Millennials are the first generation to be educated at a time when knowledge is both plentiful and accessible.

Educators are struggling to make the shift from a model that was intent on helping students acquire knowledge through a prescribed path (a path that had been tried and tested over centuries), to one where it’s not necessary to know the answers, only how to find them. Indeed, the key skills today are knowing how to discern credible sources from those that are less trustworthy.

The benefits of information democratization are undeniable. One only has to look at the DIY’ing of “elite” professional services (legal, health care, finance, academic etc.), to understand that free flowing information is a terrific thing.

At The London School of Business Finance, you can now get an MBA via Facebook. Over 30,000 students have already registered and 500,000 are expected to. Courses in accounting, corporate finance, ethics, marketing, and strategic planning are free, students only pay when they take a test. The total cost of the online MBA degree? About $23,000, an incredible value when measured against $80,000 or more for a traditional MBA degree.

In looking at the world in terms of knowing what one doesn’t have to know, something is also lost. We seem to be losing an appreciation for complexity and nuance.

Everything is Not a Data Point

Douglas Rushkoff observes in his book Program or Be Programmed, that “not everything is a data point.“ Rushkoff warns that “net research is more about engaging with data in order to dismiss it and move on – like a magazine one flips through not to read but to make sure there’s nothing has has to be read. Reading becomes a process of elimination rather than deep engagement. Life becomes about knowing how not to know what one doesn’t have to know.”

A Generation of Information Hunter Gatherers

We are becoming adept at scanning, looking for the nugget rather than context. But are we losing an appreciation for the deep understanding that comes from immersion in one discipline? Rushkoff believes this ‘surfer’ experience that substitutes impressions with real knowledge is especially true of Millennials:

“Young people, in particular, are developing the ability to get the gist of an entire area of study with just a moment of interaction with it. With a channel surfer’s skill, they are able to experience a book, movie, or even a scientific process almost intuitively. For them, hearing a few lines of T.S. Eliot, seeing one geometric proof, or looking at a picture of an African mask leave them with a real, albeit oversimplified, impression of the world from which it comes. This works especially well for areas of art and study that are ‘fractal’ or holographic in nature, where one tiny piece reflects the essence of the whole.”

As a professor, I have experienced this subtle shift over the past five years in the form of pressure to distill my classes to the essence of what is important. The photo above is of my brand building library. As I sit down to plan a syllabus or class, I look at this bookshelf and despair – how can I possibly encapsulate this body of knowledge into finite, digestible, byte-sized pieces? It’s overwhelming. Somehow I doubt the professors of 50 years ago felt the same way. But then they didn’t have competition from a Facebook app.

Textbooks are becoming shorter and more condensed, in response to students’ impatience with long pages of text. Irrationally, I have come to judge my own competency as a teacher by how efficiently I can convey the concepts and complexity of the marketing and brand strategy without making unreasonable demands upon students. Increasingly, I see my job as the explorer coming back from a distant land to convey as much of what I know as is humanly possible to the untravelled audience in just 28 sessions.

Critical Thinking at Risk

A new book, Academically Adrift, is about to be released that reports the results of a study of 2,322 college students at a range of institutions from 2005-2009. Researchers discovered nearly half of the students didn’t learn “the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education” during their first two years of college.

“Many of the students graduated without knowing how to sift fact from opinion, make a clear written argument or objectively review conflicting reports of a situation or event, according to New York University sociologist Richard Arum, lead author of the study. The students, for example, couldn’t determine the cause of an increase in neighborhood crime or how best to respond without being swayed by emotional testimony and political spin.”

Aside from the dismal overall finding, the specific findings of who did and didn’t learn are also telling:

“…The study also showed that students who studied alone made more significant gains in learning than those who studied in groups.”

“Students who majored in the traditional liberal arts — including the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and mathematics — showed significantly greater gains over time than other students in critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing skills.

“Students majoring in business, education, social work and communications showed the least gains in learning.”

“Greater gains in liberal arts subjects are at least partly the result of faculty requiring higher levels of reading and writing, as well as students spending more time studying, the study’s authors found. Students who took courses heavy on both reading (more than 40 pages a week) and writing (more than 20 pages in a semester) showed higher rates of learning.”

These results should be a wake up call to those of us in higher ed. College is not about byte-sized learning, it is about mastery and mastery requires more attention than what is required by hunting and gathering facts, or even learning how to hunt and gather facts.

The world is complex and getting more so. We can’t settle for simplicity.

