You Can't Google It!: The Compelling Case for Cross-Generational Conversation at Work

By Phyllis Weiss Haserot

Presents a different take on solving workplace generational quandaries through human performance skills and the central role of cross-generational conversation to achieve common goals faster, more profitably, and without costly stress.

Lays out a competing business case for the growing market of professionals and knowledge workers who need to anticipate threats from Automated Intelligence (AI) and an increasing number of human competitors.

Shows how to attract and retain client/customers of different generations with cross-generational strategies.

Provides the business case arguments to integrate meaningful cross-generational conversation into the culture and business model of your organization

Relates why and how not to neglect Gen Xers and the critical need for succession planning and knowledge transfer.

Teaches action steps and tools to win over other generations and be an effective “bridge,” leading change with trust and empathy.

Gives young/Millennial workers ammunition for persuading management to consider generational differences as important as other diversity issues

Helps young/Millennial workers understand older generations’ perspectives, worldviews and strengths so they can better work with, manage and do business with all generations.

Provides tips for maintaining relevance at each stage of your career and new ways for meaningful contributing.

Provides specific steps and language to kick start the conversations that enable you and your colleagues to thrive in work and life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Release date: Nov 14, 2017
• ISBN: 9781683505822

Phyllis Weiss Haserot

Phyllis Weiss Haserot is a passionate champion for improving relations among the generations in the workplace and works hands-on to help organizations solve sensitive intergenerational challenges that can hinder client relationships, productivity, knowledge transfer and succession planning, and business development results. She is president of Practice Development Counsel, a business development and organizational effectiveness consulting firm she founded over 30 years ago and founder of Cross-Generational Conversation Day. Through on-site and off-site program facilitation and keynotes, webcasts, blogging, *Cross-Generational Conversation* forums and monthly newsletters, Phyllis has established a reputation as a “go-to” person on workplace intergenerational issues, dubbed the “Cross-Generational Voice.” In addition to working with private sector clients, Phyllis works with administrators of universities to address their staff and faculty intergenerational challengesand with students to give them perspective and tools for thriving in a perplexing and competitive work world. She is a columnist on intergenerational challenges at work for Forbes.com, Next Avenue, Thomson Reuters’ Legal Executive Institute blog and AccountingWEB. She has been interviewed and quoted widely in the professional and business media, and appeared on podcasts, radio and cable TV and is the founder and manager of the Cross-Generational Conversation group on LinkedIn. Additionally, Phyllis serves as Chair of The Leadership Connection, Board Vice President of Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab and Entrepreneur Mentor and multi-generational issues thought leader for Law Without Walls. Phyllis co-founded the Legal Marketing Association New York Metro chapter, is a leader in the President's Council of Cornell Women and a member of Cornell University Council. She lives in Manhattan.

Book preview

Introduction

Do you worry about how to develop an easy rapport with clients and prospects who are from a different generation than yours in order to communicate with them effectively and attract and retain their business?

As an established professional, do you question the work ethics of young employees and co-workers?

As a young professional, how do you deal with resistance to your ideas from Baby Boomers who think their experience and seniority mean they know it all?

Will your organization be threatened because key personnel will soon reach traditional retirement age? How will your organization avoid losing clients/customers and strong leadership?

Are you wondering how to transform intergenerational challenges into an asset for your organization and career?

These are issues that I am asked to address in my work and that have serious financial, career, and personal implications that must not be ignored.

When I mention the title of this book, it almost always brings a smile, chuckle, or laugh to the listener. It gets their attention in a positive way! The concept or premise of You Can’t Google It! is that much of the learning, skills, and perspectives that people of all ages need in order to succeed long term in their careers are not found in data on the Internet but rather in conversations and personal relationships with the people they work with. The new multigenerational paradigm is meaningful cross-generational conversation.

My purpose in writing this book and in my work is to encourage individuals of all generations to get to know and understand each other and interact and collaborate more appreciatively and harmoniously. Few organizations, whether private sector, public, or nonprofit, have created the awareness or initiatives that support the business case for promoting age/generational diversity—the most universal diversity factor, since everyone has an age. As a result, people of different generations are increasingly isolated physically, functionally, or emotionally from each other by communication styles and media, and often lack the perspective that would help them understand why people from other generations think and act as they do. I hear this lament from people of all ages.

The Why that Drives Me

I am a passionate champion of cross-generational conversation at work, and believe that a rewarding, inspiring, and prosperous business, community, and world future depends on the harmony and collaboration of many ages working together; passing on their knowledge; and feeling relevant, respected, and valued. Having worked for over 25 years with a wide range of multigenerational businesses, I have seen tensions, frustrations, misunderstandings, disconnects, and unnecessary divides develop among age cohorts at work. And it’s unnecessary, avoidable, and costs organizations money, talent, and clients/customers. (From here forward I use just the term clients to cover all kinds of clients and customers.)

