DALLAS - Author and futurist Tamara Erickson, in what many thought was one of the best sessions at the Food Marketing Institute Future Connect conference, offered a view of the coming collision of five generations in the workplace, explaining the unique circumstances that shaped those born in the World War II era, the post-war boom, the Xers, Ys and the post Y generation.
Her key point was this: While we all have different backgrounds, we have to learn to co-exist. And central to that realization is the notion that people of different times aren’t wrong in their attitudes...just different.
One key example: While Baby Boomers hear the phrase “we’d like you to move to corporate HQ” as a positive that probably means a promotion, Generation Xers see it entirely differently - as a disruption to their lives that is not welcome. Understanding that difference - and adapting to it within the boundaries of a corporate culture - is key to surviving in the 21st century and beyond.
In other Future Connect news...
FMI announced the Grand Prize winners of the 10th Annual Store Manager Awards:
• Bob Gillick, store director of a ShopRite Supermarket in Yonkers, NY — Category A, companies with 1-49 stores.
• Henry Falcon, manager of the Sweetbay Supermarket in Plant City, FL — Category B, companies with 50-199 stores.
• Jeff Barricks, manager of a Safeway store in Corvallis, OR — Category C, companies with 200 or more stores.
Her key point was this: While we all have different backgrounds, we have to learn to co-exist. And central to that realization is the notion that people of different times aren’t wrong in their attitudes...just different.
One key example: While Baby Boomers hear the phrase “we’d like you to move to corporate HQ” as a positive that probably means a promotion, Generation Xers see it entirely differently - as a disruption to their lives that is not welcome. Understanding that difference - and adapting to it within the boundaries of a corporate culture - is key to surviving in the 21st century and beyond.
In other Future Connect news...
FMI announced the Grand Prize winners of the 10th Annual Store Manager Awards:
• Bob Gillick, store director of a ShopRite Supermarket in Yonkers, NY — Category A, companies with 1-49 stores.
• Henry Falcon, manager of the Sweetbay Supermarket in Plant City, FL — Category B, companies with 50-199 stores.
• Jeff Barricks, manager of a Safeway store in Corvallis, OR — Category C, companies with 200 or more stores.
- KC's View:
