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

Book description

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

  • Table of contents

    1. About This eBook
    2. Title Page
    3. Copyright Page
    4. Praise for Us vs. Them
    5. Dedication Page
    6. Contents
    7. Acknowledgments
    8. About the Author
    9. Introduction: Why This Book Needed to Be Written
    10. Part One: Simplifying the Picture
      1. 1. Destroying the Four-Generation Myth
        1. Generational Differences Throughout the Ages
        2. How Marketing Created the “Multigenerational Workforce”
        3. So How Does This Relate to the Generational Question?
          1. The Four (Totally Invented) Generations in Today’s Workplace
        4. The Two Major Problems with the Four-Generation Model
      2. 2. The Two-Generation Model
        1. And...Your Point?
        2. Generation Us and Generation Them
        3. Us vs. Them, the Professional Version
        4. How the Us/Them Dynamic Operates
      3. 3. Consolidating Generational Arguments (or, Let the Stereotypes Begin!)
        1. Two Visions of the Future
    11. Part Two: Solving the Problem
      1. 4. On the Nature of Loyalty and Its Effect on Work Ethic
        1. The Importance of Loyalty
        2. Are Today’s Younger Workers Really Less Loyal Than Previous Generations?
        3. How Is This Possible?
        4. What Is Dunbar’s Number, and Why Should I Care?
        5. The Rise of the Internet and Its Effect on the Desire for Loyalty
        6. The Search for Connection Goes Global
        7. So if All This Is True, Why Do Young People Seem Less Loyal?
        8. Loyalty Is a Two-Way Street
        9. What We Used to Hear About Work, and What We’re Hearing Now
        10. What Does This All Mean?
        11. So What Can You Do?
      2. 5. On The Pace of Career Advancement (In Any Career)
        1. A Secret About Every Old Person You Work With
        2. Experience, Experience, Experience
        3. The 10,000-Hour Rule (Which Is a Lie but Gets the Point Across Anyway)
        4. Advancement Is a Process
        5. Quiz: Show Me The Money!!!
        6. And Now, Something for Old People
        7. The One Thing Technology Can’t Improve
        8. How This Causes Tension
        9. Advancement Never Stops
        10. What You Can Do
      3. 6. On the Tension Between Stasis and Innovation
        1. The Reason Old People Like Doing Things the Way They’ve Always Done Them...
        2. So Why Are Young People So Eager to Change All the Time?
        3. The Causes (and Consequences) of Complacency
        4. The Challenge
        5. What You Can Do to Inspire Deliberate Practice
      4. 7. Deciding How (or Whether) to Implement a Change
        1. What Does Fashion Have to Do with Changes in My Business?
        2. Why Some People Resist New Ideas
        3. And Now, the Other Side of the Coin
        4. So What Can You Do?
      5. 8. From Them to Us
    12. Part Three: Key Concepts and Strategies
      1. 9. How to Talk to Someone Significantly Older or More Experienced Than You Are
        1. Step 1: Expect Some Condescension from Them
        2. Step 2: Let Them Do Most of the Talking
        3. Step 3: Praise Anything You Hear That Sounds Intelligent
        4. Step 4: Ask a Lot of Questions
        5. Step 5: Expect Some Frustration
        6. Step 6: Focus on Improving the Business
      2. 10. How to Talk to Someone Significantly Younger or Less Experienced Than You Are
        1. Step 1: Expect Some Impatience from Them
        2. Step 2: Temper Their Impatience by Showing Them Why They Need to Slow Down
        3. Step 3: Expect Them to Become Frustrated and Empathize with Them
        4. Step 4: Point Out the Positive Elements of Every Idea Before Focusing on the Negative Elements
        5. Step 5: Point Out the Potential Problems
        6. Step 6: Empower Your Young or Inexperienced Colleague to Address the Issues Brought Up in Step 5
      3. 11. How Our Motivations Change as We Age
      4. 12. Summary of Main Points
      5. 13. Summary of Strategies
    13. Index

    Product information

    • Title: Us vs. Them: Redefining the Multi-Generational Workplace to Inspire Your Employees to Love Your Company, Drive Innovation, and Embrace Change
    • Author(s): Jeff Havens
    • Release date: June 2015
    • Publisher(s): Pearson
    • ISBN: 9780134195193