GenXwords

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

The economy…from the GenX perspective

In Uncategorized on November 7, 2011 at 5:13 pm

This is not news to X’ers, but we are the first generation in the US to be worse off financially than our parents, as recognized in an Associated Press article that hit the media today. I’m thrilled that the issue has claimed the attention of the AP but seeing the phenomenon written out in black and white, in hundreds of news sources across the country leaves me with a sour stomach.  Why?  Because it is accurate.  Many GenXers and Millennials are living with very high student loan debt, little to no net worth and have been disproportionately affected by the mortgage and housing crisis.

To quote the article “The typical household headed by a person age 65 or older has a net worth 47 times greater than a household headed by someone under 35.“

Before you jump to the explanation that people accumulate wealth and assets as they age and we Xer’s just need to put our time in, the article is also quoted as saying that “the gap is now more than DOUBLE what it was in 2005 and five times what it was 25 years ago, after adjusting for inflation.”   Yes folks, we are the first generation to do worse financially than our parents and our millennial friends behind us hold the same distinction.

This trend has vast consequences for our public and non profit organizations.  Consider our donor base, philanthropy and planned giving best practices the industry has been using for decades. Ask yourself it they take this trend into consideration?  In my experience, the answer is no.  All of these activities are still very boomer and traditionalist focused.  If you haven’t already come to this conclusion, let me be the first to lay it out, in black and white….the way we raise money to support our organizations today, is not what will be successful in a decade.  I encourage you to review the AP article (or the subsequent flurry of articles resulting from the AP article-click here for the Chicago Tribune version) and begin the conversations in your organizations about this trend.

Finally, millions of Americans are struggling financially, that is not news.  But the state of the economy from a GenX filter is news, at least it was today.

Technology, is not an alternative.

In Uncategorized on October 28, 2011 at 5:01 pm

There seem to be two groups of people in the workforce these days.  Those that fear technology and see it exhaustive and a burden and a second group, who see it as a tool to make our work easier.  The division is not always along generation lines-but I do often see the first group born somewhere in the boomer generation.

This is not a new concept, nor can I take credit for calling the concept out for the first time. But I will lay it out there, with a generation lens.

Just yesterday, while in a large strategic planning meeting, I was struck by the division of some seeing technology as a threat and others seeing it as an opportunity.  One particular comment, that started a flurry of fear based comments, was “technology is so unsafe, we have to protect ourselves and our children from it.” While another (also a boomer) chimed in to add “technology is not only unsafe but it is EXHAUSTING, all the constant emails and text messages, I can’t keep up!”  There was a collective sigh, and it was mostly from those well over the age of 55.

Meanwhile, I see the X’ers and Millennials in the group shifting uncomfortably in their chairs.  Some looking around with cagey eyes like they are trapped ready for the finger pointing and  ”those millennials keep texting during meetings” comments to begin. Others were ready to vehemently disagree, wanting to list off all opportunities that technology offers to make our work more effective, efficient and increase accessibility of information.

This division and dynamic is obvious in nearly all meetings, trainings, seminars I attend.

I don’t have a specific solution for either group’s conflict, but I can say that as a “bridge” generation between boomers and millennials…Generation X has a chance to make a significant impact in this argument.  Boomers, some better than others, have adapted to common workplace technology developments like email, texting, internet, google etc. But it has been an adaptation for boomers.  Millennials were born connected, they don’t know a life without it. Meanwhile, GenX, was in our prime developmental years, psychologically, emotionally and educationally during the rise in the use of technology for communications and work.  We were also just beginning our careers during the dot.com explosion-a pivotal turning point in the evolution of technology in the workforce.

As a generation, we can argue both sides of this technology argument.  The positives, the negatives.  The challenges and the opportunities.  What is even better however, is that we can act as the bridge between the boomers and millennials.  Technology is here to stay, and will continue to evolve, avoiding it is no longer an alternative.  Not using email or learning to text for work communications, not googling your next job applicant candidate, avoiding social networking or websites to promote your organization, is no longer cute.  Technology doesn’t have to be scary and bad.

