Generationally Savvy

Business Leaders - Ignore at your Peril the Lessons of "The Brand Called Obama"

Often times leaders want to know, how do I communicate my message and initiatives in a way that will activate Xers and Millennials wholehearted participation?

The April 2008 Fast Company article "The Brand Called Obama" by Ellen McGirt illuminates how Obama has employeed inclusive rhetoric, authentic calls to action, and leveraged social media tools to connect with the younger generations in their generation style.

McGirt asserts, "The promotion of the brand called Obama is a case study of where the American marketplace-and, potentially, the global one - is moving."

Whether you agree politically with the platform and policies of Barack Obama, as a manager, leader or co-worker in today's marketplace you will be impacted by the bar of expectation he is setting for today and tomorrow's leaders.

Craig Newmark, the Founder of Craigslist captures the essence of Obama's use of a new way of thinking called "adaptive leadership," by saying "I see him as a leader rather than a boss." A leader, he notes, gets people to do things on their own, through inspiration, respect, and trust. "A boss can order you to do things, sure, but you do them because it's part of the contract."

Take a moment to check out this article. Whether Barack Obama wins his party's nomination, a difference has been made in the leadership and business landscape that Americans will be feeling for years to come.

Generation X "Box" and Beyond - Part 2 of 2

The gamer generation has, in an important way, grown up in a different reality than the rest of us. The billions of dollar and hours they have spent in the virtual worlds has shaped how they relate and influenced their belief of what they should do to "make it" in "the world".

Part II - The WAY IT IS in the Gamer World

How People Relate

• It’s all about competition - You're always competing; even if you collaborate with others, there is some character or score to beat.
• Relationships are structured - To make the game work, everyone must play a role such as competitor/ally, or boss/subordinate.
• We are all alone - The gaming experience is basically solitary, even if played in groups.
• Young people rule - Young people dominate gaming. No attention is paid to elders. Paying your dues takes a short time.
• People are simple - Their skill may be complex, multi-dimensional, and user-configurable, but their personality types and behaviors are simple.

What You Should Do

• Rebel - Edginess and attitude are dominant elements of the culture.
• Be a hero - You always get the star's role; that is the only way to succeed or get satisfaction.
• Bond with people who share your game experience, not your national or cultural background - It's a very global world, in design, consuption, and characters. It creates an expectation of diversity in business life as well.
• Make your own way in the world - Leaders are irrelevant and often evil; ignore them.
• Tune out and have fun - When reality is boring, you hop into the game world. The whole experience of gaming is escapist.

Along with these new "rules' of engagement and gaming come expectations about what the workplace will be like i.e. diverse, fair, immediately interactive and welcoming to the new ideas and creations of the newest member on the team.

Business leaders looking to attract, grow and retain younger talent need to ask themselves, "Are we ready and willing to play the game?"

Generation X "Box" and Beyond - Part I of 2

If you’ve been reading along, it’s no surprise to you that each generation has unique forces in their lives shaping the way they make decisions and approach the world.

One of the major forces impacting the way Gen Xers and Millennials see business and beyond, is growing up in the time of video games.

The rules surrounding games create a world and reality that departs from the "business as usual" model of what we know today as Corporate America. Although it may seem to Baby Boomers and Traditionalists that "games are games" and business and play should not be confused, the rules of gaming are filtering into the way Xers and Millennials make daily business decisions. 

In "Got Game" published by Harvard Business School Press, we see how being a “Gamer” has influenced Gen Xers and Millennials systematic approach to working and learning.

Drawing on the work in "Got Game" by Beck and Wade the following rules illustrate the lessons games are "teaching" Xers and Millennials about "the world".

Part I

• The Individual's Role
• How The World Works

Part II

• What You Should Do
• How People Relate

Part I - The WAY IT IS in Gamer World

The Individual's Role

·         You’re the star - you are the center of attention of every game.

·         You’re the boss - the world is very responsive to your every choice and wish.

·         You’re the customer and the customer is always right - the experience is design for your satisfaction and entertainment; the opponents are tough, but never too tough.

·         You’re an expert - you have the experience of getting really, really good at something.

·         You’re a tough guy - you can't be hurt - no matter how many crashes and spills you take.

How The World Works

·         There’s always an answer - you might be frustrated for a while, but keep trying - it's there.

·         Everything is possible - you do amazing things and see other players defeat hundreds of bad guys single handedly.

·         The world is a logical, human-friendly place - games are basically fair. Events may be random, but not inexplicable.

·         Trial and error is almost always the best plan - It's the only way to advance in most games.

·         Things are (unrealistically) simple - you can figure a game out, completely. Games are built on models. Even complex models can be figured out.