*Carol Phillips is the president and founder of the brand strategy consulting firm “Brand Amplitude.” She is also a Professor at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. Carol began her career as a market researcher and strategic planner at Leo Burnett. Later, as an Account Director, she led agency teams at four different agencies – Y&R, Leo Burnett, Mullen and JWT – for a variety of clients including Sprint, Nextel, Ameritech, Heinz, 7UP, and Philip Morris. She blogs at www.millennialmarketing.com.

By Carol Phillips*

Ask a teen how they are doing and they will nearly always answer ‘busy‘. For most teens, this is a true statement.  High school teens and college students alike are chronically tired and complain of stress.

How much of this round the clock activity and pressure is avoidable is different debate, one which has strong arguments on both sides of the fence.

An interesting series of essays among experts recently posited that some of the pressure, especially that due to homework and extracurricular activity, is unnecessary  (“Stress and the High School Student”, New York Times, 12.15.10).

Others, say stress from overscheduling is a s myth, and that the activities are confined to upper middle class ‘hurried children’ who benefit greatly from having so much structured time (“For Some Busy Kids It’s All Good“, Washington Post, 9.28.08)

Regardless of the reasons why or outcomes, stress is a reality of teen life, and an important point of context for those wishing to understand or communicate with Millennials.

Stress is an everyday reality, not just associated with periods of final exams or papers.  I had an opportunity to interact with several teens over the Christmas break. They all described their lives as filled with sports, homework, extracurricular activities, SAT prep, church group, theatre and more. They report staying up until 1 AM on a regular basis, and having little time for watching television.

A Generation of Sleep Deprived Walking Zombies?

In his book, Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers, Chap Clark describes the teens he met during his research as “observably tired, some to the point of near exhaustion“. (p 137)

“Instead of being a general laziness or a semi-bored listlessness (both of which have long been associated with this age), the tired I observed was like what I feel after stayig up most of the night due to a deloayed flight. Many students experience this zombie-like feeling on a daily basis. When I asked why they were so tired eh answers ranged from homework to work to a late practice….The busyness, fragmentation and stress level adolescents experience are relatively new, and they are increasing.”

Clark’s observations are supported by data from the National Sleep Foundation. “Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep. ” One study found only 15% of teens reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights. As a result “many teens suffer from treatable sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.”

Why the Worried Look?

An NSF poll tied lack of sleep to worry, not just overscheduling.  Most adolescents were likely to say they worried about things too much (58%) and/or felt stressed out/anxious (56%). Many of the adolescents surveyed also reported feeling hopeless about the future, or feeling unhappy, sad or depressed.

Chap Clark describes three areas of stress that take their toll on most students: “the pressure to succeed, the pressure to maintain stability at home while remaining loyal and connected to the peer group and the general pressure associated with relationships.” Of these, the pressure to succeed appears to be the most relentless..

“The pressure to succeed, whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, or in an endeavor that creates a sense of worth and accomplishment, represents an delusive, never quite good enough sense that students wear like a cloud. When students do something well, they believe it is only a step in the direction of adequate performance. I encountered few students who allowed themselves to do their best in a given arean and then let the chips fall where they may.”

An Uncertain Future

The performance stress high school students experience seems to accelerate in college.  Last month, we completed a series of in-depth interviews among college age students to learn more about how they think about the relationship of post-secondary education to their ultimate career goals. What we heard surprised us. They are sure that the relationship between a traditional college education and a ‘better life’ is no longer as strong as it was in the past. This makes the high cost of college, both in time and money, feel like an uncertain investment and is a great source of anxiety, both for them and their parents. Many parents are even pulling back their support, leading to further stress.

Stress Takes A Toll

For marketers, understanding the rising anxiety level of Millennials can provide a needed context for major and minor purchase decisions alike. Time savers, efficiency tools and programs that reduce life’s uncertainties will meet a ready audience. They especially need help developing a clear vision of what their adult lives will be like and how to achieve it. This ultimately may be the key to winning the hearts and minds of a stressed out generation of sleep-deprived young adults.

*Carol Phillips is the president and founder of the brand strategy consulting firm “Brand Amplitude.” She is also a Professor at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. Carol began her career as a market researcher and strategic planner at Leo Burnett. Later, as an Account Director, she led agency teams at four different agencies – Y&R, Leo Burnett, Mullen and JWT – for a variety of clients including Sprint, Nextel, Ameritech, Heinz, 7UP, and Philip Morris. She blogs at www.millennialmarketing.com.

By Sarah Newton

We have long been fed the line that Millennials are disloyal employees who expect to work when they want and how they want, but new research could be knocking these long held myths on their head.

