We’re only 10% into the 21st century, so there is a pretty good chance that a lot of what you know was learned in the last century. Having said that, here’s the bad news: Most of what you learned about the marketplace in the last millennium is now obsolete. And that includes how to motivate and manage people, especially the young folk.
Having come of age in the marketplace in the last third of the 20th century, it seems to me that managing and motivating people wasn’t much different in that era than it was for my mentors. Indeed, senior managers in those days were pretty much doing in the 1970s, 80s and 90s what they had learned and practiced for decades. But somehow, seemingly coincidental with the advent of the new millennia, best practices for leveraging human power effectively and successfully in business began to change as two new generations came online.
One of the most noticeable changes was how different these new generations were from earlier ones with regard to motivation. Clearly, the motivational books are having to be rewritten for the 21st century, and not surprisingly, one of my long-time Brain Trust members, Dan Pink has done just that.
Recently, on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show, I talked with Dan about why the old “carrot and stick” approach is not as effective in the 21st century and what managers should know about what he calls ”Motivation 3.0.” Dan is the author of several provocative, bestselling books about the changing world of work, including his latest, Drive, in which he reveals his ground-breaking ideas on modern motivation best practices.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to listen to what Dan has to say in this recent visit with me. And be sure to leave your own thoughts. Listen Live! Download, Too!
Small Business Advocate Poll: Are generation gaps in the workplace creating communication barriers?
There has never been a time when so many age groups are in the workplace. Are you seeing any communication challenges between the generations?
31% - Very much - it’s like we’re from different planets
57% - Somewhat - it’s noticeable but we’re handling it
11% - Not at all - what problem?
My Commentary:
“What we have hee-yah, is a fail-ya to communicate.” This was the lament of Captain, the road crew boss in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” played by the great character actor, Strother Martin. Apparently, there is a lot of this going around in the workplace today.
As you can see, 89% of our respondents reported some level of communication issues between the generations in the workplace, with almost one-third expressing extreme frustration. There are a number of reasons for this, especially in two areas: the increasing influence of technology in our lives and we’re living in a time where people are staying in the workplace longer than in the past 100 years.
Check out more great SBA content HERE!
Take this week’s poll HERE!