Us vs. Them Redefining the Multi-Generational Workplace To Inspire Your Employees To Love Your Company, Drive Innovation, and Embrace Change

by Havens, Jeff

• ISBN13: 9780134195100
• ISBN10: 0134195108
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-06-21
• Publisher: Pearson FT Press

Summary

A SIMPLER, SMARTER WAY TO MANAGE GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE

• Forget complex multi-generation models nobody can use!
• Discover useful solutions rooted in enduring human psychology
• Improve communication, productivity, loyalty, career planning, and innovation
• For all executives, HR pros, talent strategists, and entrepreneurs

Millennials. Gen X. Boomers. The “Greatest Generation.” How do you get them all working together? It isn’t nearly as complicated as the “experts” claim. You just need to understand one simple dynamic that’s as old as the human race: there’s us, and there’s everyone else.

 

Jeff Havens clears away the foolishness so often associated with managing multi-generation workplaces, and gives you a simple, sensible framework for resolving every generational issue you’ll ever face.

 

Havens shows why workplaces have always presented “us vs. them” dynamics based on age and experience, and always will. Then, he offers practical solutions for specific intergenerational issues associated with loyalty, work ethic, innovation, change, and career advancement.

 

Ready to get past stereotypes and promote vibrant collaboration across all generations? Then you’re ready for Us vs. Them.

 

For 30 years, discussions about generational differences at work have grown increasingly complex and frustrating. ”Experts” have identified three, four, now even five distinct workplace generations–each allegedly unique and requiring their own management approach. If you buy all that, then it follows that the more generations you bring aboard, the tougher it is to collaborate productively.

 

But the conventional wisdom is 100% wrong. It isn’t so complicated–or difficult. In Us vs. Them, Jeff Havens offers a simpler, more intuitive model–and most importantly, actionable solutions. Based on his

internationally acclaimed keynote presentation, Us vs. Them will simplify your workplace in ways you didn’t think were possible.

 

Think of two generations, not five: Older, more experienced workers and their Younger, less experienced counterparts. Suddenly, you can frame generational issues more sensibly–and find simple solutions to problems that once seemed intractable.

 

Us vs. Them addresses the root psychological causes of generational tension at work: causes based in the hardwired human tendency to see others as “one of us” or as “one of them.” This dynamic has existed forever, and it always will. Once you understand it, you can learn to manage it…and when another “new generation” comes along, you’ll be ready for them, too!

 

Simpler, more effective ways to:

• Motivate employees of all ages
• Learn from colleagues who think differently from you
• Inspire more enthusiasm, loyalty, and productivity, especially among new hires
• Prevent veteran employees from coasting toward retirement
• Frame change more successfully
• Promote innovation
• Plan succession and advancement
• Accelerate your own career progress

 

Author Biography

JEFF HAVENS (Bloomington, IL), founder of The Jeff Havens Company, is one of North America’s most in-demand presenters. His extraordinary ability to deliver high-quality education in an entertaining way has earned him dozens of repeat clients, all of whom appreciate his insistence that education is the only way that we improve at anything, and that we’ll all improve better and faster if we enjoy the learning process. By combining traditional presentation content with the entertainment value of a great comedy show, Havens has found enthusiastic audiences in government, academia, small businesses and the Fortune® 50, while still being one of the youngest members of the professional speaking circuit. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vanderbilt University.

Table of Contents

Preface: Why This Book Needed To Be Written

Part One: Simplifying the Picture

1. Destroying the Four Generation Myth

2. The Two Generation Model

3. Determining Your Generation and Consolidating Generational Arguments

Part Two: Solving the Problem

4. On The Nature of Loyalty and Its Effect on Work Ethic

5. On the Pace of Career Advancement (No Matter What Career You’re In)

6. On the Tension Between Stasis and Innovation

7. Deciding How (or Whether) To Implement a Change

8. Final Thoughts

Appendix A (Summary):

1) Qualities, Attitudes and Opinions That Young People and Old People Have in Common

2) Why Your Younger or Less-Experienced Colleagues Think and Behave The Way They Do

3) Why Your Older or More-Experienced Colleagues Think and Behave The Way They Do

Appendix B (Summary):

1) Key Strategies For Resolving Issues With Your Younger or Less-Experienced Colleagues

2) Key Strategies For Resolving Issues With Your Older or More-Experienced Colleagues

Appendix C: How to Talk To Someone Significantly Older or More Experienced Than You Are

 

Simple, practical, actionable solutions for getting younger and older employees on the same page, and working together smoothly.