Busted Myths: The Next Generations

I love the show Myth Busters but this myth busting is a bit more practical. My daily dose of Fast Company arrived in my box today with the headline: Retaining Younger Workers. A bit of deja-vu for us clergy folks in the UMC. But this is nothing new, business has been watching this trend for a while. Yet both in the church and the business world, we're often slow to catch up to what is going on.

Fast Company's article busts four myths. They are consistent with the myths I've read and observed in When Generations Collide and Generations at Work.

The Myths:
Myth: Younger generations have no work ethic.
Myth: They don't want to put in the hours to get ahead.
Myth: They have no respect for authority.
Myth: They don't want to grow up.

I was talking with a dad whose son is new to scouting last night. I was telling him about how much Scouts had changed. I've been worried about that the last few years but it occurred to me as I read this article, the Boy Scouts of America has been ahead of the trend. They recognized the generations had changed, and they've been doing it for a hundred years. I'm doing things with the Scouts in my den we'd never have done 20 years ago - and that is great!

If you take these findings as somehow a critique on older generations, don't. This isn't the point. It is an opportunity to get to know my generation and the generations coming up. Myths need to be busted and generations need to be led. Are you up for the task?



May I Ask: Have you ever had a myth busted for you? How did it change your behavior?
May I Suggest: Read Fast Company's article. Spend some time observing the generations around you. Make notes and then make a difference! Share here what you observed!