Generations X, Y, & Z

I watched the television debut of Quarterlife on NBC Tuesday night. The semi-edgy drama had debuted online at Quarterlife.com as Web-based series and premiered on MySpaceTV in November. The first episode garnered almost one million views on MySpace and YouTube and the show was licensed for television six days later.

However, Quarterlife’s network debut attracted only a tepid 3.1 million viewers. While NBC hasn’t formally decided to pull the plug, sources have told The Hollywood Reporter entertainment news service that such an announcement is forthcoming. This is undoubtedly a setback for those hoping to see Web video make a clean transition to the living room TV.

It’s also a setback for network television.

Quarterlife is from the co-creators of Thirtysomething and My So-Called Life. It’s an edgy, honest look into the complex lives of a group of twenty-somethings.

Yes, there are romance plots, but the show largely focuses on Gen Y’s difficulties transitioning into the workforce. There’s the student who is bartending at night, the writer who can’t relate to her Gen X and Baby Boomer editors, and the friends who started their own business and are struggling to get work and be taken seriously.

These are all relevant issues to Generation Y, but other demographics are likely to be disinterested in the challenges of today’s aspiring professionals. Perhaps that’s why the show was a hit on-line, but bombed on network television. After all, Gen Y uses the Internet more than they watch television.

In any case, there’s an obvious generation gap when a show like this is produced.

My So-Called Life followed a similar path. It was a realistic mid-nineties teen drama series about a 15 year-old girl and her trials and tribulations with being a teenager. The show won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy.

Still, after just 19 episodes the show was abruptly cancelled. The show had a loyal following of teen and twenty-something viewers, but producers (and parents) felt the show was too edgy because it addressed topics such as teen sex, drugs and alcohol use, and featured a character that was gay.

Boomers and Traditionals were shocked by and disinterested in the show’s content, so the show was discontinued. During an era when the icon of family television was The Cosby Show, a show like My So-Called Life didn’t stand a chance.

Similarly, during an era when the icons of twenty-something television are American Idol and Friday Night Lights (also appreciated by other demographics), a show like Quarterlife doesn’t stand a chance.

Cable channels, like CW, are home to programming tailored for younger audiences. But there simply aren’t enough Gen Ys watching network television to sway the programming in their favor.

More importantly, I don’t think the Xers and Boomers are interested in programming that is relevant to this age group, so it’s not being provided on the main networks. At least not yet.

As millions of Boomers begin to retire in the next few years, network television and network news will begin to lose its largest, most loyal demographic.

That’s when network executives will realize the next-largest generation out there isn’t watching television and they will scramble to fill the void.

Indeed, Quarterlife is ahead of its time.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say network television is lagging way behind.

Labels: Generation Y, My So-Called Life, NBC, network television, Quarterlife

Here it is - hot off the press!

My second book, Rock Stars Incorporated, is being released today. Read the release below, then buy the book at www.limelightgenerations.com.

Thanks for your support!

xxxxxxx

Rock Stars Incorporated is Released
Book teaches Boomers how to recruit and retain X, Y employees

Working nine to five isn’t the only way they make a living. They would rather start a business than climb a corporate ladder. Salary is not their primary motivator. And they certainly aren’t going to work forty years at the same company for a gold watch at the retirement party.

Generations X and Y are changing the way our world works because what’s worked in the past isn’t working for them. In many ways, they are like rock stars: high performance, high maintenance, and in high demand.
This is the insight offered by author Sarah L. Sladek in her latest book, Rock Stars Incorporated: Hiring the High Performance, High Maintenance Hotshots Half Your Age. The book dispels the myths about the slacker, self-centered generations and provides valuable insight on how to manage, motivate, and market to these rising stars.

Sladek uses examples of famous rockers in her book as metaphors for what’s happening in the world of work. An Xer herself, she explains that like most rockers, Generations X and Y have been largely misunderstood and heavily criticized.

“We’re often labeled as high-maintenance troublemakers—whether being demeaned as anti-authority non-conformists, self-centered slackers, ego-centric know-it-alls, or generations of pierced and tattooed weirdos,” Sladek says.

Nevertheless, Xers and Ys are the highest performing generations of all time. “These intelligent, worldly, technology-savvy, multi-taskers have talent to offer, but we won’t waste our time working for a company that doesn’t provide us with ample opportunity, freedom, and respect.”

On average, young professionals spend 20 months on a job, making it difficult for companies to succession plan or establish a reliable workforce. Sladek’s book was written with the intention of helping Baby Boomer management attract, train, and retain Xers and Ys and lead their companies to success.