These rules set-up the player to feel that high-risk and jumping headlong into uncertainty are the ways to win the game. The more you "die trying" or "crash and burn" the faster you develop mastery.

Check back for Part II  on - How People Relate & What You Should Do.

Shift Happens Video - The Impact of the Future

Often times as we go through our day to day lives it can be difficult to imagine how the future will really be different than today. We know that global forces are impacting us more than every before, but we ask, "Will that really make a significant difference in my lifetime?".

Here is a video clip that helps paint the picture a little more vividly about the coming reality and the generations that will witness and participate in it.

A Pool vs a Puddle - Paid Time Off (PTO) vs Rainy Day Funds

The paternalistic model the US workforce has operated under for the last "century" is finding challenges coming at it from many directions.

A big area under siege is the benefit of vacation days and paid time off.

Traditionalists and Baby Boomers have operated under this paternalistic model that monitored employees' time off. These generations have been accustomed to following strict guidelines as to what constitutes vacation time or sick leave. In exchange they have benefited from being able to accrue unused sick day for years with the idea that they will stockpile them and use them for a "rainy day". If that rainy day never comes, they can usually cash in accrued time on the back end of their careers, having used the value of all those days as a sort of investment plan.

The Rainy Day model works if you stay at one organization and retire there but does not work out so well for the younger generations. Xers tenures range from 3 - 5 years and Millennials typically are 12 months to 36 months if they make it past the 4 month (hump).

But to compound the issues we have a core difference on philosophy between the generations about the purpose of these days.

Traditionalists' have perceived their careers as their legacy work. They were shaped by the Great Depression and World War II and felt fortunate to have a job. They were loyal to the organization and the organization was loyal in return. Traditionalist had every expectation to retire with the same organization they started their career at. A Traditionalist often measured their work ethic by years of service, and weeks (even months) of accrued, unused sick leave that could potentially be cashed in when he/she retired. Taking time off was seen as a lack of commitment to the team and the organization.

Baby Boomers followed along in this model to a degree. Taking their designated vacation time became the norm, and actually a tangible demonstration of their level in the organization. However for the most part the use of sick days was still strongly discouraged and a 60+ hour work week became the expected instead of the exception.

Xers personally felt the impact of this work-centric living and parenting. They tried it out personally during the Dot.com era, but have decided that it's not worth harming their health. They want to be available for their children now - not when they are 60. They don't want to make up lies and subterfuge just to go on their child's field trip, or take a mental health day.

Millennials have fast paced varied schedules and work is only one piece of their puzzle. They don't want to live in fear that "The Man" is watching their days off and asking if they were really sick. They want to be able to take a "pool" of flexible days and disperse them as needed.

Many organizations are finding that this flexible approach not only works for the Millennials and Xers, but also for their time-starved Baby Boomer colleagues as well.

Benefits, Rewards and Perks - The Concierge Lifestyle - Part 1 of 7

"How do I create balance between my passion to do good work and my commitment to have a balanced life?" It's the question being asked by today's workplace. No matter what generation you belong to, with the speed of today's marketplace, you feel like there's just not enough time to get it all done.

"Time is our most valuable resource" is the battle cry in today's workforce, and with increasing frequency employees are turning to their places of employment to seek support in finding the solution. One way employers are meeting this need is through the benefits, rewards and perks that create Category I -

The Concierge Lifestyle

Companies work hard to attract and retain top talent, but the best companies recognize you also have to work hard to keep top talent as well. Some employers are addressing this by creating contemporary benefits to tackle the time issue by saying ...

"No time to go out and get it? We'll bring it to you!"

Employers are bringing on-site the services and perks we want and need but can't find the time to get to:

• Massage Therapists
• Chiropractors
• On-site Coffee Baristas
• Free Lunches and more... drinks, snacks, soft drinks, water, popcorn, etc.
• Dental
• Doctor
• Yoga
• Car wash/detailing

Others are helping you schedule your appointments and make your reservations through the virtual Personal Assistant Services. It cuts down on lost productivity time of employees surfing for services and waiting on hold.

Personal Assistant Services include:

• Movies/Ticket Purchases
• Theater Tickets
• Shipping/Mailing Services
• Restaurant Reservations
• Travel Planning

To prevent lost time in employees going off-site to run chores, employers are having service providers come to campus to pick-up your personal chores:

• Dry cleaning - pick-up and delivery
• Shopping for employee grocery lists (Costco runs)
• Alterations
• Laundry pick-up

While our Traditionalists may frown at the seeming decadence, for the most part they also had a "wife" at home covering these duties. With the increase of single-parent households and two-working parents, our Baby Boomers are getting on board and enrolled in these options faster than you might imagined especially as service providers find ways to make it cost efficient, or at no cost to the business owner.

