The Great Generational Divide
&
The Influence of Social Media
Brian Smith - PLD
1
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“The events and conditions
each of us experience during
our formative years help
define who we are and how
we view the World”
Brian Smith - PLD
2
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Sit Down if You Remember
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Sit Down if You Remember
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Sit Down if You Remember
• How to save a file on a floppy disc
• Having an 8 track player
• How to send a hard copy fax
• When Napster was cutting edge
• Walkmans
• How to record on a VHS tape
Brian Smith - PLD
5
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Sit Down if You Remember
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The Internet Evolution
“The internet is nothing but a bunch
of hype – nothing but a fad”
- Newsweek 1995
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Building Bridges
“We don’t have a choice on whether we do
social media. The question is how well we do it”
- Erik Qualman
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Generational Gap
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9
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Why Bother?
• Better understand the Generational
impact in the workplace
• Communicate and interact more
effectively across all Generations
• Promote teamwork and build
collaborative teams
Brian Smith - PLD
10
briansmithpld@gmail.com

Different Strokes
• Baby Boomers - 1946 to 1966
(Age 2011 from 45 - 65)
• Generation X – 1966 to 1976
(Age in 2011 from 35 to 45)
• Generation Y – 1977 to 1994
(Age in 2011 from 17 to 35)
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Boomers
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Boomers
The Baby Boom Generation
• Leadership Style: Consensual / Collegial
• Interaction: Team Player / Love Meetings
• Communication: In person
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13
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Take Note
• Love titles – recognition
• Money is power
• Buy now – pay later
• Education is a birth right
• Traditional family model breaks down
• Need to know they are valued
• Known as the “Me” Generation
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14
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Boomer Values
• Optimism
• Team Orientation
• Personal Gratification
• Involvement
• Personal Growth
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Generation X
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Generation X
The Forgotten Generation
• Leadership: Everyone equal /
challenge status quo
• Interaction: Entrepreneurial
• Communication: Direct / immediate
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17
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Take Note
• Freedom best reward
• Latch Key Kid Generation
• Money cautious – save – save – save
• Education is a way to get “there”
• Sorry to interrupt – “But how am I doing?”
Brian Smith - PLD
18
briansmithpld@gmail.com

Generation X Values
• Diversity
• Techno literacy
• Fun and informality
• Self-reliant – Autonomy
• Pragmatism
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Generation Y
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Generation Y
The Millennial's / Nexters
• Leadership Style: To be determined
• Interaction: Participative
• Communication: Facebook, Twitter,
smart phone
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Take Note
• Meaningful work
• Instant gratification
• Work with other bright creative people
• Work where they want to work
• Earn to spend
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22
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Generation Y Values
• Optimistic
• Civic Duty
• Confident
• Achievement Oriented
• Respect for diversity
• Socialpreneurs
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Are You Ready?
The Biggest Workforce Shift in 100 Years
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24
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Team Building
Worth Remembering ….
“You don’t have to socialize with them –
you just need to learn how to work
with them”
Brian Smith - PLD
25
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Build Relationships
• Rapport:
• Relationship:
• Respect:
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26
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Managing Millennial's
•Provide Structure
•Provide leadership and guidance
•Listen more then you talk
•Embrace their can-do attitude, self assuredness &
their positive personal self-image.
•Challenge them to learn more – do more – be more
•Provide Life-Work balance
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27
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Generation Z
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Generation Z
The Connected Generation
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Gen Z – Generation Next
• The Googleized Generation
• Multi-tasking is a way of life
• Wants instant gratification
• Good at processing information
• First generation to grow up totally digital
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30
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Influence of Social Media
“Individual action and social media
will be drivers of social change”
ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iReY3W9ZkLU
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Silent Majority?
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Cisco Results
• Online communication overtaking face-to-face
as primary method of interpersonal
communication
• Expectation of the next workforce is
increasingly emphasizing work flexibility,
mobility & non-traditional work styles
• Attitudes towards information access , mobile
devices and SM will influence the future of
work from lifestyles to corporate cultures.
Brian Smith - PLD
33
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Social Goes Global
• 50% of the Worlds population is under 30
• 96% of Millennials have joined a social
network like Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook
• Facebook tops Google for weekly traffic
• Gen Y and Z consider email passé’
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It’s Not a Fad
• Fasting growing segment using FB is
females 55 to 65 years old
• Youtube is second largest search engine
• There are now over 200,000,000 Blogs
• Schools stopped issuing email accounts –
issue i-pads, laptops & e-readers instead
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35
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Fundamental Shift
• Wikipedia has over 15 million articles –
78% are not in English
• Kindle e-books out sold paper back
• Traditional newspapers are a dying breed
• 60 million status updates daily on FB
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36
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Changing Your World
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The Great Generational Divide
&
The Influence of Social Media
Brian Smith – PLD
. Follow on Twitter – http://twitter.com/briansmithpld
. Linkedin Group – http://linkedin.com/in/briansmithpld
. Ah Ha Moments – The Blog: - https://ahhamoments.wordpress.com
Brian Smith - PLD
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