Generation Y and Change

Generation Y members (aged 13 - 27) are bright, insightful, fascinating, challenging and inquisitive young adults who are ready to change the world. The question is, are we ready?

Change will be rapid, constant and revolutionary.

They look at the world much differently than most of us. And why shouldn’t they? Generation Y (why) rival the Baby Boomer population in size. Born after the civil right, woman’s rights and gay rights movements, they view diversity as an accepted norm. Their world has always included high-speed computers, the Internet, cell phones, text messaging and instant communications.

Rapid change is the by-product of their instant communications world.

Generation Y’s world revolves around instant everything. They rely less on face-to-face communications and more on cell phones, instant messaging and the Internet. They don’t wait for answers. If they have a question or an idea, they can immediately share it with their friends or do research on the Internet. In their world the answers to most of life’s questions are only a couple of key strokes away.

Change will be rapid, constant and revolutionary. We can’t stop it. At best, we can slow it down a little. But, change will be coming from all directions and at speeds we have never seen before. Generation Y accepts high speed change as obvious and the status quo as a relic. They don’t want to change things simply for the sake of change, however they will investigate, challenge and reinvent virtually everything.

If rapid change is inevitable then how can we prepare for it? By changing our attitude toward it and insuring that the changes make things better and not just faster.

Some ways to look at change:

1. Today’s change is tomorrow’s norm.
2. If you are a change oriented leader expect others to paint a bull’s eye on your back and then shoot arrows at you.
3. Change is as good or as bad as you make it.
   
4. Substitute the word “growth” for “change.” It will revolutionize your perspective about new things.
5. Tuli Kupferberg said, “When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”
6. If you can’t control the changing event, change how you react to it.

Generation Y will dramatically affect our world for the next forty years. Today’s young people want mentors but they want a two-way relationship. Parents, teachers, religious leaders and managers, you still hold the keys. You are their bridge from the status quo to the future. They want your help and leadership; they do not want your roadblocks to change.

Instant communication savvy Generation Y members are the leaders to a vastly different future. Hang on, these next few years will be fast, unpredictable and very exciting! Are you ready?