The Price Waterhouse Coopers ‘Millennials at work’ research looks at the opinions and expectations of over 4,200 graduates from 44 countries in relation to the future of work and their attitudes on subjects including corporate responsibility, technology, global working and reward/ incentives.

And its findings are very interesting indeed.

1. Training and development is the benefit the Millennials value most highly – particularly coaching and mentoring
Globally, training and development is the most highly valued benefit for Millennials in the first five years of their career – with one third of respondents electing this as their first choice benefit (aside from salary). Almost all respondents (98%) stated that working with strong coaches and mentors is important to personal development. The three most popular benefits for UK respondents are training and development (46%), cash bonuses (45%) and free private healthcare (29%).
2. Millennials do not expect to reject traditional working practices
The findings show that – while global opportunities and robust corporate responsibility are critical to the Millennials – they expect to be predominantly office-based, work regular office hours and have a small number of future employers. Just 3% of respondents expect to work mainly at home and only 18% expect to work mainly outside regular office hours.
3. Robust corporate responsibility is critical to attracting and keeping the new generation of workers
Additionally, 86% (76% in the UK) would consider leaving an employer who’s CSR values no longer reflected theirs – Argentina (94%), the US and Brazil (both 92%) are home to the most idealistic graduates in that respect. Indian respondents were least likely to leave (66%). An employer’s policy on climate change is seen as important or very important by the majority of graduates globally (58%) and in the UK (55%)
4. They want to travel
Respondents were very open to overseas assignments, with Indian graduates showing the greatest appetite for working overseas (93%) compared with 62% of those from the Netherlands. 80% of all respondents want to work internationally. Of UK respondents, just 3% did not want to work outside of their home country during their career – 84% want to work abroad and the remainder are undecided.
5. They want it personal
40% of respondents are comfortable about giving employers greater access to their personal information in the interests of personal and business security. Additionally, two-thirds of Millennials would embrace the provision of personal services – such as housing, food and regular health appointments – by their employer. Which seems to be in line with recent studies on Gen Y sharing information?

So if we now know what they want why is it so difficult to keep them?

Research from the Commissioned by the Inspirational Development Group (IDG) shows that:

• 49% of HR managers highlighted the difficulty of retaining graduates for long enough, with 22% reporting that on average they lose graduates within two years of their employment.
• 57% felt that there was more they could do to retain these graduates – the ability to identify and retain the right graduates will be a crucial success factor as the economy comes out of recession.
• 75% of HR managers saw most graduates leaving between two and a half and three and a half years after starting their graduate program, or one year after the end of the program.
• 78% of HR managers agreed or agreed strongly that a specific development programme to increase retention of graduates one year after the end of their graduate program would be of benefit.

So what should the golden rules be?

1. Have a robust training and coaching/mentoring program that is clear full and worthwhile.
2. Highlight the opportunities for travel if there are any and show how and what your Millennial needs to do to get there.
3. Be very clear on your corporate responsibility and ensure it filters through your whole business.
4. Think about what benefits you can offer them in terms of health insurance, housing, lunches etc., they really do appreciate the smaller stuff.

By Carol Phillips*

Financial services are waking up to the potential of Gen Y consumers. Millennials may not have a lot of money now, but they are determined to pay down their debt and conserve resources for the future.  Coming of age in an era of massive financial uncertainty, they may even come to be known as “Gen Frugal”.

That’s good news for community banks and credit unions which are all about helping moderate income people responsibly manage their own money.

Last week I was interviewed by Myriam DiGiovanni of the Credit Union Times.  She wrote an article titled “Forget the Cool Factor, Focus on Millennials’ Needs” based on our talk. Here the full article (bold face mine):

Looking to engage meaningfully with younger consumers? Then stop assuming and start connecting through a common interest rather than trying to sell credit unions. “I think the main difference in marketing to Millennials and other generations is that they have great filters–they only see what they want to see. If you want to engage them, the message can’t be about brand but rather something they care about,” said Carol Phillips, president of consulting firm, Brand Amplitude, LLC. “It’s not about being hip but providing services they find useful now, like finding a job, figuring out how to finance their education or new business. They are starting out their lives at a difficult time and credit unions should credibly speak to that.”

She added that credit unions shouldn’t fall for the stereotypical myths surrounding this group such as they are all tech savvy–they are in fact tech dependent. Another myth is that they have money–many don’t and those that do are in saving mode or paying down debt said Phillips.

Forget about making the luxury appeal. When pricier purchases are made they tend to rationalize it based on whether it’s a good investment. According to Philips, for example, moving in with their parents is not viewed as an admission of defeat. Rather they see it as a strategy for saving.

