Product Description

Walk through the tightly packed, hierarchically flattened corridors of America's businesses and what do you hear? Not the sounds of harmony. Instead, you'll probably hear the grumbles of irritation as people with wholly different ways of working, talking, and thinking have been tossed together side by side, cubicle by cubicle. It's the teeth-gritting sound of generations in collision.

Charlie, for example, is 61 and desperate for some clear, straightforward guidance from his 43-year-old boss Mary, who, in turn, is using her trademark heartfelt, buzzword-laden management style in an attempt to radically alter Charlie's work processes. Jane, meanwhile, the 29-year-old technical wizard of the team, sits sullenly in her cubicle, unimpressed with either of them, and they with her.

None of them understands the other. None of them knows how to communicate with the other. And it's causing headaches and havoc for managers trying to mold this hodgepodge of ages, faces, values, and views into a productive, collaborative group.

Now, with GENERATIONS AT WORK, there's clear, concrete help. Written by a team of distinguished cross-generational authors, this groundbreaking book supplies fresh, provocative insights and practical solutions for understanding differences, resolving conflicts, and managing effectively in today's age-diverse workplace. Both sweeping in scope and highly specific, the book gives you:

* Astute profiles of four distinct generations: Learn about the Veterans (b. 1922-1943), Baby Boomers (b. 1943-1960), Gen Xers (b.1960-1980), and the Nexters (b.1980-), including their demographics, the events that shaped their lives and times, predominant traits, work styles, and key messages to keep in mind when recruiting, developing, and motivating these members of your workforce. * Illuminating case studies in generational peace: Go behind the scenes of five major companies that treat generational mixing as an asset. * A powerful practice exercise: Solve the plight of Charlie Roth, a fictionalized manager facing a cross-generational crisis--then read how 7 outside experts tackled the problem. * Hardhitting answers to the 21 most frequently asked questions about managing in a multigenerational workplace--plus much more!

For anyone struggling to manage people who just don't see work (or life) the same way, GENERATIONS AT WORK helps you understand the gulf that separates the generations--and offers practical guidelines for building a harmonious workforce where people rally together for the organization, not against each other.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40905 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Review
Generations at Work is intended to help you bridge the gap or, more accurately, gaps between people of different ages who work at your company. What's so vexing about the workplace is that four different groups are vying for roles and recognition. There are the veterans, boomers, Xers, and the nexters. The people in each cohort, the book argues, have more in common than just their age: They share memories of the same world-shaping events, the same childhood heroes, the same early work experiences. Learning about differences may be fun. But learning about cooperation is useful. And it's here that Generation at Work becomes a valuable tool. -- Fast Company, October 1999

Review

"Learning about differences may be fun, but learning about cooperation is useful. And it's here that Generations at Work becomes a valuable tool." --Fast Company

From the Back Cover
In our age-diverse workplace of conflicting work ethics, dissimilar values, and idiosyncratic styles, this groundbreaking book supplies fresh, insightful strategies for understanding--and overcoming--generational differences.

"The sounds you hea--young people voicing their frustrations with the over-the-hill gang, seasoned executives disparaging the impatience of the kiddie corps--are the sounds of generations colliding. This book teaches you and your company how to reach across the generation gap, and into the new world of business and work." --William C. Taylor, Founding Editor, Fast Company

"A quick, insightful read...full of humor and practical tactics that can be applied to daily situations immediately." --Deidra Wager, Executive Vice PresidentRetail, Starbucks Coffee Company

"Generations at Work provides creative insights and solutions to issues of recruitment and motivation of the workforce, one of the biggest challenges in our industry today. It is clear that there is a new face to workforce diversity which organizations must recognize and respond to if they are to be successful in the new millennium. Generations at Work will give you a tremendous advantage."--Neil Gulsvig, Senior Vice President, Organizational Development and Training, Beverly Enterprises

"This is truly one of the most unique times in the history of the American workforce. With four different generations converging upon one place, everyone needs to be equipped with practical ways to deal with all the differences. Generations at Work is a great tool to get you up to speed on this important issue. Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, and Bob Filipczak offer simple and practical hands-on advice to turn the promise of this diverse workforce into success for your organization." --Ken Blanchard, co-author, The One-Minute Manager

"With the aging of America, every workplace will soon be coming to grips with the challenge of managing 'age diversity.' In Generations at Work, the authors do a wonderful job of clarifying the needs and values of all working generations while offering invaluable guidance on how to maximize productivity among them." --Ken Dychtwald, Ph.D., author, Age Wave and Age Power, President, Age Wave LLC

"Generational conflict in the workplace isn't new and it isn't going to go away. Generations at Work sorts through the stereotypes and delineates the strengths and weaknesses of Veterans, Boomers, Xers, and Nexters. This book provides the practical advice managers need to turn conflict into harmony." --Susan Mitchell, author, American Generations: Who They Are, How They Live, What They Think

"The definitive guide to understanding what makes other generations tick. An on-target blend of theory and practice." --Bradley Richardson, author, JobSmarts for TwentySomethings

"The best book out there on generations in the workplace--a book not just to be read, but put into practice." --Neil Howe, historian and coauthor, The Fourth Turning and Generations

Customer Reviews

For managers, with a grain of salt, please
Never before has there been such diversity in the workforce. This is particularly true of the range of ages that co-exist on the job. In Generations At Work, the authors identify the four generations, the particular problems you may encounter managing them, and potential solutions. As the employee pool matures, this is knowledge every manager of a cross-generational workforce will need. These categories are, of course, cut rather broad. This book is probably better used as an idea toolbox than gospel writ.

