Yesterday, Joe and I gave a presentation to members of America's Community Bankers in Las Vegas about the divide that exists between Baby Boomers and Generation Y. The presentation discussed the differences in the needs, values and preferences of both generational segments - and framed up ways for the bank executives to think about attracting Gen Y customers and employees.
During the presentation, I realized that with this audience, there may be more than a demographic divide between them and the younger generations - instead, it's more like a complete disconnect. The audience was composed largely of Boomers who are directors, executives and senior managers at banks; and, most of them looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language when I made references to: blogs, podcasts, and social media websites. And, perhaps even more surprising was that not one person in the audience had heard of companies like Prosper, Mint or Virgin Money.
A friend of mine brought up a good point after I told him this: we're not talking about the future here - this is happening now. The divide (or disconnect) needs to be recognized, as it impacts us all.
Nov 9, 2007
The Great Demographic Divide - Or Disconnect
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4 comments:
I've seen the very stares you were describing in my own presentations on the topic. Great point at the end, I'll be in Vegas (coincidentally) in two weeks to do a presentation to bankers on 'Web 2.0 and your Bank' at TechMecca.
Being a Gen Y'er myself, I haven't been able to find something for the Boomers to relate to from their generation. I think it might sit better with them if we could.
Nice post!
This also happened to me on Wednesday evening. Stood up in from of an Innovation Awards dinner and tried to explain the BarCamp phenomnem. There we some young faces that already knew but most Boomer's had puzzled looks. And I'm a boomer. Not the most comforting though that this has happened.
Brad & Gene - thanks for your comments here. I'm sure we're not the only ones seeing evidence of this disconnect between financial services executives - who tend to be Boomers and younger generations; but, I am concerned that we're amongst the few that consider such a disconnect to be a huge red flag.
I'll have more on this topic in the coming week after I return from this conference.
Brady, Brad and Gene:
Thank all of you for your comments and I could not agree with you more. As the representative Boomer who co-presented with Brady last Thursday in Vegas, I am more than a bit concerned that most Baby Boomers may feel they can ride out the Gen Y storm and then get back to business as usual – wrong!
As presenters attempting to introduce important concepts to a skeptical audience, I feel the most effective method is to present a multi-generational perspective and let the Boomers see themselves reflected in the speaker. With a Boomer standing along with a Gen Y the audience can witness that indeed change is possible and that these two generations can not only get along but see the value in each other’s perspectives.
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