Don’t look to the exclusive use of social media as a guaranteed in either. While they are very social, Millennials have close bonds with their parents, often consulting them regarding financial matters or major life decisions. Phillips said it’s yet another challenge because typically you’d market to the buying group, which in this case would include their trusted board of advisors consisting of parents, family members and friends. The key is for credit union to reach out and be a part of their world, and Phillips said initiating a conversation is a good start. Given the age span of the group is from 16 to 30 years old, she also advised credit unions to segment by interests. From there, credit unions can figure out how to connect in interesting ways whether around careers, music, causes or even sponsoring events that matter to them rather than talking about the latest checking product.

“Meaningful connecting requires recognizing that they are not the same as their parents. They do not respond to marketing, and that is the definition of different,” said Phillips. “Take time to understand who they are as people and introduce your services in context of what is relevant to them. Social media is about a humanization of the brand but is still just a tool [and] not a strategy. So be interesting, have a conversation.”

She added their values are no different than previous generations-they care about family, leading a good life, finding a fulfilling job and they want to give back.

One bank that seems to be getting it right with young adults is UMPQUA, a fast growing regional community bank in California, Oregon and Washington.

Their web site looks more like an ecommerce site than a traditional bank and they call their branches ‘stores’.  The language is plain English and yet stylish. The checking account featured on the home page is called HIP( for High Interest Paperless Checking) and offers 2% APR on  deposits and returns ATM fees. Nothing tricky about that!  News is broken out locally and is called ‘murmurs’. There are quick links to ‘deals and steals’, ‘reorder checks and supplies’ and ‘attend a neighborhood event’.  The navigation is straightforward as well and feels like you could do everything you need to do from opening an account to managing it to taking a loan, right from the web. There are spam alerts and interesting discussions. The site is very sticky and feels quite local, despite being spread across three states.

The short, awareness-oriented TV spots featured on the home page are cheerful, and perky, and not very ‘bank-like’ — “Bank on the Bright Side“, “Optimists Unite“, “Pursue Hopefulness“,  ”You deposit your check in the Northwest economy, like a gentle rain in a garden of courage“, “Optimists are just realists ahead of their time“.  The graphics and the voice over work together to create a hopeful feeling. I feel better just listening to them!

The part of the website I like best is under the tab heading ‘UMPQUA Life”. The sub categories speak directly to Millennial lives – Support, Belong, Discover, Inspire. The sub-subcategories  further emphasize local charitable and volunteer opportunities, neighborhood events and community responsibility. There are links to social media like Twitter, but they are discreet. The site itself  already feels like a social media site.  Even the history page is fun, with just the right information about the banks’ origins with emphasis on what it is doing in the community with music, eco-friendly programs and being included in Fortune’s Best companies to work for.

It should be noted that UMPQUA’s products are not all that special.  But, they are presented in a relevant and very accessible way that speaks directly to the Millennial mindset.

I suspect UMPQUA has been successful in attracting a higher than usual percentage of young adults and people who want banking to be less stuffy and more a seamless part of their lives. Other banks and credit unions could learn from their example.

*Carol Phillips is the president and founder of the brand strategy consulting firm “Brand Amplitude.” She is also a Professor at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. Carol began her career as a market researcher and strategic planner at Leo Burnett. Later, as an Account Director, she led agency teams at four different agencies – Y&R, Leo Burnett, Mullen and JWT – for a variety of clients including Sprint, Nextel, Ameritech, Heinz, 7UP, and Philip Morris. She blogs at www.millennialmarketing.com.

This is a post that I have wanted to write for so long and no, I haven’t been procrastinating, I just needed to get an inside ticket, so to speak.

In the UK there are a few amazing companies that have been started by Gen X ( of Gen Jones for those of you who are into generations in a big way) that are walking and living examples of how to run companies that Generation Y want to work for. However, there is no company that has done it better then the guys at Innocent Drinks. I have already talked about this company before. They are living, breathing examples of building a business based on real values through and through and Gen Y fall over themselves to get a slice of the Innocent pie. Richard Reed, Adam Balloon, Jon Wright, now 36, started their business in 1998 with a clear goal to get fresh healthy drinks out to the public, and they did it in a very quirky way.

I have always had a sneaky suspicion that these wonderful, rebellious, middle class Gen Xs, determined to do everything a different way, had built a company that not only appealed to but valued Generation Y’s qualities and that they had managed to build something quite unique, a company that values above all else its young employees. However, this was all just hearsay; I needed to see for myself, so after a few years of trying I finally managed to get a ticket to their AGM (a grown up meeting) where I, along with loads of other people, spent the day with the crew at Innocent.