Sandwiched between aging parents, boomerang children and demanding jobs, Boomers welcome anything that takes one of the To Do's off their very full plate.

While Boomers enjoy it, X-ers are craving it. X-ers are struggling to establish a life-style career where they have balance between work and family. X-ers welcome and often choose to work for companies for less pay that provide these benefits and support. Plus, X-er's tenure at companies with progressive perks is higher, thus creating savings for companies through lower turnover costs and increased satisfaction.

Millennials expect it, demand it and keep moving until they find it.

While this is not the whole equation of what attracts and retains, it's a vital piece that employers must address or deal with the "fall-out".

Stay tuned and find out more in Category II of VII.

Retention Tips: Rewards, Perks and Reasons X-ers and Millennials Stay

We all know that one of the most expensive business costs is attracting talented people to work for us.. Often times my clients and audience members ask me the same question:

     "Once we get 'em, how do we keep 'em?"

Clients tell me the talent "burn/churn" rate is too high  and rising. It's keeping them up nights, and impacting their bottom line. Well, there is "good" news and "bad" news here. First, I'll share the good news. There are many simple actions and programs you can put in place that will create a "sticky" factor that helps current and potential employees want to stick around longer.

Now, the "bad" news. I said simple, not easy. There is often push back from more "senior" or "tenured" employees saying, "We didn't get that. Why should they?" That response, if you let it stop you, will be the exact reason that X-ers and Millennials choose to leave, or never accept the job in the first place.

More "good" news however, is that once you put some of these new perks and programs in place, the Baby Boomers will love 'em, and it may be what helps keep them in the workforce longer.Baby Boomer are looking desperately for more work/life balance. As they deal with aging parents, boomerang children that keep coming home, and the time demands of being at the top of their professional career, some of the new perks, work schedule and formats are looking mighty good.

So where do we begin to understand what makes each generation stick?

What kind of perks, packages and rewards are compelling enough to have employees ignore the lure of greener pastures that competitors dangle in front of them?

Good questions. To help you answer this I want to share what the "Best Companies in Washington" (as reported by the Puget Sound Business Journal) are doing in this area. When I added all their perks and rewards ideas together I saw seven categories arise, and the next few posts will go into detail on each category and share how you can learn from what the best are doing.

So to get us started, here are the big picture categories of Perks, Rewards, Compensation and other ways companies create a culture and environment that says, "We appreciate you, and we want you to stay."

• Category 1 - Concierge Lifestyle
• Category 2 - Family Friendly
• Category 3 - Flexible Work Schedules
• Category 4 - Work/Life Balance
• Category 5 - Discounts and Cost Savings
• Category 6 - Self-Development Support
• Category 7 - Profit Sharing

Attracting and Retaining the X-er Employee

In the current economy business leaders may find themselves answering a new question when interviewing a potential employee. Why should I work for you?

The equation has changed. The Interviewee is now putting the Interviewer on the hot spot to demonstrate the value of the company to him or her.

With low unemployment, increased ability to transparently search for a new job using on line tools like www.Monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com, and www.hotjobs.yahoo.com it's easier than ever to pick up your job skills and move.

Add to that the Gen-Xers (ages 30 - 43) have only 44 million peers versus the 80 million Baby Boomers, who filled the workforce before them, and you can see the talent crunch is upon us. However, the shrinking numbers of eligible candidates are not the only hallmarks of the leadership deficit.

While Boomers and X-ers both value hard work and quality results, how they approach producing them and what they are willing to sacrifice along the road to success and riches are quite different.

Boomers entered the workforce with 80 million peers to compete against for their job. In order to survive and keep ahead of their colleagues they put in long 20-hour days full of meetings, face time, and schmoozing. They generated lots of data, charts, reports and documentation to show how hard they were working and that they had a plan for the next 5, 10, 20 years.

The Gen-Xers saw a child's eye view of their Boomers work-centric parenting. They felt the impact of it personally when their parents, after years of loyal service to an organization, were let go in the 70's and 80's without warning. Life became even more uncertain for these young adolescents. The first generation of 'Latch Key Kids', they had been letting themselves into empty homes after school, managing their own snacks and schedules. All while trying to support their often single and frantic parent survive the uncertain and unstable world of the new corporate America, where loyalty was demanded from the employee, but not provided by the employer.

X-ers, now 30 - 43 years of age with young families, have decided that's not the world they want for their kids. They know the lasting impact it had on their confidence and self-esteem. They want something "better" for their children's childhood.

