Ina recent article in Harvard Business Review online the author states that Millenials or Gen Y will end up conforming. To check out the whole article and comments thread click here http://tinyurl.com/24gnwxt

It’s an interesting take on the whole generations discussion and a pretty predictable one from a Gen X/Baby Boomer author. What has been more fascinating is the dialogue that has been created with people from each of the generations chiming in to give their opinion.

For me, as the author of “101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work” I provide pretty solid research that says Gen Y’s will transform the workplace and will NOT conform. There are a few reasons for this and they are:

1. The last thing Gen Y’s want to be is like their Baby Boomer parents and so they are determined to not hate their job, stay in a dead job or wait forever for a promotion.

2. Gen Y’s stand to be the next big group of entrepreneurs- they would rather work for themselves than conform to a workplace that is rigid with structure.

3. We Baby Boomers have raised these Gen Y’s to have high self esteem, to go for their dreams and to NOT do what we have done- they have been wired from birth to do things differently.

4. Technological advances are the main reason everything is changing and will continue to change. Gen Y’s are keen on simplifying work with technology and they simply cannot conform to a workplace that does not embrace technological innovation.

So I am eager to hear your opinion here- please post your comments- I plan to compile the responses and report back with the results.

Recently I was a guest on the Fanny Keifer Show http://www.studio4.ca/ where I was being interviewed for my new book. When the show was over I went back to the green room where a Gen Y had just watched my segment. She burst out laughing and said that her biggest challenge was exactly what I said which was that Zoomers just don’t see things the same way that Gen Y’s do. She gave examples of how she constantly has to ‘re-phrase’ her language in order to help a Zoomer understand the technology at her workplace. Then she asked me what 3 tips could I give her to help sell ideas to her Zoomer counterparts. Here’s what I suggested:

1. If your Gen Y idea involves technology make sure you are clear about the outcome of the technological idea such as how it will help them do the work easier, how it will impact the bottom line and how it will help them be more efficient.

2. You might think that your idea is the next thing that will transform the workplace but be careful, if you come across in a way that implies how things have been done has been wrong you will get resistance. Honour the people and systems that have been in place and use language such as, “the way we have done payroll has been effective up until now AND I have an idea that could save us 10 hours a week which equates to $2o,ooo.oo dollars in immediate savings.

3. Present your idea in a proposal format, build a Powerpoint slide show to demonstrate the ‘before’ and ‘after’ results of your idea. Provide numbers, input from other stakeholders and pertinent data. You could even make a video (which is easy for you to do) and present your idea using humour and creativity.

As a Gen Y you are fresh, candid and creative- some Zoomers will love you and others may have hangups about your ideas that will change the way they work.

You have to be willing to communicate in ‘their’ language if you hope to win over Zoomers in the workplace.

We are excited to announce the official launch of my new book on generations in the workplace titled, “101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work”.

The launch is happening in my home city of Vancouver, BC Canada and the details are as follows:

Where: Beyond Restaurant, Century Plaza Hotel 1015 Burrard St Vancouver BC

When: Monday June 7th, 2010 drop in between 5:00 and 7:00 PM

Appetizers, Cash Bar, Door Prizes and a celebration with Cheryl Cran, CSP the author. That’s me!

RSVP- Dale Clarke 604 468 2077 or dale@tancosolutions.com

We hope to see you there!

In my new book, 101 Ways to Make Generations X, Y and Zoomers Happy at Work I talk about the creativity and innovation of Gen Y’s. Their natural propensity to find new solutions with technology is something we Zoomers need to capitalize on.

I have told stories about the creativity of Gen Y such as the young guy who invented a glove that when worn by a hearing impaired individual they can sign language and have it translate to a smart phone or PDA in a language of their choice.

Also, there is a young girl from the Okanagan in BC and her teacher gave the class an assignment; come up with ideas on how to re-use and recycle plastic. Turns out her dad owned a paving company and at a family dinner one night she gave her dad an idea, why not use plastic in paving materials? Plastic expands when heated and contracts when cooled- what a perfect substance for paving surfaces that were constantly cracking!

After countless hours of what he calls “sweat equity” Mr. Cheung has a thriving online business called Shape Collage Inc. that offers software for creating photo collages in various shapes. He has recently been named 2010 Student Entrepreneur National Champion by the charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE). The full story is here http://tinyurl.com/32k2nmg

Many Zoomers think that Gen Y’s are not connected because they are always using technology to interact with others.
Actually, Gen Y longs for connection and they pre-connect via Facebook, Iphone, Blackberry and then set up a face to face connect.
One could argue that Gen Y is more connected than we Zoomers are. Think about it- Zoomers may pick up the phone have a brief chat and then visit but how intimate are our conversations?
With a Gen Y they share very openly and with abandon what they are thinking and feeling in any given moment. When they do meet face to face they want connected conversations, not surface conversations.
A recent article posted on CanWest further explores the Gen Y’s need for connection in the workplace. Check it out here:
http://www.working.com/story.html?id=2924808