A Great Day With Millennials

Last week Friday I had a great day with some millennial friends.

I started my day with a friend who I had been mentoring for a while. We have been having coffee or an evening beverage for over 6 years and I have had the pleasure of watching him learn grow and take on new challenges. Over the years as I hear about what the press has to say about millennials I have wondered who they are talking about as it doesn?t track with my personal experience.

Just after lunch one of my clients and I were interviewed for an internet radio program. My client is a hard charging millennial who has built a business in a very challenging segment and is growing at a pace of 100% per year at the moment. We have been working together for over three years and have become friends as well. When I watch him working hard and smart and treating his employees and clients well I?m wondering again what?s up with the negative comments about millennials.

I finished the day with meeting the millennial son of one of my friends who was visiting San Diego from Dallas. I have known him for around 10 years and my wife and I enjoyed part of an evening with him and three of his friends who were also visiting. All of these young men were very enjoyable to be around and they were all interesting and interested in what we are doing. I didn?t experience an environment of always on the cell phone or side conversations. All four of these guys were engaged and interested and are all busy working on their careers and their personal lives as well.

The only reason I don?t have more days like this one is I don?t have the good fortune to have as much exposure to millennials as I might like.

If you are reading this post as a business owner or executive who is looking for talented people to join your team, I believe the generation that now represents over 35 % of the workforce and growing rapidly has much to offer. If you happen to be a GenX or Baby Boomer ; if you can think back to the earlier days of your career and remember what you were doing and how you were feeling you may discover hat it wasn?t much different than the millennials. When I look back I recognize the similarities and also recognize that in general this generation is thinking a little more clearly than I was, have a more balanced view and clearly has the advantage of being very technology literate.

I believe the bottom line is that the millennials are having and are going to have an incredible positive impact on the world and we need to help them do that by clearly understanding, or at least having the intention, to understand them and provide them with the tools to help them self-actualize.

I would welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue with anyone who is interested. I?m a big fan and always looking for more millennials who want to be the best they can be.