younger generations begin to take the reigns. What differences will be seen in this transition?
This is the subject of this week's articles. Again, my goal is to apply the universal principles of organizations to the concept of generations and see what applies and what doesn't apply. Are different generations motivated differently? Should different generations be managed differently? Stay tuned!
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We discuss this in the class that I teach at the local university. I teach a class that focuses on utilizing technology in education and libraries. We often find the "digital divide" among our class as a hot topic. We discuss the changes in the life experiences of the generations and how that impacts what these patrons will expect of us in our profession and how they will shape what we do. What we also find interesting is that despite the usual abundance of stereotypes in each generational group, there is always a fair share of those who don't fit the generational mold. There are some baby boomers in the class who know more about the technology we present than expected. And there are some Generation Y and Generation Z students who have never read a blog. What I find fascinating is figuring out how to reach all those perspectives. Which applies in business as much as it does in education and libraries. You can't put all your eggs in the blogging basket, perhaps you need a print column in a newspaper as well. Unless you've identified every person in your marketing niche, you need to find cost effective ways to cover your bases and get your message out. No matter what generation or technology level you're aiming for.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to ramble on a little more because, well, you left the comment box up.
ReplyDeleteI also meant to add that it is also interesting that we don't give people credit for the thinking that does take place no matter how high tech or low tech the tools are. Baby Boomers and even some Generation X parents think that the younger generations don't have to work to obtain information. That reading words on a screen is different. However, research is showing that the work kids do when they are reading web sites is just as high level and thought-provoking as reading a newspaper. The expectation for content organization is different, the evaluation process id different, but those key components are still there. It's just...different.
One blog that I read shortly after this stated, "We all look at the next generation and the technology that they may use through the lens of our own experience." I thought it very fitting for this discussion. Their point was that technology today doesn't change the information process, but it does change the information. We can talk about ourselves and our ideas, instead of being limited to what someone else puts out. That certainly impacts motivation. For those involved in the social networking shift, they are motivated by much more personal connections. And finding out how to tie that in to leadership in a business, a marketing campaign, or a Social Studies lesson is the key to making it meaningful.
Now back to your regularly maintained blog....