To my fellow X’ers, stand up and offer to help your colleagues to adapt.  Bridge the gap between generations. Explain to millennials about where the fear of technology comes from so they are better able to validate boomers.  At the same time, be assertive with boomers to give time and space for Xer’s and millennials to teach about the advantages of being more connected. Technology has much to offer, so let us frame the conversation to be less about fear and more about an opportunity to learn from other generations.

, ,

I haven’t posted because I’ve been “busy”…

In Uncategorized, Work Values on May 19, 2011 at 10:26 am

Who isn’t busy these days?   Take a moment to look around you now and you’ll see people living their busy lives.  Sure I’ve been busy, but should I blog about all the busy things I’ve been doing?  List out all the mundane tasks that seemed really important to accomplish at the time?… give you a bulleted array of items I’ve been doing since I last blogged?….drone on and on about all my important activities?  Yeah…no.  It would be against my GenXness (and yes, I just made up a new word).

So why do we do this in meetings?  Why do we spend hours of our lives in committee meetings (sitting in uncomfortable chairs in small stuffy rooms around tables) talking about how “busy” we’ve been?  Why are reports to board members (board packets) filled with lists of what we’ve been busy doing?   Sure it is important to know that we have done SOMETHING…but why not focus on the outcomes of our work, the results of being “busy” and the impact of our efforts.

I was just reading thru nearly a dozen board reports and I noticed that EVERY SINGLE report used the word “busy”.  Is it harsh to say that I don’t really want to know what you did last Tuesday or what meetings you’ve been to?  I trust that you are busy doing what you need to do to be successful at your job.  I would rather  know about what happened because you were at that meeting &  what you got out of it.  And if you can’t answer THAT question…maybe you should spend your time in a different way.  

If you want to engage X’ers in your work and meetings, focus on outcomes, results and impact and join me in putting a moratorium on the word “busy”.

2010 in review

In Uncategorized on January 6, 2011 at 12:43 pm

Happy New Year!  As I reflect on my first year of official “blogging” I am filled with  obligatory blogger guilt for not posting more often.  Thankfully, the guilt is counterbalanced with  pride knowing that other people at least READ my thoughts…and a few of you even commented on them!   I had intended to blog for year then re-evaluate….but after I received this handy little wordpress report, I decided the pride outweighed the guilt so I’m committing to another year of a blonde in a sea of grey….

If you are a stats geek like I am,  you’ll be interested to read what wordpress crunched for me.

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,600 times in 2010. That’s about 6 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 20 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 9 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about a picture per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 3rd with 74 views. The most popular post that day was …don’t you want to be “developed”?.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, digg.com, slashingtongue.com, WordPress Dashboard, and google.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for generation x values, values of generation x, gen x values, generation demographics+technology, and events that shaped generation x.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

…don’t you want to be “developed”? February 2010
10 comments

2

Generation X values…a bit more context March 2010
4 comments

3

all about me…. January 2010

4

Technology…game or workhorse? February 2010
6 comments

5

It’s our time….Goonies Anthem or GenX Manifesto? February 2010
4 comments

Here is to another year of blonde’s navigating the sea of grey!!  -V

, , , , , ,

Engaging multiple generations in your meetings

In Technology, Uncategorized, Work Values on August 12, 2010 at 3:07 pm

MEETINGS…in all their glory, are an obvious reoccurring theme in this blog.

I’ve gotten a lot of  feedback about my critique of meetings, largely from friends in the corporate or for-profit fields.  Often their comments sound  like this  “seriously?  I would walk out of a meeting that was that pointless, time is money” or “if somebody is multi-tasking in a meeting, either the meeting doesn’t have enough focus, or the people in your meeting are the wrong ones”.   Interesting points….which makes me ask if meetings in the non-profit and public sector are different from those in the for profit world.  The ultimate goal of the for profit industry is to make more money-so naturally meetings would be a strategy to make this happen.  The goal of organizations in the non-profit sector is varied and sometimes foggy. This reality can create a meeting monster that results in confusion of the meeting purpose and varying levels of disengagement from those in the meeting.  Engaging people in a meeting with a foggy goal or purpose is difficult at best.  Add generational differences in how we define the goals and purpose of organizations and it gets uglier.

