e-Tips

The longer firms/organizations put off serious preparation for the next generation to step into the big Boomer shoes the greater the danger. The breather many organizations have allowed themselves during the past recession will leave them gasping for air. Succession planning and preparation is needed at all times. Anyone whose expertise and contacts will be missed can cause a serious business disruption and loss of clients/customers and other stakeholder relationships if quality transitions are not in the works. Part One of this topic focused on Boomers and Gen Y/Millennials. Part 2 focuses on opening the bottleneck for Gen X and assuring they are ready to take charge.

To achieve long-term success, it is extremely important to align succession planning with the strategic focus of the organization. Too often firms are not clear on their strategic focus, succession planning or both. Further, when these are undertaken, important stakeholders are frequently left out of the process. Unfortunately, the appropriate sense of urgency has not yet registered and led to necessary action.

Following in Facebook’s footsteps, Apple Inc. is about to start “selling” something new. Steve Jobs might even approve, since the newest perk or benefit also made possible by technology, seems aimed at making it easier for women to stay working longer when they are likely to be most productive and reproductive.

My purpose here is to get us thinking about what benefits or perks people of different generations want, what the employers’ motivations for offering them are, and whether the offerings really motivate people to higher performance, retention and loyalty.

How often do we hear or read that the younger generations want to have their own business? Are we birthing generations of entrepreneurs? Where does their entrepreneurial spirit come from, and how do the generations tend to differ?

Earlier this summer I was interviewed for a research project and master’s thesis by an EY (rebranded from Ernest & Young) Fellow in Ireland. For one of the questions, I generated a long list that provides an overview of challenges in the current multi-generational workplace. I am happy to share this with you.

There’s a 5^th generation in the workplace wings. I am asked about the generation following Gen Y/Millennials. What are they like? What do we call them? Here I summarize some useful observations and give my interpretation of comparisons with other generational cohorts as well as 12 tips.

It was hard to miss the deluge of articles (and they’re still coming): “The Daddy Juggle;” “The Increasing Choice to Be a Stay-at-Home Dad;” “The Rise of the Hands-On Dad,” for example, in the major business media. Stigmas do still exist. Nonetheless the percentage increase in stay-at-home and highly involved dads has been significant. Time to re-think flexibility.

 

It’s obvious to just about everyone that we have been witnessing fundamental changes in communication media and styles, accelerating markedly in the last 15 years. Technology and the market have led the way to faster, more efficient, smaller, “always on” media. Communication styles have followed and adjusted, causing generational and occupational divides.