It’s 2018 and we are still figuring out millennials. The oldest millennial turns 38 this year and we are still trying to move past stereotypes and the “millennial problem”: how to attract, engage, and retain this seemingly-incomprehensible generation.
Like most of you, I have heard the story told about millennials. Back in the early 2010s, when I started my consulting practice, the only story about millennials were the complaints told by older generations: they are the lazy, entitled, pat-on-the-back every five minutes generation. But I didn’t buy it. As a millennial myself, I couldn’t match quick comments on youth’s coming of age experiences with the benefit of knowing what you know now that you’re older – or forgetting what it was like to grow up. However, I quickly realized that older generations, for all their wisdom, had a lot they didn’t know about what it is like growing up today, simply because too many things have changed.
While we have our differences, like everyone, I experienced the introduction of life with digital technology. I noticed how I went about my day, what skills I used to collaborate, and how I approached people before and after the internet, social media, and my smart phone emerged. The critical moment for me was when I realized how important it was that I’m a millennial. I am a part of the last generation that remembers a time before the internet – and that’s the key driving the gap between all of us. I realized, I am uniquely positioned to help bridge two eras and shape a world where we take the best of what we know about life before digital technology and bring it to today’s constantly-connected world.
I’ve spent the last six years examining the role technology has played in our lives and sharing the insights with audiences around the world. The work I do at Invati Consulting enables leaders to strategically shape the future of workplace culture, while changing the conversation on millennials. Taken from my best-selling book, The Millennial Myth, here’s a brief look at how to get free from five of the biggest myths surrounding millennials so we can drive engagement, collaboration, and productivity through technology at work.
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