Among what I can tell you is that this company has got it when it comes to Gen Y, but what is the IT? Well simply, a culture that allows their Gen Y employees to thrive. Their employees are passionate, committed, loyal and very efficient, going totally against the grain of how we think of Gen Y employees. So what have they done?

Well, walk into Fruit Towers and you know this place is different, from being greeted by a town crier to seeing the astro turf vans to the bean bags that adorned the floor and the bunting all around the office. This is a Gen Y’s dream and mine too!

Employees of Innocent do not sit in departments, they are all mixed around and there are no offices with shut doors. Most meetings take place in the very large communal area that resembles more of a 5th year common room, while looking at a screen adorned with grass and daisies. Their board of directors are actually called the “bored” by the staff and they meet in the “bored room”, which has “blah” written all over the walls. They give employees grants to do things that they really want to do, which they all vote on, the most recent being a remake of Thriller aptly called Chiller. You just get the impression that this is a great place to work.

They don’t stick Gen Y in a box with a list of tasks, they instil in them vision and then expect the results. They care about their staff, having pictures of them all as babies on the wall. They have sports clubs for the staff, a gym masseur, breakfast for everyone, Fridays evenings out, all giving a valuable message to their employees that they care about them as people. They appeal to Gen Y’s need for balance and they haven’t missed out the families too, giving employees an extra 5 days off if they get married and extra tax free money towards childcare. It is a Gen Y dream.

However, ask them how they created this culture and they will clearly state that it is all down to their amazing staff, even turning down TV opportunities to talk about the Innocent culture because it is not their job to tell others what to do . To them, it’s all about the people and they choose their people based on whether they fit with the values of the company and have the capacity to do well before they even look at their experience.

While I was there, someone asked if the innocent culture could be adapted to another business, which was a great question. I began to wonder if it could and came up with the conclusion that it would take a grounded, egoless, innovative person who did not feel it was their job to control how and what others did. To portray a culture that Gen Y love and admire, I even heard one employee say that they would have gone back to New Zealand ages ago, but just couldn’t leave Innocent. You have to be a very special person who cares as much about making relationships as you do about making a successful business and above all, thinks work is fun. I don’t know about you, but most people just are not brave enough.

By Sarah Newton

There has been little talk up to now about Gen Z, but I can see a few things coming up through the ranks. A recent post has claimed that they are more like Gen Y than Gen Y. Saying that, they are more connected and more comfortable with technology – well of course it is all they have ever known! At 9 years old, my daughter has her own web show, her own Skype and plays computer games while talking for hours to her pal over the Internet.

However, to me this is a little on the surface for Gen Z. Because they have mainly Gen X as parents, they have something that Gen Y did not have and that is realism.

While the Baby Boomers molly coddled their little Gen Y, Gen Z will have none of that!

Their Gen X parents have taught them to stand up for themselves rather than fit in. They have taught them to toughen up, as life is not fair (a favourite saying of Gen X). They have taught them to be individualistic and rebel, so while they may appear similar to Gen Y, they are entirely different.

They are more cynical; you only have to read my daughter’s account of a cleaning product (http://genyguide.com/the-world-from-the-eyes-of-generation-z/) to understand that. They demand structure and will no longer just get excited by an idea; the Coca Cola Happiness video taught me that. http://genyguide.com/gen-y-gen-z-viral-video/

And if we look at Howe and Strauss, (and while I love this I appreciate that others don’t) we find that they are the next artist generation.

Artists are subtle, indecisive, emotional and compromising, often having to deal with feelings of repression and inner conflict. They grow up as the over-protected children of a Crisis, come of age as the sensitive young adults of a high, rebel as indecisive midlife leaders during an Awakening, and become the empathic elders of an Unravelling. The Silent Generation is an example of an Artist generation. The ingeneration (the term coined by Larry Rosen in his book Rewired: Understanding the ingeneration and the Way They Learn) is expected to emerge as the next generation of this example.

So they are not the Heroes Generation as Generation Y is. Their passing may bring little of note, but you can guarantee they will bring structure and a sense of stagnation, which may be a good thing. One thing is for sure, this generation will be the most family-connected generation ever and in my opinion are much more likely to make a loyal and committed workforce.

OK, I can hold my containment no longer and I have to shout from the rooftops. I am so excited about the coalition agreement made in UK politics between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, mostly because I am so excited to have Nick Clegg in a senior position. While I did not really favour Cameron, I must say that throughout this whole process, he and his party have handled the situation with grace, humility and a spirit of collaboration which we, as a generation, have never seen. But mostly what excites me is a shift from baby boomer leaders to Generation X leaders.

