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| We don’t all see the world in the same ways. In today’s world, we’re confronted all the time by diverse ways of thinking and acting. To be successful in engaging with other people, and to improve our ability to communicate effectively, to engage other people, to sell to them, manage them, influence them and connect with them, we need to develop an understanding of how other people see the world. This is influenced by many factors, including gender, personality, culture, religion and education. |
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Influence of an era
One factor that is often overlooked is the influence of someone’s age – or, more accurately, the influence of the era in which someone’s value systems were shaped and formed as a young person. This is what generational theory focuses on. It provides fascinating insights into what makes other people tick, and offers practical implications for the way in which we connect with them.
From a business perspective, by understanding the impact of different generations inside and outside your organisation, you can improve customer relationships, communications, team dynamics, recruitment, leadership effectiveness and the productivity and interactions of your teams.
We need to understand what shaped and formed Boomers, Gen Xers and Gen Y, and why younger and older people – staff, customers, family and friends – have such different expectations and approaches to life, leadership, work and relationships. Our ability to connect with others lies not in more techniques or cuter strategies, but rather in understanding that a radical value system shift is currently taking place in society. This shift is best explained by generational theory.
What are “Generations”?
Generational theory is another tool in the segmentation or profiling toolbox. Simply stated, it shows that the era in which a person was born affects the development of their view of the world. Our value systems are shaped in the first two decades of our lives, by our families, our friends, our communities, significant events and the general era in which we are born.
In the past century, global forces were at work like never before, and therefore many people throughout the world have had similar experiences or have had to face similar situations at the same time. And since we live in a globalised world, with similar influences at play in different countries at the same time, people of the same age are likely to have similar value systems, regardless of their country or community of birth.
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