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Less-is-more Blog by Pierre Khawand

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Can Baby Boomers learn a thing or two from Gen Y? Yes they can!

Posted by Pierre Khawand on Fri, May 06, 2011 @ 11:06 PM
  
  
  
  
Add to delicious  delicious  
  

learn from Gen YI belong to this organization (its name to remain anonymous) and it was time to renew my membership recently. I was asked to fill out the membership application again (same application that we filled out last year). Being the productivity and efficiency evangelist that I am, I couldn’t “digest” that request very well. So I objected and questioned why we would be asked to submit the same information again! Shouldn’t we all be focused on doing work that has some purpose after all?

This didn’t stop here! When the application was not received in time, our company profile was deleted from the organization’s website and it seems it was not stored in any other backend database. Now we have to fill out an application that we already filled out previously, and re-submit the profile information that we have submitted previously!

This didn’t stop here either. I got a lengthy response from the baby boomer in charge, explaining the logic behind the “illogical” process!

Let us learn something from Gen Y. And that is having things be practical and doing only things that make sense! Not to mention that Gen Y can’t learn a thing or two from Baby Boomers—I will point that out at the next opportunity as I continue to promote a multi-generational workplace where we all learn from each other! What can you learn from other generations? Your turn!

More Resources

Review recordings of the following lunch & learn webinars at the "Accomplishing more with less" Facebook group:

  • Gen Y in Action by Jenny Blake
  • Gen X in Action by Adam Christensen
  • Baby Boomers in Action by Peggy Wolf
  • Seniors in Action by Bill Denyer
  • Generational Panel Discussion

 

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Comments

Pierre - what a frustrating experience! That's just unnecessary no matter what generation it's coming from.  
 
What we're seeing in Gen Y is an impatience and intolerance for technical things that don't work. We've grown up with Web 2.0 and expect our experiences online to be integrated and efficient -- that's definitely something that some older organizations are having a hard time with. 
 
I think this is a great reminder (no matter the context) that each of our generations has some core strengths and we would be well-suited to remain open to learning from them -- that goes for all of us!
Posted @ Saturday, May 07, 2011 11:34 AM by Jenny Blake
Thanks Jenny! and also thanks for your on going contribution to this multi-generational learning and best wishes for the rest of your lacbook.com tour!
Posted @ Monday, May 09, 2011 12:33 AM by Pierre Khawand
Though I have not read or heard what has been discussed before, first I would like to question the question. By asking what boomers can learn from from GenY, we are skipping over boomers who adapted well and are GenX-ers as well. If there are any pure boomers around, they haven't learned much and are close to retirement and hence irrelevant anyway. Have I made any friends? 
 
Nonetheless, still-breathing boomers can learn from GenY (1) technology and the need for ease and proficiency (like learning Spanish or sex); (2)new values like incorporating ecological concerns, and(3)everything connected with being open to the uncharted, distinguishing between smartness and ideology and custom, etc. 
 
From the other direction, it is also important that GenY learn to communicate more and more broadly (and not assume the symbolic shorthand of a PDA has infected all aspects of life; and that they realize and mitigate their cockiness and unearned self-confidence and aggrandizement (thank you mom and dad). How many of these wonder kids have we suffered already? The humility and intelligence to learn - Bush didn't have it but there's still hope for millennials.
Posted @ Monday, May 09, 2011 1:13 PM by Bill Sywak
Boomers (76M in workforce) approach: 
"Lead me to information" 
 
Gen Xers (46M in workforce) approach: 
"Connect me to people" 
 
Millennials (78M in workforce) 
"Connect me to everything" 
_______________________ 
Perhaps simplistic, but indicates how these different generations learn. Not one way is right or wrong; it's just different. Everyone can bring something to the table and we can sit there together and learn from one another.  
 
Certainly, social media is playing a bigger and bigger role in all of our lives. (If not, you're living under a rock.) How can we leverage that to connect all three groups currently in the 21st century workforce to get the best results possible for our business imperative and the worklife and understanding of employees? 
 
Stay engaged, enthused, open to new technologies (they'll be coming faster and faster!) and how to use them, and the fast-changing technological climate, in general. 
 
Be open to what others no matter their generational background can offer. Not all is good. Not all is bad. The cross-fertilization of ideas and initiatives is what we're ALL after and the best product or service with which we're engaged. 
 
Social media is here to stay. That's what Boomers can learn from Gen Xers and Millenials. They can learn what a good work ethic is from Boomers who are still engaged. 
 
My two cents. 
Posted @ Monday, May 09, 2011 6:40 PM by Nancy Baumann
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