Focusing on new recruiting and retention strategies for a new generation, Rock Stars Incorporated features valuable tips and tools, including:
· Best practices in hiring, managing, and marketing to Xers and Ys;
· A formula to calculate your company’s talent gap, turnover rate, and employee tenure;
· Strategies for succession planning, career pathing, and talent management; and
· Numerous examples of innovative and successful X-Y work environments;

While Rock Stars Incorporated is presented as an entertaining, easy-to-read book of advice, the message eludes to serious ramifications for employers and economies. With talent shortages threatening the vitality of companies and industries worldwide, every company out there will want, and need, to recruit and retain young talent.

Sladek makes a strong case for understanding and responding to the generational shift that’s taking place. Her book explains the companies that keep Xers and Ys engaged, motivated, and productive, will realize distinct competitive advantages and prosper. In contrast, those companies that refuse change and ignore the generational shift will face considerable challenges.

“With the massive exodus of Boomers upon us, it has become increasingly obvious that the only succession plan a business has is its employees. It’s time to start focusing on the next generation of leaders and employees,” Sladek says.

“The arrival of Generations X and Y to the workforce has created a wave of unprecedented change and social impact. But the companies that are proactive in the battle for talent and focus their energies on recruiting and retaining Xers and Ys will win the favor of the latest and greatest talent and prosper in the years to come.”

Rock Stars Incorporated is available for purchase at www.limelightgenerations.com.

About the Author
Sarah L. Sladek is the president and CEO of Limelight Generations, a generational marketing company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her first book, The New Recruit: What Your Association Needs to Know About X, Y, & Z, was one of the first books to address the generation gap in membership associations. She has published numerous articles and traveled extensively giving presentations and workshops on the topic of younger generations.

Labels: Generations X and Y, Limelight Generations, Rock Stars Incorporated, Sarah L. Sladek

I’ve read about it and listened to business executives gripe about it, but I’ve never experienced it myself until now.

Yes, Virginia. There really is a Helicopter Parent.

Like an urban myth or a mystical creature out of a fairy tale, it’s hard to believe they really do exist. But now I know for certain they do.

What are helicopter parents? They are the parents of Gen Ys who are actively involved in their children’s careers. Helicopter parents are showing up at career fairs, e-mailing recruiters, and even negotiating salaries on behalf of their children.

I knew this was an emerging trend, and yet it still came as a shock to me when a parent e-mailed me to inquire about giving her daughter a job at my company. The e-mail highlighted some of her daughter’s achievements, and then inquired about the best process for following up.

At first, I laughed. And then I became frustrated.

Why on earth would a twenty-something allow her mother to do her job hunting for her? What does that say about her initiative and ability, not to mention her people skills? And if helicopter parents are prevalent in today’s workforce, what does that say about our future employees? Will they be able to take the lead and make decisions without the guidance of their parents?

The fact is, Gen Ys are the most protected, provided for generation in history. They are the first generation to grow up with seatbelts, car seats, and Amber alerts, and they have never eaten in a cafeteria that serves peanut butter.

Raised by over-protective, competitive Boomers, they were also the first generation to be raised with structured playdates, organized athletics and activities at an early age, ‘time outs’ instead of spanking, rewards for participation instead of achievement, and credit cards.

Not surprising, Ys are likely to struggle with taking initiative, thinking long-range, or delaying gratification. They want employers to replace their helicopter parents by helping them chart a course for their career path, giving them projects with detailed instructions and frequent feedback, and continually overseeing their progress.

This is in sharp contrast to every generation that has preceded the Ys –especially the Xers, like me, who were raised to be self-sufficient and prefer autonomy.

Despite this need for hand-holding, Gen Ys are usually high achievers with high expectations of themselves. They aim to work faster and better than other workers. They are exceptional multi-taskers, technologically-fluent, and adaptable to change. They continually seek out challenges and more responsibility, and view colleagues as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge.

Like it or not, employers are going to have to accept the helicopter parents as part of the recruiting package. Why kowtow to such silliness? Because in the next few years, the vast majority of companies will face a significant talent shortage, and they will have no choice but to bring Ys into the fold. Of course, making efforts to understand them now, rather than later, is the best approach to long-term sustainability.

Some companies have already learned that attracting young talent starts with positive recommendations from Mom and Dad. These companies have started openly courting parents, hosting information sessions for parents or a parents' day for interns' families, and creating a Web page for parents on the recruiting website.
There’s really no way to escape the helicopter parent phenomenon. I don’t understand it and I certainly don’t agree with it, but it is indicative of a larger trend.

