When I was fifteen, I eagerly awaited the new Aerosmith record, Pump. I knew about its upcoming release long in advance because I had read about it in Spin. I was psyched. And I waited. Months. I waited and waited and waited. Then the week arrived I waited some more — until the day it hit stores. Then I waited in line to buy it. Because I bought it on tape, I even waited the 45 seconds to fast forward through four songs to finally get to Janie's Got A Gun. Victory was sweet.
There was a lot of waiting twenty years ago. Waiting minutes for a busy signal to go away. Waiting hours to use the printer/copier at the office. Waiting days for a library book to be returned. Waiting (many) months for movies (like Tango & Cash — so awesome) to be released on home video. Inefficiency ruled the day.
There is a generation coming through school now, just starting to hit the workforce, and already a powerful consumer segment, which hasn't really waited for anything. Ever. And our business world isn't quite ready for them.
Think about it. This generation — which sails under many flags: Gen Y, Millennials, Echo Boomers, Digitals, etc. — is growing up in an economy which is vastly different from that of Gen X (my cohort), the Baby Boomers, and the Old Guard before them. Millennials discover music they like and download it immediately. They process three or more simultaneous, continuous streams of information and communication — conducting history research, while texting friends, and updating Facebook. The idea of a store isn't necessarily relevant. Nor is the idea of investing, or putting in your time. So — they don't wait to communicate, even one-to-many, they don't wait to accumulate and process mass amounts of information, and they don't wait to purchase and consume. They are hyper-efficient. And that's the problem. A lot of our business models either put up with, or to some extent depend on, inefficiency. Whatever you call this generation, if you are running a business you had better understand it.
Let's back up a step and define some terms.
Millennials
Born: technically, 1977-1998. I'm talking about the group born post-1990, who are 0-19 years old right now. Optimistic and confident. Believe everyone should have their own path. Communicative but not necessarily classically social. View lifestyle as a right, not a privilege. Digitally trained. Don't so much reject rules like Gen Xers, but see rules as irrelevant. Same with some institutions.
Generation X
Born: 1965-1976. Grew up in largely prosperous times. View higher education as a right, not a privilege, and in some cases as a long frat party. Expect a very high standard of living. Bright and accepting of diversity. Not disciplined savers. Live in the shadow of the great Boomers. Change junkies.
Baby Boomers
Born: 1946-1964. Rejected the ideals of the Old Guard. Sparked the turbulent sixties. But ended up in many instances following a similar path as their fathers and mothers (wearing suits or carrying lunch pails to similar jobs). Worked incredibly hard and grew the economy like crazy. Conflict averse.
The Old Guard
Born: a long time ago. Largely retired now. Still control some corporate boards. Saw the war era. Believed in hard work, saving money, living a frugal day-to-day life, and celebrating a few times a year in a big way. Started North America's prosperous run. Ultra conservative.
So what? When I stare at these definitions, there are three ramifications that are evident to me in terms of a coming impact on society, institutions and the economy, before even taking into account management. There is some gut wrenching change on the way.
Implications on Economy
