Who Made Millennials?

We hear and read a lot these days about Millennials, and most of us tire of it. We know they have delayed life events such as marriage and home ownership, but few realize that the average Millennial makes far less money and has much greater student debt than their parents did just a generation ago. Some of this is due to late blossoming, but there are other economic factors in the job market that contribute to this. Spending most of their 20s and early 30s in the post Great Recession era hasn’t helped.

But who really made Millennials the way they are? The answer: WE DID! We Baby Boomers wanted our children to have it better than we did and in many instances, we have enabled our kids in ways that are foreign to the way we grew up. So the next time you find yourself complaining or simply dumbfounded by a Millennial, take a look in the mirror and give yourself a little credit for the result.

This said, every generation has had challenges that are unique to the times in which they live. There is no right or wrong in this because economic, societal, and environmental issues have changed significantly, and each generation has had to face them head on. Think back to your parents and how they wondered about your own thinking and actions. That should give us all pause to resist complaining about others.

Here are a few Business & Life Tips to think about….

Business Tips:

• If you want pats on the back, hire “yes” people. If you want to grow, hire people who challenge you and the status quo.
• It’s not that money doesn’t matter, but what drives top performers is internal. It’s about the feeling they get from achieving success.
• Many business owners look deeply into why things aren’t going well, but seldom look in the mirror to discover they are the problem.

Life Tips:

• Right or wrong, millennials get an entitlement rap. They just want to work eight hours a day and have a balanced life. So do I.
• Eliminating debt as fast as you can is one of the wisest things you can do. Debt can cripple you, whereas cash can unleash you.
• Ask yourself: Am I looking for common ground with people, or am I trying to find differences to argue or complain about?

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