When Millennials Take Over: Preparing For The Ridiculously Optimistic Future Of Business

by Jamie Notter, Maddie Grant

Is your organization ready for what is coming? Between the decline of modern management, the social media shift of power toward individuals, and the ascent of the Millennial generation into leadership roles, companies of all shapes and sizes are facing a future that they are ill-equipped to handle. As a result of this perfect storm of changes, many organizations are struggling to stay relevant to customers, capitalize on opportunities in the marketplace, and attract top talent.

Successful companies, on the other hand, are shifting to embrace four key capacities that will drive the future of digital, clear, fluid, and fast. Drawing on both cutting-edge case studies and research on Millennials in the workplace, you ll learn how to successfully apply these four capacities in your context to drive real business results, like more engaged employees, higher-value customers, greater strategic agility, and stronger, magnetic cultures. When Millennials Take Over delivers concrete, actionable advice you can use to set your company apart as a leader--rather than a follower.

The only constant is change. These four capacities are the key to being able to keep up with the complexity, uncertainty and rapid shifts in our industries and our world. When Millennials Take Over is an intelligently practical guide to how you can build these capacities for your organization - starting NOW.

Genres: Business, Leadership

149 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 24, 2015

About the author

Jamie is an author and culture consultant at Human Workplaces who helps leaders drive growth and engagement by activating and aligning workplace culture. With 25 years of experience in conflict resolution, generational differences, and culture change, Jamie is also the author of three books (Humanize, When Millennials Take Over, and The Non-Obvious Guide to Employee Engagement), and holds a Master’s in conflict resolution from George Mason and a certificate in Organization Development from Georgetown, where he also serves as adjunct faculty.

Reviews

[Rhiannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book about the growing state of workplace culture and what the future will look like. It talks about what makes companies successful today (being digital, clear, fluid, and fast) which is, primarily, driven by the Millennial generation. I’m, perhaps, not the right audience for this book as a millennial who already understands these principles. It appears to be targeted at Baby Boomer CEO’s and managers who have the power to actually enact the changes it speaks of. The authors speak to this audience, explaining why millennials think the way they do (including constantly adapting to technology and the abundance of everything) and why it’s actually beneficial to them. It includes a wide variety of case studies of companies that are already implementing these techniques with positive results. The authors, also, did their research and talked to many millennials to get their thoughts which are inserted throughout. I felt justified by this book, it echoed the advice I’ve been giving my employers and put words to things I previously wasn’t able to articulate. I had many ‘yes, exactly!’ moments whilst reading it but, although it was a positive experience, it also made me realise I couldn’t enact this change on my own. This modern way of running organisations (with things like transparency and trust) is so foreign to traditional organisations that it feels overwhelming to attempt such large-scale change. You need actionable buy-in from those with power. Good book that hits where needed and I’ll be passing it around. 4.5/5 stars.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up because the cover and title were amusing but I thought it was going to be a joke.... boy was I wrong. This book had so much insiteful information in it. It was a different perspective to hear why generations turned out the way they are and how the millennials are pushing the envelope. I highly recommend this to anyone with an interest in business.

[Laci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of all the "work-related" books I have read or listened to, this one seems to be the most realistic. As someone who falls between Gen X and Millenial generations (Xennial), I have a unique perspective on the values different generations hold dear. I like to think I take on the best of both, but this book helped me realize how I can change my outlook to improve my working conditions.

[Steve Horman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook. Listened to the author at a conference and he talked about company culture. I loved his presentation A+, to the book I’d give an A-. Still really good, but liked the presentation more. Loved his thoughts on how to shape company culture and why it is important.

[Charmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. The Millennials are serving as a kind of “secret decoder ring” for all of us, giving voice to the underlying trends that are pushing us toward a significant transition.

2. The real power here is in giving employees permission to experiment.

3. Employees need to see consistency between what you say the culture is and how you practice it,
- Don’t wait for permission. Run as many experiments as you can.

4. When you combine material abundance with the information abundance that the internet has brought this generation, you end up with a generational cohort that simply has higher standards.
- They expect resources to be available because they always have been.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Notter devotes a chapter to each of the requirements he believes successful companies today need- to be 1)digital, 2)clear, 3)fluid, and 4)fast. It was good to think about the fact that the young people I work with are so used to instant knowledge access and moving fast. It makes it hard for them to be patient and wait for the bureaucracy to hand down a decision. We better brace ourselves for a fast ride. Notter says if we feel in control as leaders, then we are simply not going fast enough. We need to be make good digital choices, be transparent, choose capable people to work for us and trust them. Good advice. I highly recommend this book.

[Blakely · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm probably not a really good judge of this book as I really don't believe the hype about various generations and would not have read this book except I was basically told to read it for work.

So yes I'm biased against the book to start and the book really didn't do much to overcome that bias. I think a lot of the tips in the book are not really specific to Millennials - who, regardless of their generation, wouldn't prefer to work for an organization where they can work on a roofdeck and get a new laptop every other year as opposed to a cubicle with a 7 year old computer? While other parts just aren't that helpful.

[Christopher Lonero · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid short book on what to expect from the new up and coming generation of Millennials. Apparently, I categorize as one being born in 1982. The book is very clear on what is needed and what to expect from Millennials. I thought the "ridiculosly" in the title would be described more and what the negative side effects might be, but I did not see this explained in the book. The book closed really well and I especially enjoyed the piece on how presently building our "community" dynamics is of upmost importance. With a flatter culture there will be less power roles and more teamwork needed.

[Todd Greer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that weaves together the ongoing trends with organizational change and the generational realities of the Millennials. Notter and Grant present strong research, organizational insight, and clear headedness, all while presenting a very accessible text.

[Ileana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great optimistic review of millennial value in the workspace

The book is very easy to read, well researched and arguments are sound. I loved the positivity and it is in agreement with my own observations.
Highly recommended.

[Jamie Notter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um, I'm biased, but I loved it. ;-)

[Frank Corriveau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some food for thought. I'm in between baby-boomers and generation-X, and I can relate. This book gave me some understanding and perspective of the Millenials.

[Mack Asaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

20151229M, 100% - Liked it, will have to come in the future and read it again.