Table of Contents
PRAISE FOR MANAGING THE MILLENNIALS
If youre going to run a successful organization in the future, youll have to learn how to manage the Millennial generationthat thundering herd of young people whose numbers exceed the Baby Boomers. They will push you and frustrate you, but they will help you win going forward. Managing the Millennials is a must-read for every leader who wants his or her organization to have a great future.
Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Leading at a Higher Level
Our company has had the good fortune of becoming a trusted brand with the new generation. Without them, we would not exist. It would be easy for us to think that we know enough because of our business. The truth is that we cannot afford to not build the same trust within our organization between the generations that make up the Quiksilver family. Managing the Millennials is a practical hands-on approach to understanding how generational tension gets created and what to do about it. I was fascinated by what I learned and excited about sharing it within our company.
Robert McKnight, Founder and CEO, Quiksilver, Inc.
Managing the Millennials has taught us how to harvest the creativity and energy of a new generation and inspire those of us who lead them.
Bruce Ratner, CEO, Forest City Ratner Companies, and Principal Owner, NBA New Jersey Nets
With more than 32 million twenty-somethings in todays workforce, managers more than ever before need a clear road map for building bridges of communication and engagement between generations. Based on years of research and real-world business experience, Managing the Millennials is the first book to fuse the authors cutting-edge concepts with a powerful and easy-to-use framework for putting their ideas into action. This is one book that I will wholeheartedly recommend to every business leader whose job includes managing people.
Peter Economy, best-selling author of Managing For Dummies, and Associate Editor, Leader to Leader magazine
This book is timely and practical for those facing the challenge of managing across generations. It takes a certain degree of maturity and perspective to be able to suspend ones own bias and engage others. Managers who practice the core competencies in this book will be better equipped to develop the people they lead.
Laura Curnutt Santana, PhD, Senior Enterprise Associate, Center for Creative Leadership
For any leader who is interested in passing along a legacy to future generations, Managing the Millennials is a must-read. This book provides practical instruction on how to relationally connect with the growing and influential workforce that will one day run the world, emphasizing a mature approach to coaching and relatingwhile realizing the potential for change in yourself in the process. Im confident you will enjoy reading it, just as I did.
Patrick McClenahan, President/General Manager, CBS2/KCAL9, Los Angeles, CA
As a legacy organization, we are concerned about who will carry the torch of Special Olympics forward. Our mission is relevant as ever but we really believe our future is dependent upon a new generation of athletes, coaches, volunteers, and staff grasping the vision. Managing the Millennials has helped our leadership team understand how to engage Millennials in the present so that we can count on them in the future.
Bill Shumard, President, Special Olympics Southern California
There is an old country saying that goesIt aint what you dont know thatll kill you, its what you know for sure that aint so. This book exposes misconceptions about Millennials and, in a measured and logical way, calls for managers to change their thinking and behavior in order to achieve success with this generation of workers. To ignore these findings could be fatal.
David Lucas, Chairman of the Board, The Bonita Bay Group
What a great read! This management book offers insight and strategies to help faculty and managers better understand and work effectively with the eighty million people in their 20s entering college and the workforce this decade.
Dr. F. King Alexander, President, California State University, Long Beach
Trust is the most critical aspect of any organization. Trust not only takes time to build, but also a willingness to understand anothers point of view. I was intrigued by the authors insight on the intrinsic values of Millennials. Finding and retaining the best Millennials is critical to every business. The book has reinforced my way of thinking about this new generation and what they bring to our organization. I have made Managing the Millennials a must-read for my team.
Joseph R. Catti, President and CEO, Finemark National Bank and Trust
Until I sat down and read Managing the Millennials, I dont think I fully understood the disconnect that was occurring between us. By better understanding what makes this generation tick, Ive seen vastly improved communication and results.
Laurie Sisneros, Proprietor, Spaghettini Grill and Jazz Club
I find the observations and conclusions of this book to be extremely enlightening for anyone managing in todays world. It not only is a practical guide for getting the most out of your human resources but relevant to understanding emerging markets and trends. As the millennium generation enters the work force and marketplace, how we relate to them is critical to our success.
Alan Hyman, Chairman of the Board, Fremont Bank
Being an old school Boomer, this book gave me a much-needed framework to understand AND work with the new school Millennials. As they advance into our universities and workforce, how successfully the generations interact surprisingly depends on the mind-set of us old-schoolers. By embracing the generations differences and positively, proactively, and confidently engaging Millennials, managers can build strong, effective organizations, and business schools can provide Millennials with richer and more valuable educational opportunities.
Dr. Michael E. Solt, Dean, College of Business Administration, California State University, Long Beach
A great resource to help companies better understand the Millennial generation and build their leadership teams of the future. Carl Lindner III, Co-CEO, American Financial Group
Leading large police agencies into change, boldness, and reform demands a clear understanding of those you lead. The nine competencies illuminated in Managing the Millennials are clearly the nuts and bolts of future leadership traits and skills needed to effectively assimilate our new officers. This research is timely.
Tony Batts, Chief of Police, Oakland, CA
FOREWORD
CAMERON JOHNSON, TELEVISION PERSONALITY AND AUTHOR OF YOU CALL THE SHOTS
Growing up as a young entrepreneur, Ive seen the generational differences in the business world first-hand. I started my first business when I was nine years old and before my 21st birthday, I had started more than a dozen profitable businesses. I was able to do this, two ways: by leveraging technology and by also quickly learning the generational differences.
I was able to find customers from more than sixty countries, manage employees who were sometimes more than triple my age, and to do so efficientlyas I was, of course, still in school. Im now 25, and Im seeing my peers enter a workforce that is very different, very different from what they expected that is.