Work isn’t about individuals anymore. It’s about family.

The Xers introduced the concept of balance into the workforce, demanding flex-time and family friendly benefits. They left the workforce to raise children and started their own companies when their employers didn’t provide the flexibility they wanted. USA Today gave Generation X the esteemed title of the Family First Generation, and the Ys are following suit.

Surveys of Ys already in the workforce reveal that family is equally – if not more – important to them. We’re already observing this with the helicopter parent phenomenon, and the fact that Ys are ‘chummy’ with their parents, not overly anxious to fly the coop after graduating from college, and willing to live at home well into their late twenties.

Furthermore, once they start to marry, Gen Y men and women are expecting to share the child-rearing and work responsibilities evenly. Employers can expect more demands from this generation for on-site childcare and part-time, flex-time, and telecommuting options, as well as more men leaving the workforce to become stay-at-home dads.

So while I loathe the helicopter parent concept, I realize this is yet another way that Generations X and Y have changed the workforce. The Xers were the first to refuse being married to their work and demanded flexible work environments.

I think the legacy of the Ys will be their demands to be parented by their employers. They will expect employers to replicate their structured childhoods, providing them with detailed direction, ample opportunities and frequent feedback, and mentoring to help them climb the ladder to success.

Like it or not, your company's ability to manage the Ys (on their terms) is critical to its future success.

Welcome to parenthood!

Labels: Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Y at work, helicopter parent, managing Generation Y

I attended an event this morning hosted by the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce detailing Minneapolis and St. Paul’s joint marketing and branding initiative.

The new campaign, "Minneapolis St. Paul: More to Life," was unveiled at a press conference last month. It will promote the two cities as a single destination and seek to dispel common misperceptions. (For starters, it isn’t snowing here 365 days a year!)

What does this have to do with generations? Alot.

Campaign organizers realized the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul needed to retain its college graduates and recruit Gen Xers looking for a place to establish roots and start a family. (By the way, Minneapolis-St. Paul continually ranks as one of the best places to raise a family and among the top states for quality education.)

Undoubtedly, young professionals bring economic vitality and sustainability to a region. For example, Boulder, Colorado has observed declines in its workforce and local economy when young professionals began relocating to Denver.

A similar example would be the state of Iowa. Most college graduates leave the state to pursue careers in the neighboring Minneapolis-St. Paul and Chicago areas, making the outlook for Iowa’s cities and commerce quite troubling.

Generations X and Y are a hot commodity for businesses and cities everywhere. That’s why cities all over the nation are engaged in similar marketing campaigns. Minneapolis-St. Paul is in good company -- and competition -- considering that Denver, Milwaukee, Austin, Boston, Seattle, and others are also targeting young professionals under the age of 40.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign features an interactive Web site with a blog, calendar of local events, and videos, not to mention a significant number of print, radio, and television ads, and an aggressive media and public relations campaign.

But as I listened to the presentation on the campaign today, I couldn’t help but think there was something missing. There is a common thread that runs among those cities doing an exceptional job of recruiting and retaining younger professionals, and that’s the engagement of the young professionals themselves.

While the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign will invest a great deal of resources into media and PR and advertising, it will fall short if it doesn’t actively engage the younger generations.

Take Austin, Texas for example. The city has been referred to time and again as one of the “coolest cities” for young professionals. The city is also home to more than eight young professional groups including Young Execs of Austin, Austin’s Young Real Estate Professionals, Young Hispanic Professional Austin Association, and Austin Habitat Young Professionals.

However, the first and oldest young professional group in Austin was an outreach effort organized by the local Chamber of Commerce. It prospered and soon spurred the start-up of several young professional groups representing various industries and demographics.

Boston is another great example with a young professionals association boasting a membership of more than 10,000 people.

Xers and Ys relate best to their peers. They like the idea of networking, socializing, serving the community, and doing business with their peers. They also like to be invited to get involved and to be empowered to make a difference. Without this critical relationship piece in place, the best intentions to reach younger generations often fail.

I urge the organizers of the Minneapolis-St. Paul campaign to consider their own relationship-building efforts. How will this campaign engage its target market and empower them to get involved, to be passionate about the place where they live and do business, and to make a difference?

Because when it comes right down to it, the success of this campaign hinges on the participation of young professionals. The success of this campaign will hinder on the difference between promoting a place to them, and creating a place where they feel right at home.

Labels: Generations X and Y, Minneapolis St. Paul: More to Life, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Young Professionals