10 Answer Keys, Communicating with the 5 Generations in the Workplace

by Meredith "Kit" Bromfield, Meredith Kit Bromfield

Looking to improve communications in your work force in the coming year? Communicating with the 5 Generations in the Workplace is the book to read. Generational diversity is the root cause of many of the problems in business today that affects growth, productivity, and profitability on the business level, but more importantly it erodes valuable relationships in the workplace. Our culture is diverse in age, heritage, gender, etc. This book was written to help bridge the gaps around generational diversity. Whether you are a solo business owner, large company, or any point in between, "Communicating with the 5 Generations in the Workplace" will change the way you view your business world (and maybe help you on the home front too). There is a great generational divide that exists in our culture which began around 2011. This causes confusion, conflict, productivity challenges, customer issues, leadership and management gaps, and overall tension in the workplace and loss in revenue and profitability. How can we manage these gaps, and even more importantly, use them to our advantage? Develop the understanding and skills to work with ALL of your people in business Understand the negative consequences of taking the "you are DIFFERENT, therefore WRONG" approach Reap the rewards of viewing others as "you are NOT WRONG, just DIFFERENT" This book will help you move from a place of mediocrity and conflict to a state of organizational excellence!"

296 pages, Paperback

First published February 11, 2014

Reviews

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lots of facts. Lots of bullet points. Lots of opinions. All good.
But the organization of the material makes it hard to pull together a big picture. I'm not smarter for having cudgeled myself through this book.
Totally just my opinion.
OK, I've been reading a lot of book on generations because I'm teaching a class on Five Generations in the Workplace. But if I read one more book where the author humble-brags about speaking at a convention of a famous group, mentions their "Fortune 500" client, and sneaks in name-dropping, I may have to give up reading self-published books forever.
Some of the "facts" don't resonate with me: "The rolled eyes indicating you actually want me to believe what you are saying." For me, that sentence is not clear. Also, eye-rolling (at which I am an expert) indicates *not believing.*
If you are answering questions from the audience and a Boomer is confused about how to "deal" (their quotes, not mine) with her younger intern, but you don't ask if that intern is Gen X or Gen Y and the Boomer doesn't know, don't use that example in the book. Those are two very different generations and approaches. I know, you were at a Fortune 500 workshop and really, really wanted to use the example.
Also, bullet points are great for skimming, but they can be overused. Easily.
The phrase "if nothing changes, nothing changes" is not hidden wisdom. It's not even a sentence. It's just five words in search of meaning.
Again, all these are my opinions. Yours may vary.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit dated in generatio al Outlook and definition

The survey questions underpinning the generational keys are not well-designed, survey responses are sparse, and the 10 keys do not have sound empirical support. The discussion of each generation across chapters is highly repetitive (yes, we know Gen Z was raised on technology). Overall, not helpful.

[Fred McMurray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful in developing marketing campaigns designed for different generations. Mary gets it right about the differences in working with multiple generations in our own office as well as workers in other companies. I highly recommend this book for the professional who interacts with professionals of different generations