One strategy for success in negotiating this mess is good meeting management & understanding how to engage people of all generations in meetings. I’ve discussed the purpose of meetings  in other posts but how we build our agendas, what we do in meetings and how we deal with the need to engage our volunteers and staff  is worth more discussion.

How to engage gen X you ask?  Well….here is an example of how not to engage younger generations….

I recently sat through a two-hour meeting where all we did was share information about what we were busy doing, tasks people planned to do and information on things we could do.  I think eating a dirt sandwich would be more enjoyable and worthwhile.  I would rather hear about what you accomplished and how it has resulted in change or allow me to chime in with my thoughts about a decision that needs to be made. Spending valuable face to face time just chatting about information I could spend 5 minutes reading in a written report is not a good use of my time.  I would prefer to come to a meeting to make a decision, share information you are not able to get elsewhere and capitalize on the group dynamic to get discussion and movement toward a common goal.

But that is just me.

I’ve observed that some people find great value in spending entire meetings sharing information and talking about activities, namely boomers and traditionalists.  The process of sharing information is a strategy left over from days where instant electronic messages, online information sharing and anytime/anyplace communication strategies were not so prevalent.  You had to wait until you saw a person face to face to get their report-or wait for snail mail to send it to you after somebody typed it out on a typewriter.  Meeting agenda’s are still built around “old business” and “new business”, committee reports etc. . It is an unusual meeting agenda that is built around what outcomes have resulted from activities or what decisions do we need to make today in this meeting.

The solution?….. having a meeting with a good healthy mix of strategy and creative management for the group you are leading.  First, be clear about why you are meeting.  Meeting for the sake of meeting is not quite at the level of Dante’s seven deadly sins…but seriously, be clear with your purpose of bringing people together.  Second, allow for sharing time for those that prefer that process.  Third, add in decisions that need to be made and outcomes that can be reported on from activity of the group.  If possible, ask the group what amount of each process they prefer.  If you have an entire group of GenX’ers I would guess you’d want to have written reports on progress/activity and spend more time on dialogue leading to decision-making.   Big group of boomers?….more time on sharing.

At the very least…consider your meeting management in the context of  generational difference.  Discuss what processes your group prefers and how to build your agenda around it.  I would bet the result would be more engagement and better  progress toward your goal.

, , , , , ,

Generational differences….real or just a marketing & advertising strategy?

In Defining Events, Generation demographics, Uncategorized, Work Values on May 27, 2010 at 5:44 pm

Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millenials, Traditionalists….all terms derived originally for the purpose of marketing and advertising to different demographic groups.  Labels used to define similar values, life experiences and defining events that will guide consumer buying patterns.

I ask you…are differences between generations enough to move beyond mere consumer habits and ultimately define a cultural group?  Will discussion of difference produce more than buying patterns?  Is there enough difference that studying or discussing such difference will lend insight into improved leadership,  management and outcomes of the organizations we pour our life’s work into?

Yes.

It is obvious that the world around us is changing and it is happening fast.  The challenges that non-profits face are increasing while the demographic group that has traditionally provided staff and board leadership in such organizations is in flux. The non-profit and public sectors are undergoing an evolution themselves, negotiating new funding demands, changing needs of the populations they are serving and a public that is increasingly savvy about where their dollar is spent.  Providing for and supporting leadership transition has never been more important.

What are these substantial differences you ask?  Check out this chart. It is one of the most complete looks at differences in values, communication strategies, influences, preferred work environment, attributes and skills that I’ve seen.  It focuses on significant differences while suggesting similarities.

Back to the title of this post…recognizing real difference is just as imperative to understanding one another as recognizing our similarities. Such understanding and recognition will allow for deeper interpersonal connection while helping to negotiate the demographic shift that is upon us in our organizations and communities.