Baby boomers are notorius for having a great vision and assuming that we will all follow suit. They want to help and can mollycoddle; look what they did to their Gen Y children, they were the original helicopter parents! Generation X on the other hand are so much more individualistic and as such, more likely (as we have seen) to preach personal responsibility, which I believe will fill the gap I see so often in our youth.

For these of you who are not aware or familiar with Generational Theory, Generation X is commonly abbreviated to Gen X, the generation born after the baby boom ended, with earliest birth dates used by researchers ranging from 1961 to the latest 1981. In Generation Theory, generations are split into four cycles, describing their job in the world, so to speak.

Now, Gordon Brown was in the Baby Boom generation and here is what Howe and Strauss say about that generation.

Prophets are values-driven, moralistic, focused on self, and willing to fight to the death for what they believe in- and they can convince other people to join them in the fight. They grow up as the increasingly indulged children of a High, come of age as the young crusaders of an Awakening, enter midlife as moralistic leaders during an Unravelling and are the wise, elder leaders of the next Crisis. The Boomers are an example of a Prophet generation.

Have we not seen Gordon Brown do all of these as he tried to cling onto government? As I said before, Boomers can have a tendency to tell us what is right or wrong and convince them that they are doing things in our interests.

However, enter Generation X, a whole different ball game – known as the nomads, here is what Generation Theory says about them.

Nomads are ratty, tough, unwanted, diverse, adventurous, and cynical about institutions. They grow up as the under protected children of an Awakening, come of age as the alienated young adults of an Unravelling, become the pragmatic, midlife leaders of a Crisis and age into tough, post-crisis elders during a High. Generation X and the Lost Generation are examples of Nomad generations.

As a Gen X myself, I would certainly say that that is true. The explosion of youth culture and punks really does align with what we know of Gen X – they are the rebels. Is it no surprise that they went against the institution and formed a coalition?

So we can expect our government to be tough, cynical and pragmatic and Gen X do become leaders in midlife, so it is all looking good for us as we move forward. However this tough individualistic style is something the millennial/Gen Y have not yet seen. For our little Gen Z coming up behind, it will be an approach they are very familiar with, seeing it in their parents, but for their older counterparts a shock may be in store.

Here is what Generation Theory says about Gen Y, who are considered the hero generation.

Heroes are conventional, powerful, and institutionally driven, with a profound trust in authority. They grow up as the increasingly protected children of an Unravelling, come of age as the Heroic, team-working youth of a Crisis, become energetic and hubristic mid-lifers during a High and become the powerful elders who are attacked in the next Awakening. The G.I. Generation that fought World War II is an example of a Hero generation. Millennial are expected to emerge as the next generation of this example.

So, we have young adults who grew up protected, being governed by people that grew up very unprotected, institutionally driven youth with a trust in authority being governed by a mistrusting pair who are cynical about institutions. On the surface it looks like a mis-match. However, as Gen X finally get their day, I feel can learn a lot from them.

Firstly, I want to say that as most Gen X had such difficult childhoods, feeling very unwanted by society, that they believe in the potential and power of the youth that they missed out on. Therefore, I believe they will approach them in a very helpful way.

What our new PM and his deputy will teach the youth.

1. I think they will teach them to toughen up. So far they have had it easy, looked after and loved well by their parents, who step in to help. I think Gen X will teach them to stand on their own two feet a bit more and will encourage them to go out into the big wide world unaided.

2. The youth will learn what relatiism is, something that up to now they may not have encountered. A generation that were brought up being told they could do anything, they will soon learn to take a realistic view at things. Our new government will be pragmatic and real and will I think tame the lofty heights and fantasy worlds that Gen Y sometimes live in.

3. Gen X are extremely individualistic; they learnt from a early age to take care of themselves, taking personal responsibility. Gen X parents will never take the blame for a mistake their child has made and this government will not take the blame for youth not taking responsibility for their own actions.

4. Gen X are not known for their result-focused attitudes, so it may be that we see some reform of the education system. We may see a shift from results to pastoral care, which will have a huge impact on our youth.

And I also think that this government, should it choose to do so, has a lot to learn from our youth. Since they are in collaborative coalition, who best to turn to than the generation who do collaboration standing on their heads? Their young society will not stand for quibbling between these parties and will demand that they govern in a respectful, authentic way. The youth, if they are listened to, may also be able to raise the expectations of these two leaders. Gen X are highly practical in their outlook and may lose some vision and enthusiasm for what they do. While the Baby Boomers tried to keep them on the moral path, this government could become very uninspirational.

