Us vs. Them: Redefining the Multi-Generational Workplace to Inspire Your Employees to Love Your Company, Drive Innovation, and Embrace Change / Edition 1

by Jeff Havens

Overview

A SIMPLER, SMARTER WAY TO MANAGE GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN THE WORKPLACE

Forget complex multi-generation models nobody can use!

Discover useful solutions rooted in enduring human psychology

Improve communication, productivity, loyalty, career planning, and innovation

For all executives, HR pros, talent strategists, and entrepreneurs

Millennials. Gen X. Boomers. The “Greatest Generation.” How do you get them all working together? It isn’t nearly as complicated as the “experts” claim. You just need to understand one simple dynamic that’s as old as the human race: there’s us, and there’s everyone else.

Jeff Havens clears away the foolishness so often associated with managing multi-generation workplaces, and gives you a simple, sensible framework for resolving every generational issue you’ll ever face.

Havens shows why workplaces have always presented “us vs. them” dynamics based on age and experience, and always will. Then, he offers practical solutions for specific intergenerational issues associated with loyalty, work ethic, innovation, change, and career advancement.

Ready to get past stereotypes and promote vibrant collaboration across all generations? Then you’re ready for Us vs. Them.

For 30 years, discussions about generational differences at work have grown increasingly complex and frustrating. ”Experts” have identified three, four, now even five distinct workplace generations–each allegedly unique and requiring their own management approach. If you buy all that, then it follows that the more generations you bring aboard, the tougher it is to collaborate productively.

But the conventional wisdom is 100% wrong. It isn’t so complicated–or difficult. In Us vs. Them, Jeff Havens offers a simpler, more intuitive model–and most importantly, actionable solutions. Based on his

internationally acclaimed keynote presentation, Us vs. Them will simplify your workplace in ways you didn’t think were possible.

Think of two generations, not five: Older, more experienced workers and their Younger, less experienced counterparts. Suddenly, you can frame generational issues more sensibly–and find simple solutions to problems that once seemed intractable.

Us vs. Them addresses the root psychological causes of generational tension at work: causes based in the hardwired human tendency to see others as “one of us” or as “one of them.” This dynamic has existed forever, and it always will. Once you understand it, you can learn to manage it...and when another “new generation” comes along, you’ll be ready for them, too!

Simpler, more effective ways to:

• Motivate employees of all ages
• Learn from colleagues who think differently from you
• Inspire more enthusiasm, loyalty, and productivity, especially among new hires
• Prevent veteran employees from coasting toward retirement
• Frame change more successfully
• Promote innovation
• Plan succession and advancement
• Accelerate your own career progress

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780134195100
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	06/21/2015
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

JEFF HAVENS is one of North America’s most in-demand presenters. His extraordinary ability to deliver high-quality education in an entertaining way has earned him dozens of repeat clients, all of whom appreciate his insistence that education is the only way that we improve at anything, and that we’ll all improve better and faster if we enjoy the learning process. By combining traditional presentation content with the entertainment value of a comedy show, Havens has found enthusiastic audiences in government, academia, small businesses and the Fortune 50, all while still being one of the youngest members of the professional speaking circuit. He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Vanderbilt University and lives in Michigan with his wife, Laura, and their dog, Pancake. For more information, visit www.jeffhavens.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Why This Book Needed to Be Written 1

Part One: Simplifying the Picture 11

Chapter 1: Destroying the Four-Generation Myth 13

Generational Differences Throughout the Ages 15

How Marketing Created the “Multigenerational Workforce” 17

So How Does This Relate to the Generational Question? 19

The Four (Totally Invented) Generations in Today’s Workplace 21

The Two Major Problems with the Four-Generation Model 24

Chapter 2: The Two-Generation Model 37

And...Your Point? 38

Generation Us and Generation Them 41

Us vs. Them, the Professional Version 45

How the Us/Them Dynamic Operates 46

Chapter 3 Consolidating Generational Arguments (or, Let the Stereotypes Begin!) 53

Two Visions of the Future 63

Part Two: Solving the Problem 71

Chapter 4: On the Nature of Loyalty and Its Effect on Work Ethic 73

The Importance of Loyalty 75

Are Today’s Younger Workers Really Less Loyal Than Previous Generations? 76

How Is This Possible? 81

What Is Dunbar’s Number, and Why Should I Care? 82

The Rise of the Internet and Its Effect on the Desire for Loyalty 84

The Search for Connection Goes Global 88

So if All This Is True, Why Do Young People Seem Less Loyal? 92

Loyalty Is a Two-Way Street 94

What We Used to Hear About Work, and What We’re Hearing Now 98

What Does This All Mean? 101

So What Can You Do? 106

Chapter 5: On The Pace of Career Advancement (In Any Career) 115

A Secret About Every Old Person You Work With 119

Experience, Experience, Experience 121

The 10,000-Hour Rule (Which Is a Lie but Gets the Point Across Anyway) 123

Advancement Is a Process 125

Quiz: Show Me The Money!!! 126

And Now, Something for Old People 130

The One Thing Technology Can’t Improve 131

How This Causes Tension 134

Advancement Never Stops 135

What You Can Do 140

Chapter 6: On the Tension Between Stasis and Innovation 153

The Reason Old People Like Doing Things the Way They’ve Always Done Them... 156

So Why Are Young People So Eager to Change All the Time? 162

The Causes (and Consequences) of Complacency 166

The Challenge 168

What You Can Do to Inspire Deliberate Practice 170

Chapter 7: Deciding How (or Whether) to Implement a Change 179

What Does Fashion Have to Do with Changes in My Business? 181

Why Some People Resist New Ideas 183

And Now, the Other Side of the Coin 189

So What Can You Do? 193

Chapter 8: From Them to Us 205

Part Three: Key Concepts and Strategies 219

Chapter 9: How to Talk to Someone Significantly Older or More Experienced Than You Are 221

