One of the most common criticisms of generational theory is that it is nothing much more than pop psychology. While it is true that many people use generational theory in its crudest forms, applying it when all they know about it is what they heard in a one hour keynote session at a conference, this does not mean that the theory itself has no substance. It is also true that some people use it as a “blunt instrument” - applying it with no regard to other dynamics and segmentation models. Again, just because some people use it badly, doesn’t discredit the theory itself.
There are many formal research projects on generations, and almost all of them confirm the basic theory and its findings. A recent study now focuses on the younger generation, known as Generation Y. The global survey was conducted by the Economist Business Intelligence Unit and Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company. It looked at how consumers born between 1982 and 2001 will impact the customer experience, asking C-level and senior executives from around the world how they are creating a customer experience to attract and retain Millennials. Of the 164 executives who took part in the survey, 29% came from North America, 31% from Europe, 30% from Asia-Pacific and 10% from the rest of the world. Participants represented 19 different industries. One-third of respondents’ organisations had annual revenue greater than US$1 billion and just over one-half (51%) had less than US$500 million in revenue. Board members and CEOs comprised 30% of respondents. CFOs, CTOs and other C-level executives made up an additional 19%. The remainder was split among other senior and middle management functions.
The headline results and executive summary of the findings is very interesting:
Continue reading ‘Generation Y studied by Economist Business Intelligence Unit’
I am a huge fan of Eric Chester, an American author, speaker and consultant who focuses on understanding what he calls “Generation Why” (what a cool title!! I wish I had thought of that first). You can see his excellent work at 
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Every now and again, TIME magazine has a seriously excellent, long and in depth, feature article that grabs my attention. I am not a subscriber, but always check TIME editions out on the newstand. These features are well researched and worth keeping.
They’ve been called everything from narcissists to “Generation Me,” but those wily post-Gen X employees might just show their elders how to revamp an enterprise.
I am not talking about the scourge of child soldiers, ruthlessly recruited by rotten guerrila armies around the world. The Millennial generation are the group of young people born in the digital, wired age. Depending on which definitions you use, these young people were born from 1984, 1989 or 1990 through 2000, 2005 or 2010. In general, these are the children and teenagers of today. And the oldest of them has started finishing school.
A new generation of students - those born Internet-ready - is working it’s way throught the school system, and is about to hit the workplace, with all of its training rooms and courses. This “Millennial generation” (sometimes called “generation Y”) has a distinctive set of characterizing traits and unique learning interests that presents a serious challenge to existing educational institutions and methodologies.
In the past six months, a slew of free online services has popped up to answer this question, offering widgets for budgeting, automatic bill pay, mobile alerts, and social networking. All are fighting to be the anti-Quicken. Although Intuit’s venerable personal-finance software commands 70% of the market, its $30 to $100 price tag, hundreds of features, and required hour or two a week of data entry are unlikely to appeal to a generation raised on Halo and diagnosed with ADD. Sure enough, Quicken’s 15 million users have an average age of 47. If personal finance for most folks is like personal hygiene–an unpleasant chore motivated by necessity–Quicken is Old Spice.
I get questions every month from businesspeople looking for something about the newest generation of workers. They’d like an updated version of Twentysomething or Beyond Generation X, books I wrote in 1991 and 1996. Along with Bruce Tulgan’s Managing Generation X, they’re the classics on managing and motivating young employees. The thing is, the young employees we were talking about in those three books are well established in the workplace today, and the next generation is showing up with a whole new perspective, a different set of values, a distinctive work ethic. They’re as different from Generation X as they can be. By and large, it’s the Gen-Xers who are managing them, and who are looking for help in understanding just what the Millennials are all about. Thus this article. I think you’ll find a fairly comprehensive treatment of Millennial employees.
A survey of more than 2,500 employers and managers by recruitment website 
I dont remember Apartheid, but I know all about AIDS. I dont care who won the Cold War or wonder who shot JFK, but I know the answers are just a click away if I need them. I was weaned on a diet of mass media and massive choice, and I know how to use both to my advantage. I am Generation Y. And if you want me to listen, you have to speak my language.
Face_it, Beam_it, Blog_it! This is the phrase used to launch Fuji’s latest camera, the Z10fd, which will be focussed on the 13- to 26-year-old demographic - a generation they call “Generation Z”. They have realised that this group uses cameras for social networking, blogging and interactions. 
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