Like anything, this is just speculation, but I think that we are in for a highly interesting time….

As you may or may not know, as I write this the UK is going through a political stalemate, with no stable government and all the parties trying to decide if and how they will form a government. The UK look on in disbelief, not quite knowing what to do. (We now know they have formed a coalition government)

This election was unprecedented in most of our lifetimes and has ended with a hung parliament, meaning that no party has an overall majority to run a stable government.

For the first time in UK politics we had televised debates, which did really shake up politics and really woke the youth up when it came to political reform.

However what happened on Election Day was a real blow for Generation Y and may have been the first time they felt massively let down. After seeing the impact of the youth on the Obama election, they must have felt they had a chance to change things. And as they all rallied around the party that normally came third, they were devastated when an exit poll revealed that this party would lose seats and the party they despised the most would get the most seats. Furthermore, when the exit poll became true, twitter came alive with their displeasure.

Firstly, the fiasco of polling stations having to be shut with queues of people outside and some places running out of ballot papers put them up in arms. Was this really democracy? The challenge for them was that since most of them had gone to vote late, this mainly affected them.

A generation used to having a say, encouraged to have a say and used to being heard were suddenly helpless. And as the dust settled and they looked at the figures, they began to shout very loudly for political reform. How could a party that 64% of the public voted against and had no representation in Scotland and only a bit in Wales be representative of the United Kingdom? How could a party that only had 8% more of the vote have 200 more seats and how could people voting for a party go up yet their seats go down? How could this be fair?

And they were right, it is not fair. They quickly got the figures together and sent them around Twitter and Facebook.

Party Votes per seat – Conservative 34,989. Labour 33,350. Liberal Democrat 119,788

Seeing how unfair this was, they demonstrated and pleaded with the leader of the party they had adopted to push for electoral reform.

Way this election has empowered the youth is so evident. It has empowered them around fairness and equal rights and they are not staying quiet.

So, the message to businesses and people dealing with Gen Y is this.

Ensure your dealings, policies and rules are fair. Ensure that they are not based on outdated tradition and ensure they give the youth as much of a say as anyone else.

By Sarah Newton*

I recently saw this post and it really got me thinking about how we can manage Gen Y better by taking lessons from video games.

And while, in my experience, I am not sure that Gen Y in the UK keeps score (as stated in the article), so to speak, I do think that bosses can certainly learn how to manage youth by pulling information from the gaming world. As for understanding youth by understanding gaming, well certainly that would apply to boys in the UK but for girls you need to understand social gaming, which is so different.

For me, what they gain from gaming is not necessarily to keep score but to get a reward to keep going. In this modern day world it is a well known fact that young workers will not just go along for the ride as they use to, most want feedback and rewards to keep them going and they want to feel excited. As far as I can see, it goes far deeper than merely keeping score; it is about feeling the buzz of being alive.

So, if you manage lots of young employees, here is what I believe you can learn from their use of video games.

1. Instant feedback – a game gives instant feedback; you do something wrong, you die! You do something right, you move up a level, go further into the game, etc. Young employees want instant feedback, not a Sit down, how are you doing? once a month thing, but after the moment it happens. Ensure your on the ground managers know what to look for and how to correct and praise in an instant.

2. In a game the players know the objective, they know what they are supposed to achieve and when they reach that they get set another very clear task or goal. Make sure objectives you set youths are clear, concise, short-term, achievable goals and if you can link little perks to them, so much the better.

3. I know we all have this image that game play is very individual and people compete against each other or themselves, but that is simply not true anymore. Games are social and achieving something as a team or getting rewarded for helping another out are commonplace. How can you encourage collaboration rather than competition in your workplace and how can you reward helpful behavior?

4. Most games have rewards for achievement so, for example, in the popular Farmville when you gain more points and move up a level more options are open to you, such as things you can buy and how big your farm can be. How can you emulate something like these levels, which open up more privileges?

5. Above all see how you can install some fun into the day. It doesn’t have to mean that the work environment or day has to be interrupted, but the best way to get the most out of young employees is to keep it light, fun and exciting. Innocent in the UK do a great job of this and are seen as an aspirational company to work for. Their canteen has astro turf and their employees are encouraged to blog and share funny pictures. While this might not be appropriate for your company, I am sure that there is some way you could put some youthful energy into your everyday that will make everyone feel happier.

One of the biggest myths about Millennials is that they are all digital natives, blogging and tweeting their way through life. The truth is a bit more nuanced.

