Science is invaluable as far as enhancing the lives of the human beings that inhabit the planet. However once we get past survival issues, we need to look for other ways that fulfill us. For those who have done a lot of researching of emerging trends and for others merely curious as to what makes the world go around then you can do no better than look at Generation Y.
Generation Y, for those who don’t know this species are those children born to the Baby Boomers between 1976-1991; Generation X before them were born between 1961-1976.
Now the thing that most people interested in demographics know is that this generation has far different values from those of their parents. Naturally!
Whereas many of their parents subscribed to the belief that a good solid career, stability as in early marriage, buying or building a house and having a mortgage were the main dishes on the menu, this generation has a totally different outlook.
They tend to have serial monogamous relationships and even tell their parents, they can break off relationships, reform them and start all over again. What is more they do not look at what they can do for a job or opportunity, they look more at what the job or opportunity can do for them. ( Bernard Salt The Big Shift.)
Whereas the braver of the baby boomers tended to be mavericks they did get bogged down with marriage, career, kids, mortgage and some sort of secure job. You see things were different then weren’t they? Well perhaps so, because as much as Boomers were responsible for many cultural changes they seemed to have given birth to an entirely different generation who are more tribal orientated and dare I say flexible.
This tribal orientation can be seen by the way they change jobs with much more mobility than their predecessors, have access to mobile, internet, Facebook and every Application worth downloading. Whether this ability to change is because they have seen the rut their parents got in with marriage and a “secure” life or whether their parents were just plain rich is debatable.
The fact is they are very savvy and often have the luxury of living with their parents until the biological clock kicks in. In the meantime, they can however move out of house, have a relationship for awhile and if that doesn’t work out move back in again.
Whereas their parents were more traditional after a certain age, usually around 25- 30, this generation can afford to come and go as they please and many of them do.
Off course this does not allow for those who model themselves on their parents exclusively and decide to follow in their parents’ footsteps, but more often than not this generation is at the dawn of a new age.
That new age will bring with it randomness, unpredictability, new tribal values and many innovations that will knock you off your/our perches.
Those of us not so convinced of the randomness of our personal and business encounters may be doing absolutely fine as far as our careers, vocations and personal lives are concerned.
However it will be to a large extent the generation X and Y who will outflank those who cannot trade their skills, cannot adapt, cannot network and cannot leverage their new and rapidly changing personal and business relationships.
Furthermore there is the fact that Generation Y is more allowed to fail than those before them. In this way they can experiment far easier than those who are thinking only as far as the next mortgage or rent payment.
All in all, it is fast becoming an era of adaptability and a re-formation and re-education of our skill sets and our tribal values as we go into the next decade.
At least for those who are still young at heart.
Cheers
Chris Borrett
Image Credit: FreeImages.com/Matej Jereb
If by chance, you have not encountered my previous posts outside this blog, one of my favourites is about “How To Make A Decision and Stick To It”. You have the luxury of reading it by clicking here.