X -ers want to see their daughter's track meet and cheer at their son's football game. They are willing to tighten the budget and give up the next promotion that requires frequent time away on multi-night business trips.

They are not expecting loyalty from the organization they work for and don't expect to retire with their current company. They will serve there as long as they feel they are being treated fairly  and with respect. If there are new opportunities to learn, grow and expand their career and leadership skill sets, they will work hard.

But they are not adverse to jumping on a search engine to find the next place to park their mouse pad if the tide changes.

Loyalty is a two way street today. If leaders want loyalty (a.k.a. longevity of service to your organization) from an X-er you have to demonstrate you are interested in their future.

• How can they grow and learn with new opportunities at your company?
• How can they create the work/life balance to see their kids special events in person?
• How do you show them you respect and appreciate them?

If you can't answer these questions, chances are your top talented X-ers are looking for someone who can.

Selling to the Generations - X-ers The Forgotten Market

X-ers grew up on sophisticated marketing and have been deconstructing advertising messages since they were "knee high to a grasshopper" (aka very young).

X-ers, only 44 million ever born, are book-ended by the Boomer and Millennial generations and tend to end up being over-looked on many levels, and they resent it. The good news is if you pay attention to an X-er's interests and values and answer their piercing questions, you have a loyal customer who spreads the word quickly and earnestly about you.

          What are the X-er's thinking when they make purchases...

Well ... X-ers are quite cynical of big promises and hype. During their formative years they saw:

• institutions and leaders caught lying,
• divorce rates sky rocket, and
• big business layoff their parents without warning.

As they entered the workforce, they found it already filled to capacity by their Boomer predecessors and parents. However, a small window of promise and opportunity opened up through Technology. The Dot.com era was a time of possibility and opportunity for X-ers.

The world wide web was somewhere X-ers could thrive and be respected for their talents and unique contribution. But the crash in 2000 and the increases in off-shore outsourcing of IT jobs have left the X-er's more skeptical than ever.

So be ready to give it to them straight! They can spot hype from a mile away. They are street-smart and advertising savvy. X-ers need to be convinced that they can trust you and your promises. Remember they grew up on broken promises.

With guilt-ridden, divorced, dual-income parents showering them with presents, they grew up with expensive tastes and a good eye for quality. They respect quality and know it when they see it.

Being treated with respect is something they passionately desire. Avoid messaging that obviously stereotypes or compartmentalizes them. They are a generation of individuals. They don't like the term "Gen X" because it hasn't been explained that it is not a derogatory term. (And frankly too often it's been spoken with a derogatory tone by superiors.)

X-ers need more reassurance than other generations. With an underlying insecurity to their generation, you will do well if you position your products with positive and reinforcing signals, remedies and encouragement.

• Forget the hard sell.
• Get to the pragmatic facts.
• Reduce their uncertainty and show how they are protected with your product or service purchase.

But not in a schmaltzy way.

• Be straight
• Write in a clear and bottom line tone
• Be sincere  and show you caring about them

X-ers don't care about your product until you demonstrate you care about them as a customer, as a person, as a valuable partner for the future.

      

Selling to the Baby Boomers

                 The Baby Boomers 80 million strong created a cultural wave in purchasing never experienced before. From the time Boomers entered adolescence to now as they begin to enter "retirement age" the sheer numbers of people in this generation has dramatically impacted the market.

Boomers purchasing power is at an all time high. Millions of business people and organizations already directly target their marketing, messaging, and solutions at serving and selling to the Boomers, a generation of wealthy, I want it now, liberal spenders.

However, don't forget it is a "seller beware" market. Boomers are demanding customers who expect great things for their money. Contrary to popular belief they are not brand loyal like their Traditionalist parents. A  2001 Roper/ASW study reports that buyers age 45+ are no more brand loyal than younger people in most categories.

The good news, Boomers can be influenced by advertising and marketing messages. They are constantly looking for new products and services that meet the demands and life opportunities and obstacles they are facing. Here are a few tips on what Boomers are dealing with:

• Boomers are time-stressed.
• They are dealing with aging parents who need their care.
• They have Boomerang Millennial children who keep coming back again and again.
• They need products and services that will save them time.

Boomers are at the peak of their careers and earning potential. Time is money to a Boomer and they are willing to pay handsomely to get back the balance in their life.

But be aware that Boomers have a healthy skepticism of authority from their activism, flower-power years. So be ready to present your convenient, easy, trusty time-saving solutions in a highly ethical and straightforward manner.

These civil rights, human rights babies are value-driven and optimistic by nature. But they will do the research and you will need to match up what you promise with what you deliver.