Hell Two-Weeks Finally Over

I made it through 12 of 12 days of work. I feel like I should get down on my knees and praise the lord . . . or not. I have to admit that the business retreat for work went pretty well. It seemed to me that everyone had a good time. Hopefully this is reflected in the event reviews.

Our speaker was Bruce Goeas, and for the most part I enjoyed his presentation. The topic was communication, and he covered effective/ineffective communication, communication tools and generational communication. I think it's very timely, especially for our company that continues to grow rapidly. The generational communication was interesting since we have four generations within our organization as well as among the members we serve. Hopefully that'll allow people to understand each other better.

I learned that I'm on the cusp between Gen X and the Millennials aka Gen Y. I discovered I shared a lot of the viewpoints and attitudes stereotypical of these groups. Here are some beliefs for these groups:

Gen X - realistic; want to get the info straight without beating around the bush; work/life balance is important; and cynical about everything.

Millennials - want their work to have meaning; want to work smarter and faster instead of harder and longer; technology savvy; and believe that they are entitled (because they've been told they can do anything in the world since they were in diapers).

It's quite interesting and significant to ponder how these attitudes differ from the Traditionalists and Boomers. No wonder it's hard to communciate. Each group certainly has their own lingo, value set and life expectations. You never know what troll you will encounter when crossing those bridges.