The Generations:
1. Veterans (1922-1943): The World War II generation's dedication to the values of civic pride, loyalty and respect for authority have become a continuing influence in the following generations.
· Veterans tend to be more directive in leadership roles.
· Veterans are used to working in teams under strong leadership.
· Veterans can be prone to the "we've never done it that way before" mentality.
· Veterans often find technology intimidating and confusing.
2. Boomers (1943-1960): This generation tends to be idealistic and driven.
· Find out how they want to be managed.
· Expect a reaction if things don't go well.
· Motivate them with lots of public recognition, and involvement in decision-making.
· When mentoring them be tactful, let them tell you how they're doing, and think of yourself as a friendly equal.
3. Xers (1960-1980): The Xers are deeply cynical about management and the driven attitudes of the Veterans and Boomers. It is, however, possible to motivate Xers.
· Make your work environment as flexible as possible.
· Provide them with up-to-date technology.
· Give them lots of simultaneous projects and let them prioritize.
· Give them constructive feedback on their job performance.
4. Nexters (1980-2000): The most studied generation in history, Nexters are likely to be more like the veterans than any other group. When recruiting Nexters, keep the following principles in mind:
· Forget gender roles.
· Focus on teams.
· Mind the gap: there is likely to be a large generational gap between the Xers and the Nexters.
· Grow your training department.
· Establish mentor programs.

Understanding other generations.
This study of the beliefs and values of the major generational groups and their attitudes to each other provides a thorough basis for understanding issues that are likely to arise in the workplace. The authors highlight the very different attitudes to work, life and the importance of life style between the generations. They offer ideas for dealing effectively with each generation and with the differences between them.

The book is readable and well set out. A chapter is devoted to each generation group, each with useful tabulations and comparisons. This is followed by case studies of good inter-generational relationships and a couple of chapters of advice.

The book is concerned primarily with the present - that is with how these differences impact on today's working life, but the sketches of each generation also provide insights into what may happen to work arrangements as different value systems become dominant.

An interesting and important question of course is 'What is going to happen to business itself, its values and its relationship to wider society?' Unfortunately this question is not even raised, the implicit assumption being that business will continue unchanged even if ways of organising and doing business change. A dangerous assumption!

Fetishization of Boomers & Millennials
Inspired by Neil Strauss's and Neil Howe's groundbreaking generational studies, "Generations At Work" is a readable and easily understandable primer to successfully understanding and coping with a heretofore unprecedented socioeconomic phenomenon--a workplace simultaneously containing several generations; from elders in their 70s to young people in their 20s.

The authors do a good job of explaining and describing each group's attitudes, shared beliefs, investment practices, buying habits and work methods--all of these having been shaped by different historical events (at least in the USA) and the relevant generational experiences derived from those events. The book also contains a series of sample profiles and vignettes which are a useful basis for comprehending and motivating (and marketing and selling to) various age groups.

On the minus side, far too much obsessive attention and empty praise has been generously lavished on the still-untested Millennials--almost to the point of evangelistically fetishizing them much like the Soviet Communist Party had for decades emptily and shrilly fetishized their "Heroes of Labor" and similar groups. I suspect this approach (with its hardy and predictable but now-less-obvious condescending and dismissive attitude toward Generation X) reflects the arrogant Boomer sensibility of the book's authors. Also, this sensibility distressingly takes a far too comfortable and friendly view toward conventional corporatism, bureaucracy, "centralized authority," "obedience," and "large-scale collectivism"--when our increasingly fragmented, rapidly changing, networked and multipolar world is generally leaving such paradigms (and the institutions, attitudes and politico-economic theories such paradigms spawned) in the dust.

The underlying agenda of this book seems be that, as a group, the "we will never die" Boomers, despite their apparent claims to the contrary, will hand off their control-freak worldviews to their Millennial offspring, while barely tolerating "Veterans" and "Xers" (seemingly hoping the former will quickly jackknife into coffins or nursing homes and that the latter will remain lifelong subordinates and assistants to Boomers and their Millennial heirs apparent.) Also, there were several noticeable spelling and grammatical errors in the book (the confusion of "proscribed" with "prescribed" for one)--not very complimentary to the Boomer authors and their peers who self-referentially pride themselves on being more sophisticated, better educated and more voracious readers than "the rest of us."