Here we go again?

Jason-

Interesting post, I have to admit I see a lot of parallels between the world that we came up in as Gen Xers, and today. I think there might also be a second issue at hand, and this one regarding Gen Y...because the world has in some very significant ways changed in the past ten years (even in the past 2-3 years) and I wonder how that will impact them early in their careers.

But, getting back to the crew coming up after Y, I do think that is likely we will see another cohort big on cynicism. I for one, think that is a good thing. In addition to the apparent correlation between cynicism and good looks, I think that our organizations and institutions continue to get away with a lot of bullshit. Despite all of the collective cynicism of the good looking Gen Xers, we still live in a world driven by spin.

There is today a great deal of noise being made about things like transparency and authenticity, and much of it is being made by the princes and princesses of the Web 2.0 world, but little of it has become reality yet. Few and far between are the leaders and decision makers in business, education, media, government, and religion that truly understand and live transparency and authenticity. Those things tend to be the mantra of those wanting to be leaders more so than those that are leaders.

More cynicism? Bring it on, I say...we need reinforcements.

-joe

Gen X Redux?

Good Morning Joe,

Lately, I've been wondering how the current times are going to shape the generation of children growing up today. According to the Tammy Erickson's model of the generations, it is the events that occur during you formative teen years that shape the lasting values and perceptions of a generation. So, that makes me curious as to how this current generation of kids are making sense of what's happening around them and how that might shape their world view.

Generation Y has been thought of as the confident, gregarious generation which stems from the fact that this generation grew up in mostly unprecendented positive times. Gen X on the other hand is know to be skeptical and even cynical, based on the fact that the world was seemingly coming unraveled as they grew up (government scandal, corporate downsizings, soaring divorce rates, etc.). So, what about this next group?

What I have been wondering lately is if we aren't creating a second wave of kids who may share some Gen X characteristics. I present to you this evidence:

• Our current economic recession and hardships are directly related to the greed and arrogance of corporate giants.
• After a number of years of a job market where there were good jobs if you wanted one, things have turned. We've been reminded of what layoffs and downsizings feel like. Everyone knows someone who has been impacted.
• We see reports each day soldiers coming home dead from Iraq from a war that was started based on inaccurate intelligence and a President who lied to the American people about it in order to justify going to war in teh first place.

These data points among others lead to an environment that sounds and feels much like the world that our Gen X brothers and sisters grew up in. Could it be that another "trust no one" generation is in the making?

Jason

The Whole "Generational" Thing - Response

Joe,

Thanks for braining up this list that Jamie Notter presented from the book Generations at Work. I think it's dangerous to start listing liabilities and assets of the generational groups. When you make the jump from describing characteristics of a generation to describing assets and liabilities, you've inserted judgments. These judgments about generations are generally colored by our own biases or even our own generation.

For example, as a Gen X'er, I have often criticized Generation Y for the fact they have grown up in a world where they aren't told they do anything wrong. They have been coddled and supported more than any generation in history. We commonly talk about the fact that they are the generation that has grown up with no winning and losing in PE class and instead, everyone is a winner because everyone all participated. This goes against my nature as someone who believes that healthy competition can bring out the best in people. So, I have been one to say that Gen Y isn't equipped for the workforce because they don't know how to take and use negative feedback.

On the flip side of this argument would be that Gen Y is equipped to succeed in a very different way than the generations before them because of their confidence. Since they have grown up with parents and schools that didn't punish them for losing or failing, they don't see failing as fatal. This means that they are more fearless with new things. They are more willing to experiment and test out new approaches because they aren't as concerned about having to get things right every time. In many ways, they are far better equipped for our new rapidly changing world of technology and multimedia.

In my opinion, judgment is dangerous and borders on irresponsible, particularly when talking about generational stereotypes. But, I guess they need to sell books and give people like us something to debate about.

And to your comments about the Manifesto, I do think that it is definitely colored with our Gen X perspective. I think that the message underlying the manifesto definitely comes from the cynicism and skepticism we have developed as a result of our experiences growing up. The Manifesto is a handbook for organizations who want to evolve their workplaces to attract and retain not only Gen X but also the generations of the future. I'm not sure that the actual changes we call for in the Manifesto are specific to only Gen X, but our tone surely is.

What do you think?

Jason

X marks the spot!

Jason-

We are heading to South Dakota this week for the state SHRM Conference, where we get to deliver one of our favorite keynote messages Generation X : Magic (or Mayhem) in the Middle. You and I like this message for a number of reasons and have been giving presentations and workshops on generational issues for a couple of years now, and I think that this continues to be an important set of issues for organizations.

I am thinking that it might help us get mentally prepared by thinking a bit about our favorite (and the most attractive) generation in the workforce today. Good friend and fellow X'er Jamie Notter has shared some thoughts on Gen X assets and liabilities over on a blog that he contributes to. I am curious what you think of these.

Also, we contributed some thoughts for Cheezhead last week, mostly stuff that comes from The Manifesto, and it occurs to me that these things should resonate especially well with our Generation X brothers and sisters. Would you agree with that and do you think other generations will struggle with these ideas more? Or is there no generational connection here?

Have a good week and looking forward to hitting the road with you.
-joe