Look-out Barack, John, and Hillary - your paradigm is shifting...
The daily dose of "political gotcha" reveals the soft underbelly of the paradigm shift that is occurring in the political sphere and in society. Those born between 1965 - 1990 are known as Gen X and Gen Y, or Generation X and Millennials: most will be eligible to vote in November 2008. If they continue to show interest in the election, it is indeed possible that young voters will pick the next president (Jean M. Twenge). Based on an analysis of the generations in the workforce, what can the candidates learn to evaluate their appeal to the "GenMe'ers?"
Together with my colleague, Billie Sucher, I've been preparing a
presentation for the Career Management Alliance later this week. If the
three candidates for President of the USA were in our audience, I'd ask
them to consider the following points:
Values:
- Millennials are likely to care about green policies, volunteerism, and social entrepreneurship, an interesting juxtaposition to their need for approval and self-centeredness. Their Gen X older brothers/sisters are more cynical about institutions and leaders; they want to be at the cutting edge, and are willing to break some rules to achieve their goals - they have been at the vanguard of the "free agent" workforce.
- It may surprise you to learn that McCain and Ron Paul - with their individualistic and libertarian messages, have been well received by younger voters, along with Barack Obama. Hillary Clinton's promise to return to the "peace and prosperity" of the 90's, is suspect and less appealing to this demographic.
Clashpoints:
- Traditionalists, those born before 1945, believe that things get done right through Chain of Command. Boomers agitate for Change of Command - a chance to become the leaders; Generation X prefer Self-Command - free agency, while Millennials expect NO Command - they want to collaborate.
- Clearly John McCain represents the best of the chain of command philosophy, but respect doesn't necessarily mean support. While Boomers may believe their efforts to change the world in the 1960's and 1970's qualifies them for acceptance by their children, the fact is, most Boomers didn't tune-in and drop-out - they tuned-out and gave-up. Collaboration is a new style that is promoted by the Brand called Obama - whether it can withstand the politics of "gotcha" remains to be seen...
Paradigm Shift:
- The Golden Rule, that most of us accepted while growing up, calls for us to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It assumes that we are homogeneous; it is a product of the "Melting Pot."
- The Titanium Rule, which many GenMe'ers subscribe to, calls for us to "Do unto others, keeping their preferences in-mind." This assumes that we are diverse; it is a product of the uni-cultural or trans-cultural point of view, a perspective that is supported by the demographic changes occurring in the USA.
Mrs. Clinton, Mr. McCain, Mr. Obama - hope to meet you in Minneapolis so we can help you "Mind the Gap."
