The Manager's Pocket Guide to Generation X

As a senior baby boomer in a business where the energy of youth has great value, I have gone from wizard, to young turk, to careful planner, and finally to grandfatherly adviser. All in far too few years. It has become crystal clear to me that if I wish to help out and sometimes provide guidance I am going to have to learn how to communicate with a group of people who sometimes make me feel like I am speaking a foreign language, the dreaded Generation Xers.Not that they are all that dreaded. But there is no question that there is a real difference both in values and in approach to work. When I happened on the small, to the point volume of advice it occurred to me that this might be just what I was looking for - a Rosetta stone that would enable communication and understanding without making somebody have to go through a major adaptation. I like Xers, to be honest, I was enough of a rebel in my day to appreciate anyone that challenges the status quo and wants to find better, less hidebound way of doing things.Bruce Tulgan's approach it quintessentially straightforward. He provides history, motivation, and basic principles of operation for Generation X folks as well as a host of short case studies on what to do and what not to do. He defines many keys to communication with Xers that I have begun to apply at work with some surprising success. The following is a short sample:Xers are looking for opportunities to develop skills that will help them to grow.Xers are extremely comfortable with using information and technology.Xers feel job security is impossible to maintain and are wary of institutions that can fail.Xers are independent and self-reliant and like to be able to rely on their own skills and abilities.Xers want rapid feedback to measure their return on investment.Xers like to form long-term work relationships with those who can help them.I wish there was a bit more meat to the book, but the truth is that there is plenty of wisdom in it's pages. I think of it as the kind of back pocket reference book that you can grab whenever you're trying to figure out an approach. And it's just the right size to keep hidden if you don't want anyone else to discover your secrets. All kidding aside, this is a useful tool in a changing work place, one that can make the difference between accomplishment and frustration.

This is the book for all Gen X and Gen Y(or Millennial Generation) to give to their road-block, speed-bump Boomer bosses. It is an excellent, on target assessment of our generation and the severe differences from the Baby-Boomers. If your company is having turnover problems with the X and Y age groups, this book is a must. If you're a manager and still using a typewriter when a computer is available, buy this book to find out why everybody around you goes nuts. One word of warning for Gen X readers - this book is so frustratingly accurate about Baby-Boomers it will make your blood pressure go up. Especially, if you are like me, Gen X with no one above you management-wise but Boomers.