My mission is to facilitate actions that promote and foster cross-generational conversation in organizations on the part of both management and the multigenerational teams that are increasingly the keys to productivity, profitability, and sustainability (all the buzzwords) in the professions and in a wide range of industries. You could be losing business that you have, or opportunities you don’t yet have, because you don’t understand the implications of generational differences in attitudes, behaviors, and motivations and/or you haven’t adjusted your approach to them.

You Can’t Google It! is a tool to help organizations and individuals remove the stress, frustration, and negative energy that often arise out of working with people of different generations so they can understand and accomplish their common goals—and do it faster. It is about implications, taking action, and how to do that.

In most organizations there are three, four, or five generations working together with different expectations about how things should be done and by whom. People are not only craving, but also vocal about craving a sense of purpose and relevance from their work, with less ambiguity and a road map for avoiding obsolescence—a fear articulated even by young workers. They have significant concerns about external forces over which they have little control—structural changes in work, the proportion of time they spend at work, frequent unanticipated changes in leadership, the latent fear of terrorism, and how long their finances will last. They want to know what is expected of them. There are few clear paths to addressing these concerns; people are overwhelmed by them.

For Whom Did I Write This Book?

The kinds of conversations I encourage are essential for success in multigenerational work environments. This book is especially valuable if you are:

•A member of management who wants to learn how to effectively convey expectations to younger employees and benefit from listening and communicating with them successfully

•One of the next generation of leaders who see the urgency of succession planning (policies that help organizations prepare to replace their critical personnel with the best talent as smoothly as possible), knowledge transfer, and creating bridges across generations

•A client service manager, someone who deals with clients on the front line, or a business owner who needs to attract and retain the business and loyalty of people of different generations

•A young manager who has or may soon have older workers reporting to you, or someone who reports to a younger manager

•Someone just entering an organization or industry, whether at entry level or in a higher position

•An intern (who may even have been given this book by your employer)

•Part of an affinity group or employee resource group that would like to mount a grassroots effort to advance cross-generational conversation

All are looking to master the art of conversation across generations in their internal and external work relationships. We want to understand others’ perspectives formed by economic, social, political, and cultural influences and the personal experiences that combine to define them. That is the essential definition of a generation—more significant than year of birth. (See Orientation to the Generations.)

Eager, ambitious, and often impatient young people—Millennials and Gen Zers—want to add everything older colleagues know to their own knowledge in areas such as technology in which they tend to have the advantage and sound grounding. They are impatient to know it all—and soon! Many of them are aware that they are not good at building and nurturing relationships with and understanding the perspectives of people who’ve had more time on Earth to gain life and work experience. With the Internet at their fingertips, that is the first place they instinctively go for information; there’s a ton of data out there. However, to function at a high level, we seek the knowledge and wisdom that requires firsthand experience. You can’t google that. You can’t access it or custom tailor it to your needs from an Internet search. That’s one of the top reasons young people want conversations with older people.

What This Book Will Do for You

•Provide the business-case arguments for integrating meaningful cross-generational conversation into the culture and business model of your organization—in other words, how it saves time and money, retains talent, and reduces stress.

•Help take the stress, frustration, and negative energy out of working with people of different generations so you can accomplish common goals—and do it faster and with more engaged and committed workers.

•Illustrate why the Internet doesn’t have all the answers you need to succeed, and where and how you can find them.

•Help you increase confidence in colleagues of all generations that you are prepared to gain and retain clients and other external stakeholders such as donors, association members, and referral sources.

•Provide action steps and tools for winning over people of all ages and being an effective bridge, leading change with empathy.

•Give you tips for maintaining relevance at each stage of your career and making meaningful contributions.

•Kick-start conversations that will enable you and your colleagues to thrive in work and life.

We’ll explore what is or would be missing without cross-generational conversation, gleaned from my interviews with multigenerational team members and collaborators; and how to encourage more cross-generational conversations at work through individuals taking the initiative.

I chose 12 keywords around which the chapters were created, all illustrating the significance of cross-generational conversation and why you can’t google it. There are quotes throughout from the members of multigenerational teams I interviewed. I emphasize an external focus—on clients and other external stakeholders—as much as a focus on colleagues, for attracting and retaining clients and for succession planning and transitioning—transitions in leadership and role shifts internally and with clients and other external stakeholders.

In summary, You Can’t Google It! will:

•Illuminate for all generations what they are missing without cross-generational conversation at work.