Now go study that chart, I will be quizing you on it later.

, , , ,

Headline: GenX breaks out of the 9 to 5 box

In GenX Pop Culture, Technology, Uncategorized, Work Values on March 18, 2010 at 9:29 am

Remember the Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda movie from 1980 ” 9 to 5″…I can still hear Dolly blasting out the chorus….

Workin 9 to 5
What a way to make a livin
Barely gettin by
Its all takin
And no givin
They just use your mind
And they never give you credit
Its enough to drive you
Crazy if you let it

I will certainly not admit in public that Dolly Parton has had any influence on my work life but the idea of questioning the traditional 9 to 5 work schedule certainly started in my little kid brain when I saw this movie years ago.  Even then, I asked myself from where did this idea of working in a confined space for a specified time of day come?  Whose idea was this anyhow? And why do I have to do it this way?

Well..in post WWII where typical office work consisted of controlling and manipulating information to the masses (like a Mad Men episode) and meetings required face to face contact, having a specified time of day and place to do it made sense.  Naturally, boomers being the competitive lot that they are, upped the ante in the seventies and eighties by supporting and practicing the value that the longer you work, the more dedicated and better work you were doing.  Work was life, work defined you.  The “so what do you do?” party conversation opener was born.

Enter Generation X…add in a healthy mix of telecommuting options, video & online conferencing, email, smart phones, personal computers, social networking and voilà, the 9 to 5 idea just doesn’t seem as hot as it used to.  Many industries have caught on and adapted, offering flextime, telecommuting and utilizing internet based programs like wiki to create work spaces that are not dependent on a specific time or place to participate.

The non-profit and public sectors, not so much. Some are still working from the perspective that more time spent IN your office means you are more dedicated, more loyal, a better public worker, a better non-profit executive.   The perspective breeds the idea that NFP Executives must be on beck and call 24/7, because if you aren’t, you somehow aren’t dedicated to your cause. You are a slacker, you are apathetic, you are not “dedicated to the work”.

As a GenXer who appreciates her freedom to set her own schedule, juggle more than one career at a time AND have a life outside of my work, this aggravates me.   I join my GenX colleagues in their desire to balance work with many other roles & responsibilities and the idea of utilizing technology to make me more efficient and produce higher quality work doesn’t intimidate me.  If I want to answer work emails in my robe at my kitchen counter at 5 am, go to the gym between meetings in the middle of the day or blog in the middle of the night-it’s my prerogative (and no, I’m not quoting Bobby Brown), it doesn’t equate to being a slacker, apathetic or any less dedicated.

Before this turns into a giant vent, I will wrap it up with a challenge.  It is up to GenerationX leaders to continue to challenge the old school ways of confining work and placing value on time instead of the quality of our work.  Meanwhile, I challenge the boomers out there to take a day off, go take your shoes off and walk in the grass, find something that has meaning in your life other than the time you work and…next time somebody asks you what you do make up something crazy.

,

10 Things boomers have taught me….

In Uncategorized on February 3, 2010 at 10:19 am

Yes, I have learned many good things from the generations that came before me.  Some of these were intentional (from being mentored and “developed”), a few were learned from a desire NOT to do it the way I saw it modeled.

The non-profit and public sector may be on the brink of a crisis in leadership, but there is a strong foundation to work with.   As earlier generations of leaders retire they are becoming volunteers and donors,  still filling vital roles that enable our non-profits to function.    Recognizing difference in our values is one step in making the transition seamless.  Embracing what we learn from one another is another step.   So without further ado….

10 things boomers have taught me

  1. Process is sometimes just as important to a group as the result
  2. Self-assessment is a worth-while venture
  3. Question authority-even when it comes to Non-profit administration
  4. Value all of my time.  Work, personal and family
  5. Rules change
  6. My demand for inspiration in my job is not universal
  7. Think quickly, speak slowly
  8. Listen actively
  9. Hand written thank you cards to your donors are still appreciated AND expected
  10. Use technology well and you will impress

What have YOU learned from other generations?

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.