Introducing the Generations

- First published in the April 2008, Mortgage Solutions magazine

The era in which you were born has an extraordinary effect on your value system, your expectations of the workplace and how you approach life. In this article, Dr Graeme Codrington, one of the world’s leading experts on generational theory, gives an introduction to the concept of the generation gap.

One of the most important keys to success in any service industry is the ability to quickly evaluate other people and connect effectively with them. In fact, in an increasingly commoditised world, where you and your competitors are essentially selling the same products and services, in the same way, through similar channels, at the same price to the same customers, the key to competitive advantage is found less and less in what you sell and more and more in who you are and how you do business. In this environment, your ability to connect is critical to your ongoing success.

Our ability to connect is directly related to our understanding of other people. This understanding is influenced by many factors, including culture, gender, education, lifestage and socio-economics. There is one factor, however, that is almost always ignored, yet is one of the most important in predicting underlying values and attitudes, namely, a person’s generation.

What are ‘Generations’?

Generational theory is another tool in the segmentation or profiling toolbox. Simply stated, the era in which a person was born affects the development of their view of the world. As people, we are shaped and formed by a wide variety of forces and influences, including our culture, language, religion, parents and life circumstances. We are also, to an extraordinary extent, shaped by the era in which we were born. In the last century, people in different countries and communities have been exposed to the same defining global events and forces, and people of a similar age can therefore be shown to share certain underlying values, regardless of their country or community of birth.

Here is just one set of examples of these global defining moments. On 21 December 1988, the cold war and terrorism threat reached the UK, with the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie – in apparent retaliation to the July 3 downing of an Iranian passenger jet by an American warship. But the “cold war” was nearly over. In the first few months of 1989, students led a Chinese revolution, culminating in May and June’s iconic Tiananmen Square protests. On 9 November that same year, the Berlin wall came down. On 20 December 1989, America invaded Panama in one of their early “pre-emptive strikes”. On Christmas day, 1989, the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu was hanged outside his palace and Eastern Europe continued to open up. The following day, Mikhail Gorbachev announced perestroika in Russia and banned the communist party. On 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years in jail and his African National Congress and the Communist Party were unbanned in South Africa.

Everyone in the world was amazed at the changes evident in these few tumultuous months. But the young people of that time had these events imprinted onto their value systems, and were defined by them. Similar key moments and global forces have shaped other generations in the past century. Understanding these defining eras helps us understand the underlying value systems they helped to produce in these generations.

Defining the Generations

Silent Generation (born 1920s – 1945)
While not the oldest living generation, this is the oldest still likely to be economically active or in the workplace. They were influenced in their youth by the Great Depression and World War II. They believed that they should “get a good job in a big company and stay there”.

To this day, they are conservative, formal, hard-working and structured, preferring rules, order and hierarchies. They have a “waste not, want not” mentality, and hate getting into debt. Their idea of progress is slow, incremental advancement, while minimising risk.

Baby Boomers (1946 – late 1960s)
This is the postwar generation, the drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll set who grew up during a time of grand visions. The idealistic visions of politicians, of those fighting for freedom or of those putting a man on the moon, all served to energise a generation of young people who were simultaneously being culturally and socially revolutionised. Their parents told them that they would have “all the things we never had”.

Boomers are passionately concerned about participation in the workplace, motivated by vision, mission and strategy, and care about creating a fair and level playing field for all. They are quick to form committees and paperwork. They love conspicuous consumption and have created more wealth (and accumulated more debt) than any other generation, ever.

The highlight of this era was definitely 1968/9. Riots in London, Paris and other European countries, Vietnam, the moon landing, assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr, Woodstock and more. Those were the days!

Xers (1970s – late 1980s)
Generation X grew up as “latchkey kids”, children of divorce, experiencing an era of crises in which it was clear the adults didn’t know what was going on. As they entered the workplace, they realised that the system would not provide for them, and that “the only person who can look after me, is me”.

Today, they need options and flexibility. They dislike close supervision, preferring freedom and an outputs-driven workplace. They love change so much they actually need it. Xers strive for balance in their lives – they work to have a life, rather than living to work as the Boomers did.

Millennial Generation (1990s – 2000s)
Today’s children and teenagers are living in an age of unprecedented diversity and exposure to other cultures. They are growing up quickly – too quickly, some would say. They’re confident – so confident they’re almost arrogant. They’re the chief technology officers of their homes, sociable, optimistic, environmentally aware, collaborative, influential and achievement-oriented.

It’s too early to see the full effect of global defining events, like 9/11 and 7/7, and the threat of global warming, but it’s likely these young people will be driven and focused in their desire to change the world.

Applications

Generational theory can be applied in a variety of ways, including helping you to provide a better service to clients by locking into their expectations and the values that drive their attitudes and behaviour, and working with talented staff to create an environment that will attract and engage them. The theory should not be used as a blunt instrument to try and answer every problem with a generic response, but it can provide insights that help you with breakthroughs and insights that can be successfully applied by astute managers.

Dr Graeme Codrington is an author, speaker and consultant on all issues related to people strategy. He is the founder of a global consulting firm, TomorrowToday. He can be contacted at graeme@tomorrowtoday.uk.com. More information is available at http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz

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