Step 1: Expect Some Condescension from Them 222

Step 2: Let Them Do Most of the Talking 222

Step 3: Praise Anything You Hear That Sounds Intelligent 223

Step 4: Ask a Lot of Questions 223

Step 5: Expect Some Frustration 223

Step 6: Focus on Improving the Business 224

Chapter 10: How to Talk to Someone Significantly Younger or Less Experienced Than You Are 225

Step 1: Expect Some Impatience from Them 226

Step 2: Temper Their Impatience by Showing Them Why They Need to Slow Down 226

Step 3: Expect Them to Become Frustrated and Empathize with Them 227

Step 4: Point Out the Positive Elements of Every Idea Before Focusing on the Negative Elements 227

Step 5: Point Out the Potential Problems 227

Step 6: Empower Your Young or Inexperienced

Colleague to Address the Issues Brought Up in Step 5 228

Chapter 11: How Our Motivations Change as We Age 229

Chapter 12: Summary of Main Points 233

Chapter 13: Summary of Strategies 237

Index 241

Editorial Reviews

The biggest challenge facing businesses today is generational differences. We either learn how to work with each other, or we can close the doors. Jeff Havens has nailed the problem, the challenges, the frustrations, and has the fixes to work through them. Your business can’t survive without this information.”

—Larry Winget, six time New York Times/Wall Street Journal best-selling author, social commentator, and television personality. Author of Grow a Pair: How to Stop Being a Victim and Take Back Your Life, Your Business, and Your Sanity

“With a dash of wit, pinch of irreverence, helping of data and analysis, sprinkle of snark, and hint of anecdotal flavor, Jeff Havens has provided a straightforward set of strategies that supports a clear pathway of understanding and success for all in the workplace. Us vs. Them is the perfect antidote to the Me vs. You syndrome and delivers a framework where we all really can just get along and thrive in the workplace.”

—Cindy Cisneros, Vice President of Education Programs, Committee for Economic Development

“In Us vs. Them, Jeff Havens helps bridge generational gaps with his witty insight in this hilarious, helpful, and refreshing book.”

—Ashley Rhodes-Courter, MSW, International and New York Times bestselling author of Three Little Word and Three More Words

“In his book, Jeff Havens provides supervisors with much simpler guidelines than the current, more complicated literature on generations. Us vs. Them makes sense! It also avoids the negative messages that some generational literature presents. It delivers strategies and easy low-cost to no-cost ideas that will really work.”

—Angela S. Kemp, SPHR & GPHR, 32-year HR and communications Professional

“Multi-Generational Workplaces may sound like the name of a Seattle grunge band, but once you read Us vs. Them, you’ll be the one holding the drumsticks.”

—Tim McEachern, co-author, The New, New Economy

“Us vs. Them covers a very important topic for our management team. We have developed a class specifically on this topic and the ideas I am getting from this book will prove invaluable in training our managers. I find Jeff’s approach to this subject very refreshing as he uses real world examples that everyone can relate to.”

—Johnny Carcioppolo, Director, Corporate Learning Solutions, Jack Henry & Associates, Inc.®

“Jeff’s book is written in a light-hearted and conversational tone, which makes it easy and enjoyable to read. It’s like sitting at the kitchen table with a friend having a chat about practical ways to work and how to get along with lots of people. His examples are real, and his suggestions are down to earth and applicable to anyone, no matter what their background.”

—Becky Ropp, Director, Talent Management, GROWMARK, Inc.

“Jeff Havens is, in a word: freaking hilarious...ok, two. Seriously, not many writers can make me laugh out loud, but this guy is SERIOUSLY funny. In Us vs. Them Jeff cleverly weaves insightful real life case studies about loyalty, work ethic, mentorship, complacency, innovation, and change, with sprinkles of Yodalike generational wisdom that are designed to help you achieve greater results in business, as well as in life. If you’re managing people, hiring people, or are looking to get hired—this book is a must-read. Trust me, the footnotes alone are worth the price of admission!”

—Ross Bernstein, best-selling sports author and award-winning business speaker

“In the workplace there are still minefields to conquer, language to temper, and management styles to avoid. Luckily, you’ve got Jeff Havens as your tour guide, and he takes his readers on an entertaining and intergenerational journey of how to make work a little less painful, a lot more profitable, and maybe even fun.”

—Steve Culbertson, CEO, Youth Service America

From the Publisher