Boomers are variously defined as those people born from the mid 1940s to the mid 1960s around the world. Most researchers use the end of the Second World War as a reference point, which means that as of 2006, this group of people has started to turn 60. They are not old, though. Don’t be confused about that. This demographic tidal wave will have a greater effect on institutions and businesses than the aging of any previous generation. Because of the size and spending power of the boomers, mature values and trends will dominate marketplace realities.
The Chief Marketer recently put out a list of 5 ways in which the Boomers will continue to shape the marketing and branding landscape. Here is what they said (from author, Brent Green):
Continue reading ‘Boomers Turning 60 - coming into their branding prime’
Of course, the generational model is not applicable to every single individual everywhere (which model is?), but it IS exceptionally robust. And more and more research around the world is showing this to be true. The latest piece of research I picked up comes from one of the students my colleague Keith had contact with at the 
I was at a youth camp in a cozy little mountain campsite. The morning was cold, I remember, and as I sloped into the kitchen where the team were preparing breakfast, I was told that Princess Diana was dead. There was sense of disbelief. Except for that mind numbing piece of information, that youth camp may have slipped from memory forever. But the mist hovering mid tree height across the dull brown grass lawns, even the sound of the small stream that ran past the bottom of the camp - all these things are indelibly imprinted on my mind. Because that’s where I was when Diana died. It was 10 years ago exactly today!
Not many people think about maternity benefits when applying for a job, and yet organisations differ hugely in what they provide for parents. Some offer the bare legal minimum, others offer a year’s maternity leave on full pay. In an era of increased awareness of the importance of work-life integration, The Guardian argues, following a study of 250 organisations, that it is the smart organisations that take maternity benefits seriously who will attract and retain talented staff.
A few years ago, some of the TomorrowToday team attended a workshop by Jennifer Deal. She certainly challenged our thinking. Her contention was that all the focus on generation gaps in the workplace was obscuring the fact that there are many similarities between people of all ages. She is right, of course - and it is a good “corrective voice” for business to hear. As much as there are certain distinctive characteristics of different generations, each person in your company is nevertheless still that: a person, a human being. As such, they have certain drives, ambitions, requirements and characteristics that should not be neglected.
I received this in an e-mail today….
Older supermarket workers, at Britain’s Tesco, are being given a guide to youth slang to help them understand younger colleagues and customers, in the form of a pamphlet handed out to staff. The pamphlet is being tried out in some of Tesco’s 1 500 stores with a high proportion of employees over retirement age.
In one of the most recent Fortune magazine editions, the Millennial generation made the front cover under a great headline: “Manage Us, Puh-leeze”. The subtitle of the article was: “Boomers, you raised them, now manage them!” It is a long article, but really worth while wading through. Get it free at their website, or read an extract below.
(Fortune Magazine) — Nearly every businessperson over 30 has done it: sat in his office after a staff meeting and - reflecting upon the 25-year-old colleague with two tattoos, a piercing, no watch and a shameless propensity for chatting up the boss - wondered, What is with that guy?!
Buppies - Black yuppies. Black young upwardly mobile professionals. Research shows that this is one of the fastest growing demographic groups in South Africa, but many companies and leaders have no idea how to manage them. Aloysias Maimane, a new member of the TomorrowToday team and a top South African presenter and facilitator, provides some insights into this important group.
Every business has customers who are convinced they can design a new product that is better than the product they are being sold. So the question is why not let them? Crowdsourcing is a new and innovative research methodology that allows customers to help design the products they want online. It’s a methodology that is saving companies thousands of pounds on research bills and is proving highly effective because customers are getting the chance to mould and shape the products they are going to be buying. And because products are not being designed by remote head office R&D teams the chances of product flops are greatly reduced. 
Boomers (in their 40s and 50s) and Xers (in their 20s and 30s) have very different communication styles and needs. In the workplace, they can drive each other crazy. Barrie Bramley provides some excellent insights into why this communication gap exists, and gives some great practical solutions for Boomers and Xers.
In sessions that we conduct on Talent management with both those who lead talent and those who are considered talent everything goes brilliantly until the end of the day when we ask: “So, what are you going to do now?” At this point there is generally a throwing up of hands into the air and a frustrated whining sessions begins. What it basically boils down is the passing of the talent ‘hot potato’ from one person or group to the next. Executives say HR has strategies in place, HR says it is the role of line management, line management says that they are disempowered by top-down processes or too busy with operational delivery to do anything differently…
Today’s college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors, according to a comprehensive new study by five psychologists who worry that the trend could be harmful to personal relationships and American society.
According to 
I was asked again the other day what the “theme” of this blog is. It can sometimes seem like a collection of rambling musings on the world. Well…
South Africa, a young democracy, is experiencing what almost every young democracy has experienced: an increase in crime, and other issues that threaten hard won freedoms. It often takes a tipping point, and an escalation to almost unbearable limits, in these situations, until society is shaken from its sleepiness and starts to fight back. I sense that this is where South Africa now finds itself. There is a feeling that crime, especially violent robbery, has increased dramatically in just the past few months, and I sense a heaviness in people’s hearts. But, is this the reality?
Today, it was announced that WH Smith, the UK retailer, would close its company pension fund and restrict it only to existing members. This would mean that over the next few years, the pension fund would decline and eventually die out as current employees use it up.
For many years now we have been pointing out that Boomers have swept to political power, ceasing it from the GI generation (born 1900s to 1920s), without allowing the Silent generation (born 1930s and 40s) an opportunity to be in charge. The first obvious signs of this came with the first Clinton administration, followed soon thereafter by Tony Blair. The trend spread around the world, with Boomers taking control in countries from Brazil to Germany, and Italy to Australia. 
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