Service Anniversary Awards – Here’s Your Sign!

Yeah, now where did I put that pin? I have to actually wear a suit today. Better yet, where is my suit?
I believe that most of the people at the company I work for, who have been there for five years or greater, are all of the “Gen X” generation. What does that say about that (my) generation? Are we the last of our types, more “traditional”, scared of change, have the most to lose, or stand to be the ones who will control the companies if we can figure out how to work with the Y’s and Mill”s? I say, all of the above. I think if we don’t freak out and can keep a mindset of innovation, we are the best poised to take over. Currently, with a foot in the past and a foot in the future, we can temporarily bridge the gap until it is time to take the leap to the future side. When we are given the reigns, we have to be willing to take the leap. If we hesitate in the slightest, we are going to fail, as we are just looked as the same old, same old, and we lose any respect and street-cred. The new generations cannot relate to the older generational ways at all, but we can. That is an advantage I believe, but only because there is much wisdom and value in some basic/classic ways of doing things. For instance, there is something still intrinsically valuable in knowing how to look at someone in the eye and have an actual conversation. LOL, you say? Those who can communicate equally well with thumbs and vocal cords, and this mystical thing called “body language”, will have the ultimate leadership arsenal. You see, we get to “speak” a language that the new generations won’t know. It is a big secret club that we have, like our own Skull and Bones. We can talk to each other about important things, and then we can text the cliff notes versions to “worker bees”.
The problem is, those “worker bees” are no longer just drone bees, doing whatever is asked of them and being content with it. They all want to be the queen bee, and have no qualms about jumping from hive to hive in search of some way to quickly achieve that. You are no longer “born” into your position, or even think that you have to earn it. Some of these new bees are smart and will play the right games, charming their ways into the hive with their outstanding Facebook page, Twitter messages, and their rock star status on Linked In. Many more will be stupid though, using those same “tools” to sting their way to the top, forgetting that they will die in vain.
The fact is, there still needs to be a method of “earning” the queen bee status. You can’t just hand it to a guy because he is the most charismatic (cough, cough, Obama). How do we take those same “smart” ones and give them their platforms for showing off, while actually getting them to do something? What if management would Tweet about their accomplishments, or go out to their Linked In and rave about them for all to see? Why not take the video of their anniversary roasting and put it on You Tube so they could put it on their Facebook? Why not let them boast about where they used the extra week of vacation (which is actually my real motivation for the length of time factor) out on the company website, pics and all? Send the world a text about their awesome promotion. Isn’t that what we all really want, to brag about what we earned? These new generations have a need to be heard, be relevant, and be seen (but digitally, not in person). Harness that, and you have the recipe for longevity and productivity, I believe. The problem is, it will forever be a moving target. The tools are as fickle as the people using them. Facebook is only cool right now, and I suspect only for us X’ers and Boomers just figuring it out. As soon as they know we are on to them, they are off, conforming to their non-conformity. Constant innovation is the key. The beauty is, we have the ability to sit in a room and talk about it, figure it out, and then act upon it. We can stay one step ahead, if and only if, we act upon it.
Who are the next smart/strong leaders? The generations that are coming of age now should be. They will have the advantage of growing up in an all digital world, with parents who like to take hikes with them, hug them, hang out with them, talk to them, and then post it all out on the internet. Kids that are taught that there is still a place for common sense, basic communication, and hard work should edge out the generations that seem to think the world is a stage and it should all be handed to them. Let us hope that is the case. Yes, I think (maybe slightly selfishly) that Gen X has the advantage right now. We have years of watching our parents and grandparents work hard, earning what they have and their right to retire. But we also get that nobody wears suits anymore, comes in to meet the baby, and cares about crystal clocks with the company logo on it. More importantly, we are super annoyed by those arrogant punks, who strut in, want it all now, text during the meeting, and move to their next job before completing a single project. We are on to you, and we are able to talk about you in our secret language, and will never let you rise to the top. Think of it as our own bee smoker that we are immune to. Do some real work, earn it, and we will make sure that your entire social network will know about how awesome you are.
Thanks for the pin, I truly appreciate the gesture, but I am wondering how much the pawn shop will give me for it so I can take my wife to a concert. I want to put on my status that I am going to see Def Leppard, on the company…