Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap

by Rob Salkowitz

If you want to engage, motivate, and retain young workers without driving the veteran workers away, Generation Blend can help you. This timely book explores how generational attitudes toward technology affect issues as diverse as recruitment and retention, employee training, management decision-making, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and work/life balance. Looking to solve the puzzle of productivity across the technology age gap? Start with Generation Blend .

Genres: Business

272 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2008

About the author

ROB SALKOWITZ is a business analyst and futurist specializing in the disruptive effects of digital technology and the digital generation on work, business and culture. His latest book, Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture (McGraw-Hill, 2012), looks at the future of entertainment through the lens of the San Diego Comic-Con. His earlier books explore global entrepreneurship, the changing demographics of the workplace, and methods of exploring the future in business. His work has appeared at FastCompany.com, FastCoCreate, The New York Times, Internet Evolution, Businessweek and other publications. He is a partner in the Seattle-based firm MediaPlant, LLC and teaches in the MCDM Program at the University of Washington.

Reviews

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rob's been ghost writing for Bill for years. Finally gets to put his own name out there. Interesting to read it when it's finally published.

From Rob:
Ah, you discovered my secret! It’s due out in March. I was just getting ready to make a big announcement – I’m trying to coordinate a bunch of pre-orders on Amazon to kick it up the sales charts a bit and maybe get it noticed.

Check out the website for the book – www.generationblend.com. And be sure to buy a bunch for your office and clients!

From my Amazon "review"
40 years ago as a graduate teaching assistant only 5 years older than the kids I was teaching I realized there was a generation gap. Their language was different from mine. Their expectations different. Even their ways of approaching tasks was different. Today, my peers are all labeled Baby Boomers. If there were differences in thinking then, when we were so much more homogeneous, how much more are the differences today? I know I have to work hard to even understand the Gen X and Millenial "kids" we're employing today. And it's up to our generation to adapt or die. We have the perspective to see how we interacted with the generation that came before us as well as those who are nipping at our heels. Salkowitz has done an impressive job of identifying the way each generation works and interacts... and provides a valuable tool for us older managers to understand what makes younger employees tick... and how we can work together to make the workplace more productive and less frustrating.

[Kathleen Rainwater · Rating 4 out of 5]

After examining the conflicts that may arise amongst the generations due to the digital technology age gap, and giving full descriptions of the workstyles of the 3 prevalent generations in the workplace, (Baby Boomers, born 1946-1962; Generation X, born 1963-1980; and the Millennials, born 1981-2000 ) Salkowitz offers 5 questions that any organization should ask themselves in order to best manage the technology age gap. Case studies are presented both to illustrate why the technology age gap may actually be beneficial to the workplace, as well as to give examples of the different steps that each of the generations may be taking to eliminate the technology age gap.

[Emilie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good coverage of traits of the predominant generations in the workforce. Could have examined generational attitudes toward technology even more thoroughly and not lost focus. Good conclusions to solving some of the most common conflicts that arise amongst generations in regards to the use of technology in the workplace.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, lays out the differences in working with today's technologies and different generations...what they expect, comfortable with.