Baby Boomers

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in and presenting at the Council on Foundation’s Family Philanthropy Conference. Our time together in New York came to an end with an intimate and heartfelt conversation with Tim Shriver, board chair and CEO of Special Olympics. Just days after the passing of his father, iconic public servant Robert "Sargent" Shriver, Tim shared with us his take on what philanthropy means to him in the context of his family. His words were wrought with passion, especially as he was asked about his own children and what he hoped to pass on to them. Shriver said he believes, “we have failed at inspiring the big ideas of the next generation” and that we need to do more to create a “context of idealism” for our young people.

His words struck me, and as a “senior” member of the generation he’s referring to, I think he might have been too hard on himself and his generation. Growing up, Tim was surrounded by big ideas and idealism. After all, his father helped found and direct the Peace Corps 50 years ago, and his mother created the Special Olympics in the backyard of their home. These are the big ideas that inspired Tim and his brothers and sisters to follow in their parents footsteps. But not everyone’s parents are Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and despite our parents or in some cases grandparents who were inspired to march on Washington or join organizations like the Peace Corps, many of the big challenges they were fighting for (or against) remain to this day -- not to mention the new ones that have been added to the mix. With that in mind, I say to Tim, don’t be so hard on yourself. The rising generation is inspired to fight the good fight – we just have a different way of going about it.

Perhaps we forget that it’s the Millennial generation who in large part moved social technologies into the mainstream – and are now moving them to mobilize around social issues through platforms like Facebook and Twitter. We were the first segment of users who discovered the utility of the technology and exploited it in ways that our parents would have never dreamed. Perhaps this quality of creative thinking when it comes to technology, comes from not being taught or forced into institutional thinking or traditional business cultures, but instead by living lives in a very open and transparent ways -- always searching for answers and willing to take risks. Something that parents like Tim allowed us to do.

One of the most retweeted messages from last week’s conference were Tim’s words, “you don’t have to do great things – but do small things with great love.” So, Tim and anyone else who might be reading this and feeling as though you failed at inspiring the rising generation – don’t be so hard on yourselves – we’re inspired. We’re going to continue to innovate and we’re going to continue to live open lives that defy traditional institutions and explore creative ways to come together in support of the causes that move us. And, even if they are a bunch of small disparate things that don’t add up to big national movements – we’ll do them with love, and then we’ll tweet about it.

They have trouble making decisions. They would rather hike in the Himalayas than climb a corporate ladder. They have few heroes, no anthems, no style to call their own. They crave entertainment, but their attention span is as short as one zap of a TV dial. They hate yuppies, hippies and druggies. They postpone marriage because they dread divorce. They sneer at Range Rovers, Rolexes and red suspenders. What they hold dear are family life, local activism, national parks, penny loafers and mountain bikes. They possess only a hazy sense of their own identity but a monumental preoccupation with all the problems the preceding generation will leave for them to fix.

The above is taken from a 1990 article that ran in TIME magazine about the then rising generation – GenX. Now, if you replace “zap of a TV dial” with “click of a mouse” and “hippies” with “hipsters” and “penny loafers” with “flip flops” it seems the more things change the more they seem the same. While such significant attention is being placed right now on the rising Generation of Millennials or Gen Y and how they are disrupting the workplace, disrupting technology and disrupting everything in between – it seems this is not an uncommon theme when we rewind history and take a look at how preceding generations characterize those who follow.

From last week’s NY Times Magazine cover story, What is it About 20 Somehings to a piece that a local Fox affiliate ran, Can Generation Y Keep America Great, or the release of the Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014 – there really isn’t a description of “the Millennial” that serves as a distinct profile, despite all of the attempts at labels. The diversity of values, interests and personalities is as widespread among Millennilas as any other group -- and in fact most Millennials (dare I say, myself included) would fairly disagree with the generational descriptors as “not me!”

While generational profiles help us understand how to most effectively communicate across generations, to truly understand one another requires listening, not presuming. The environment, values and life experiences that surround us as we grow up help shape our life in more ways than we may realize. World events like wars and depression, or economic prosperity and technological advancements have a great baring on generations. Translated into the workplace this often means different values, ideas, work ethics, attitudes toward authority, and general outlooks on life.

That’s why today, we want to open up an experiment here on Social Citizens.  For as much as things can change from decade to decade, there is one constant – we’ve all been mischaracterized by the preceding generation.  Perhaps we’re more similar than different.  So, we’re asking individuals from all generations to weigh in on one simple question:

Which stereotypes do you think have been inaccurately associated with your generation? 

We’re interested in fostering greater understanding across generations and will continue this discussion in posts to come. After all, there may be more that unites us than divides us. Please weigh in below and stay tuned as we continue to address some of these stereotypes. We’ll be taking a deeper look at whether or not generational stereotypes are counterproductive – or if they might ever serve a constructive and positive role in our understanding of how different generations think, work and live.

Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve titled this post the name of the book my mom says she’s going to write one day.  But since I’ve lived through about 30 years of listening to the great titles of the wonderfully inspirational books my mom was going to write, I don’t think I’m blowing anything here by sharing with you what she would have included.

Generations are most often and aptly shaped by the events, the leaders, and even the trends of their time – but what’s in a name?  According to a recent study by Harris Interactive, 4,000 Americans aged 21 to 83 were asked what they thought of different generations.

It’s kind of interesting that Gen Y (or Millennials), Gen X, and even the Silent Generation had something to say – they all are yearning for a new brand that better represents them. In fact, Baby Boomers are the only generation that overwhelmingly agree with the label they’ve been given.