•Give young workers ammunition for persuading management personnel to consider generational differences as being as important as other diversity issues, and help them understand older colleagues’ perspectives, worldviews, and strengths so they can better work with, manage, and do business with all generations.

•Help older personnel stay relevant and recognize—and help younger people recognize—their advantages at work.

•Help people from all generations develop strategies to reach common goals and do their most meaningful, satisfying, and profitable work.

I hope this book will convince you of the crucial importance of integrating cross-generational conversation into the essence of your and your organization’s work and start you on the path to action. I urge you to take advantage of the advice, resources, and tools we have to offer in You Can’t Google It! and at Practice Development Counsel. Join me in the cross-generational conversation movement!

Orientation to the Generations

Generations are defined by similar formative influences—social, cultural, political, economic—that existed as individuals of particular age cohorts were growing up. Given that premise, age breakdowns for each of the four generations currently in the workplace are roughly:

More about the Generations

About Traditionalists

Typical Attributes

•Practical

•Dedicated

•Follow rules

•Respectful of authority

•Hierarchical leadership style

•Self-sacrificing

•Hardworking

•Accept delayed gratification

•Patriotic

•Risk-averse

Typical Formative Influences

•The Great Depression

•World War II and Korean War

•Wives and mothers at home

•The Organization Man

•Predominantly male workforce

•Loyalty to employers

About Boomers

Typical Attributes

•Driven work ethic

•Optimistic outlook

•Forever young

•Challenged authority; now are the authority

•Pay your dues path to promotion

•Seek personal gratification, growth

•Revolutionizing retirement

•Lifelong learners

Typical Formative Influences

•Huge cohort; competitive environment

•Large percentage college educated

•Vietnam War

•Woodstock; The Beatles

•Women’s movement

•Civil rights movement

•Assassinations of JFK and MLK

•Parents influenced by Dr. Spock

About Gen Xers

Typical Attributes

•Independent; self-reliant

•Skeptical outlook

•Hardworking; resourceful

•Loyal to projects and people, not employers

•Want balance now

•Feel leadership should be based on competence

•Pragmatic

•Techno literate

Typical Formative Influences

•More women working than previously

•Two recessions

•Gulf War

•Columbine (in U.S.)

•High divorce rates

•AIDS

•MTV

•Greed is good

About Millennials

Typical Attributes

•Short attention span

•Multitasking

•Crave quick and frequent feedback, praise

•Inclusive and collaborative action

•Optimistic

•Expect diversity and flexibility

•Want fun at work

•Impatient

•Team players, but individualistic

•Demand meaningful work or they leave

Typical Formative Influences

•Globalization

•Computers since birth; focused on smartphones

•Child-focused families

•Very structured lives

•Dot-com boom and bust

•Experienced Great Recession and boom times

•Close to hovering parents

•Reality TV and celebrities

•Endless wars; 9/11/01

About Gen Zers

Typical Attributes

•Entrepreneurial spirit

•Industrious

•Like responsibility

•Like to work independently

•Always connected, but like in-person communication

•Value-conscious

•Concerned with privacy

•Avid sustainability and social cause volunteers

•Not loyal to brands

•Use short-burst communication, images, symbols, videos

Typical Formative Influences

•9/11/01 and terrorism

•Cyber threats

•Close to their child-focused Gen X parents

•Not very influenced by celebrities

•Concern about sustainability and the environment

•Accustomed to being treated as adults

Chapter 1

GENgagement™

In my current company, with my current team, I am finding we need the energy and excitement of younger staff who are having aha moments every day and getting excited by everything they are learning, balanced with the longer view of relationships and business planning that typically comes from more experienced staff. Without one or the other, it doesn’t work as well.

–Rachel Happe, Gen Xer, founder/CEO of The Community Roundtable

Just imagine places where cross-generational conversation thrives among colleagues of all levels, multigenerational teams eagerly generate new business and exceed expectations of service delivery, vital knowledge is transferred, and continual succession planning helps assure the organization’s sustainability.

I spontaneously invented the catchy term GENgagement a number of years ago for the title of an article I wrote for the American Bar Association’s magazine Law Practice. The word was so well received that I began to use it for a video, other articles, and as a trademarked word and sub-brand for my work. I think it encapsulates the essence of what we are seeking at work as workers and employers. It’s the multigenerational solution to disconnects, misunderstandings, and miscommunications we have been experiencing or hearing about for several years. And the solutions can’t be found by searching the Internet.

GENgagement can be defined as the state of achieving harmony, mutual involvement and cooperation, flow, and ongoing absorption in work with people of different generations.

What Does It Mean?

GENgagement means getting all of the generations to understand each other, their influences,