When Generations Collide

by Lancaster, Lynne C.; Stillman, David

• ISBN13: 9780066621067
• ISBN10: 0066621062
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-17
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

<h4 align="center">BICKERING. BACK BITING. CLASHING. COLLIDING.<br>JUST ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE...</h4><p align="left">If your workplace sometimes feels like a battlefield and your colleagues sometimes seem like aliens, you are not alone. Today there are four distinct generations of employees glaring at one another from across the conference table, and the potential for conflict and confusion has never been greater.</p><p align="left">In this insightful, captivating book, generational experts Lynne C. Lancaster and David Stillman shed much-needed light on how to bridge generational gaps at work by understanding the differences that drive generations apart.</p><p align="left"><b>Traditionalist</b> employees with their "heads down, onward and upward" attitude live out a work ethic that was shaped during the dark days of the Great Depression. Meanwhile, the eighty million <b>Baby Boomers</b> are at a crossroads, trying to balance their overwhelming need to succeed with their desire to slow down and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They alternate between admiration and abhorrence for the chutzpah demonstrated by <b>Generation Xers</b>, who, in addition to feeling as if they have to prove themselves constantly, are chafing under the image of being overly ambitious, disrespectful, and irreverent. Nipping at everyone's heels are the new kids on the block, the <b>Millennials</b> -- with their unique mix of savvy and social conscience, they promise to change yet again the landscape of the workplace.</p><p align="left">Whether you're a manager, an employee, an entrepreneur, or a skilled professional, you'll derive hands-on, take-home business benefits from understanding this vital form of diversity affecting today's high-performance workplace.</p><p align="left">Using a wry and practical approach to bottom-line business issues and drawing upon interviews, experiences, and the findings from their national survey, Lancaster and Stillman give you in-depth insights into each generation. With their help, you'll have the tools you need to recruit, retain, motivate, and manage each generation more effectively. And you'll recognize that while -collisions are inevitable, ultimately it's how we manage them that counts.</p>

Author Biography

Baby Boomer Lynne C. Lancaster is a Phi Beta Kappa summa cum laude graduate of the University of Minnesota. She earned her stripes as a corporate communication consultant. Lynne has served as a contributing faculty member at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, and her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including The Futurist and Nation's Business. Lynne is married and stepmother to two Gen Xers Generation Xer David Stillman is an honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a B.A. degree in communications and sociology. David interned for Prime Time Live, then traveled the world as a roving reporter for CBS radio, covering stories such as the end of apartheid in South Africa and the fall of the former Soviet Union. David's cutting-edge work in communications has won him numerous accolades, including Worldfest-Houston Medals, the New York Festivals Award, and the much-coveted Clio Award. David is married and the proud father of two Millennials

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Foreword	xvii
Introduction: How This Book Came to Be	xxi
SECTION I: WHO ARE THE GENERATIONS AND WHY DO THEY COLLIDE?	1	(48)
Generational Turbulence	3	(7)
The Widening Generation Gap At Work
From World War II To the World Wide Web	10	(26)
Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials at Work
The Tie-Dyed Preppy	36	(6)
On the Cusp Between Two Generations
Race, Religion, Gender ... What Next?	42	(7)
Generational Differences: The Newest Form of Diversity
SECTION II: PUTTING THE GENERATIONS TO WORK	49	(100)
What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?	51	(19)
Mapping the Generations' Career Paths
From A Gold Clock to Founders' Stock	70	(27)
Rewarding the Generations
Scoring a Perfect ``10'' on the Balance Beam	97	(25)
What ``Balance'' Means to the Generations
Sitting on a Porch Swing Drinking Metamucil?	122	(19)
How the Generations Are Redefining Retirement
Is Fun Really the ``F-Word''?	141	(8)
The Dirt on ``Fun'' At Work
SECTION III: RECRUITING THE GENERATIONS	149	(86)
Finders Keepers	151	(12)
How the Rules of the Recruiting Game Have Changed
Why Would Anyone Want to Work for You?	163	(17)
Creating Employee Value Propositions for the Generations
Ready, Aim, Hire!	180	(19)
Putting Value Propositions to Work
Diamonds in the Rough	199	(16)
Finding New Generations of Employees
Here's Your Boss and Benefits; There's the Bathroom	215	(20)
Orientation Programs and the Generations
SECTION IV: RETAINING AND MANAGING THE GENERATIONS	235	(94)
The Solid Oak Door Has Become a Revolving One	237	(16)
Retaining the Generations
Is No News Really Good News?	253	(22)
Giving and Receiving Feedback
The School Bell is Ringing More Loudly Than Ever	275	(22)
Training the Generations
``I Once Diapered Somebody Who's Now My Boss's Age''	297	(11)
When Generation X is the Manager
Minding Your Generational Ps and Qs	308	(11)
Language, Etiquette, and the Generations
Connecting Over the Kung Pao	319	(10)
How the Generations are Reinventing Diversity
SECTION V: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?	329	(8)
Are We There Yet?	331	(6)
The Future of the Generations At Work
Bibliography	337	(2)
Index	339