Managing Generation X: How to Bring Out the Best in Young Talent

I am about as much of a GenXer as can possibly be being born in 1970. For my entire life I saw a great deal of things as "off key", such as the broken homes, the druggies, and being mistreated by many of the Boomers in the workplace. This book proved to me that it was not just my little world, but an actual issue. Bruce disarms the sterotypes of GenXers extremely well. This is a must read for anyone, Xer or Boomer, to successfully manage the most driven and innovative generation in American history.

I have a habit of highlighting as I read, and this book has more yellow in it than any of my others! As an Xer (former military officer and now clergy), I saw myself on just about every page. Tulgan offers many excellent insights into the formation of our generation and how we are best approached. He also offers some truths that are true for GenX, but not necessarily unique to GenX. The first half of my book has more yellow in it than the last half, in which Tulgan begins to restate himself. Nevertheless, this book is worth the price of admission and is a must read for all managers.

Tulgan's book is important because of what it stands for. It's not a call to arms, but a call for workers and managers to get together to consider what has changed about today's world of work and, in particular, the motivations and behaviors of younger workers.Most, if not all, young readers in the workforce will relate to Tulgan's message and hope that more managers take the time to listen to Tulgan's argument. Older readers will either take note and better manage their younger troops, or they will defensively reject Tulgan's work because of its implication that they are doing something wrong.It's fun to read about individual workers' real life experiences being "managed." As one who has been on both ends of the management relationship, the book reminds me that there is not one right way; rather, I must be flexible and think of different ways to motivate and retain employees. I don't have to decrease my demands of workers. If I get it right (with Tulgan's help), I can be a more demanding manager and get more out of workers in a mutually beneficial relationship. Check out Tulgan's concept of "fast feedback" and other motivational ideas. This stuff works!

It takes a recruiting and retention crisis to make businesses really wake up and take notice of Tulgan's commentary on the needs and expectations of Generation X. Of course every generation wants what they want--training in marketable skills, creative challenges, growing responsibility, performance-based compensation, timely rewards, etc.--but the difference is Xers negotiate for these things at the beginning of their careers-- not waiting around to climb some corporate ladder for five years before they get them. Xers are challenging organizations to make the radical changes they've been dragging their feet on for the past 20 years.Tulgan makes the case that the new fast-paced, global, techno-centered economy demands workers who are flexible, techno-savy, adaptable, entrepreneurial; people who are willing to reinvent themselves daily, jump from project to project, team to team. His star Xers are just those people.As a management trainer, I'm meeting them and their bewildered managers every day. And it's clear that the dialogue between and among the generations is one of the healthiest--and hotest--topics around. Tulgan's book provides a springboard for a coversation that can only result in positive changes for everyone. Xers are "the workforce of the future," helping to define "the workplace of the future" for all of us.

It's fantastic. The book captures the generation gap in the workplace in the nineties and captures the mindset of my generation better than any book or article I've ever read. Read it.