Episode 16 – Millennials
“Millennials,” “Generation Y,” “Digital Natives,” “Generation Avocado Toast” – These are many terms that describe a group of people who were born between 1981 to 1996. Today, they are the largest generation on this planet, and, by 2025, they will make up 75% of the global workforce. While not a technology buzzword in itself, Millennials are coming to shape both business and technology as we know. We welcome Michelle Schurter from Millennial Strategist, Suni Lobo from Navis, Sarah Phillips from the entitled millennial, and Jörg Herbers from INFORM to guide us through this generational minefield as we unpack and understand the stereotypes and dig deep to understand this generation and their impact on technology and business.
Show Notes
Entitled Millennials and the myths
Describe Millennials (00:38)
Entitled Millennials (01:20)
Introduction to Suni Lobo (04:20)
Myth – Millennials “challenge the status quo” (04:28)
Myth – Millennials “are entitled” (05:15)
Myth – Millennials “are lazy” (06:30)
Mindset shifts are required (06:55)
understanding multi-generational thinking
Definition of a Millennial (08:32)
Life expectancy’s impact on workplaces (09:28)
Technology has a huge impact on relevance (09:58)
“Entitled” is about how we were raised (10:25)
Emergence of “work-life balance” and “work-life integration” (11:35)
Your generational frame impacts how you view behavior (13:05)
Introduction to Michelle Schurter (13:48)
When-then statements matter (14:50)
Millennials and shift work
Introduction to Jörg Herbers (16:35)
Blue-collar workers and shift work (17:25)
Digital media has shaped Millennials approach to work (17:51)
Are Millennials working in shift work jobs? (18:46)
Building flexibility into shift work (20:18)
Rigid shift schedules are only one answer (21:08)
Solving the shift work “Tetris challenge” (21:32)
Millennial’s expectations and wants
They want to feel “on” (23:14)
Paying your dues is “so last decade” (23:50)
“Leveling up” is important (24:20)
Mentoring works both ways (24:50)
Wrap Up
Millennials – lazy, arrogant, and entitled or worth investing in? (26:49)
Millennials – what’s the return on investment? (27:04)
Closing Credits (27:38)
Further Readings and Background Research
Definition of Millennial (Urban Dictionary)
Defining generations (Pew Research Center)
Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z Explained (KASASA)
Ok Boomer, Ok Millennial, we need to talk (CNN)
Dos and Don’ts for Millennials and Zs Managing Boomers (Forbes)
Guest Speaker Details
Sarah Phillips from the entitled millennial
Michelle Schurter from Millennial Strategist
Jörg Herbers from INFORM
We had Dr. Jörg Herbers, senior VP of the workforce management division at INFORM Software as our guest in episode 8. The interview starts with some details about what workforce management entails and covered some of the trends and challenges within the space. Jörg presented the topic of deductive intelligence and talked about how it can help address the numerous challenges associated with workforce management. Jörg talks about some of the benefits for companies associated with deductive intelligence and how it differs from classical programming techniques. As always, we ended the interview with a look into what the future may hold for workforce management. So without further ado, here is my interview with Dr. Jörg Herbers:
We had Russel Olinger, CEO of Whipster, as our guest in this episode. Whipster is a service that allows ride sharers to compare fares, arrival times and availability of ride share options, all in one app. The interview starts with some details about what ridesharing is and how the industry is developing. We talked about how ridesharing is much bigger than the two companies that come to mind, Uber and Lyft, when the topic is being discussed. After that, we got into some more details about the role Whipster is playing in the ridesharing industry. Russel also provided some great insights into what it takes to launch a successful app. As always, we ended the interview with a look into what the future may hold for the ridesharing industry.