True, Millennials are some of the most avid USERS of mobile and Internet technology.

The age of first cell phone is dropping rapidly and now stands at about 9 or 10. Currently nearly six of every ten 12-year olds have their own cell phone, a figure that increases to 83% by age 17. On average, 75% of all 13-17 year olds have a mobile phone, 93% go online (76% with broadband), and 80% have a console gaming device (Pew Research).

It’s also true that Millennials rely heavily on digital media to manage their daily life activities, stay informed and stave off boredom.

Digital media so pervades their lives, they cannot imagine living without it. Digital content and communication literally enables their social lives. Some even refer to this dependency as ’addiction’.

A new study conducted at the University of Maryland asked 200 college students to give up digital media for 24 hours and write about the experience. The students’ journals, which amounted to the equivalent of a 400-page novel, were full of stories of deprivation and emotional angst. “We noticed that what they wrote at length about was how they hated losing their personal connections. Going without media meant, in their world, going without their friends and family.”

“I clearly am addicted and the dependency is sickening,” said one person in the study. “I feel like most people these days are in a similar situation, for between having a Blackberry, a laptop, a television, and an iPod, people have become unable to shed their media skin.”

“Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort,” wrote one student. “When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable.”

One student said he realized that he suddenly “had less information than everyone else, whether it be news, class information, scores, or what happened on Family Guy.”

The Maryland researchers concluded that “most college students are not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world….Without digital ties, students feel unconnected even to those who are close by.”

Given this level of dependency, it follows that Millennials are adept at manipulating and adapting technology to their needs. However, this is not the case, at least for the majority of Gen Y.

The top six web sites by volume according to Experian’s Hitwise service are pretty mainstream: 1. Facebook 2. Google 3. Myspace 4. Yahoo 5. Yahoo Mail 6. Youtube. Although my students are adept at Facebook, and finding information, music and videos online, few make use of Twitter or maintain a blog. This is in line with statistics by Forrester, which shows only half of 18-24 year olds are what they classify as ’creators’. Few students make use of RSS feeds, wikispaces or other productivity enhancing tools.

A 2007 study by Northwestern professor, Hargittai on web use among so-called ‘digital natives’ reached the conclusion that there is a wide range of web use and skill levels among young adults. Over 1000 college freshman were surveyed on the frequency and diversity of their web use as well as indexed for skill on 27 variables. The study found a range of skill and use and concluded, ”web-use skill is not randomly distributed among a group of young adults who have grown up with digital media.” While some of the diversity could be explained via socio-economic status and ethnicity, much could be attributed to what the authors called ‘context of use’, which included the number of years online, the time spent online, access to a laptop and more. ”Overall, these findings suggest that familiarity with the medium is very much related to how people use the Internet and user savvy mediates some of the otherwise observed relationships of user background and online activities.”

A recent article in The Economist also questioned the assumption that all Gen Y’ers are Internet-savvy (“The Net Generation Unplugged”, March 2010).

“Michael Wesch, who pioneered the use of new media in his cultural anthropology classes at Kansas State University, is also sceptical, saying that many of his incoming students have only a superficial familiarity with the digital tools that they use regularly, especially when it comes to the tools’ social and political potential. Only a small fraction of students may count as true digital natives, in other words. The rest are no better or worse at using technology than the rest of the population.”

The article goes on to point out that according to Pew Research, “internet users aged 18-24 were the least likely of all age groups to e-mail a public official or make an online political donation. But when it came to using the web to share political news or join political causes on social networks, they were far ahead of everyone else. Rather than genuinely being more politically engaged, they may simply wish to broadcast their activism to their peers.”

For marketers, this diversity of use is a caution not to confuse digital dependency with digital savviness. Not all Millennials will be jumping up and down to respond to your latest crowd-sourced campaign, app or contest.

Many of the popular digital marketing tactics require a level of involvement and expertise may be beyond the skills of many Gen Y members on the far side of the digital divide. Far safer, and more broadly appealing, are approaches where the call to action is easy and intuitive, requiring nothing more than a working knowledge of how to use XBox, text messages, Facebook or Youtube.

*Carol Phillips is the president and founder of the brand strategy consulting firm “Brand Amplitude.” She is also a Professor at the prestigious University of Notre Dame. Carol began her career as a market researcher and strategic planner at Leo Burnett. Later, as an Account Director, she led agency teams at four different agencies – Y&R, Leo Burnett, Mullen and JWT – for a variety of clients including Sprint, Nextel, Ameritech, Heinz, 7UP, and Philip Morris. She blogs at www.millennialmarketing.com.