I can totally relate to the jumper above. Entering 2018 feels like making a crazy leap into an unknown future where things keep changing fast.
Disruption is the new normal. Maybe like me you often wonder what will happen next. If so, there's good news.
The question that unlocks the future is not “What will happen next?”
Ask instead, “WHO will happen next?”
Who is positioned to bring new and timely innovation to your company? Who is reshaping market tastes and expectations for your products, your information or your services even as you read this sentence? As we peer into the future, who can see furthest? The answer is always this same. Next Generations.
Today’s Millennials and Gen Zs—yes, all those hipsters, digital natives, entrepreneurs, coders, young parents, Pinterest fans and DIYers—can can see further ahead than anybody else right now. In 2018, you can extend your vision into the future by working with them as associates, colleagues and partners, by making them your peers and your peeps.
Peers and Peeps
A few years ago when my life was severely disrupted by a divorce, death in the family and illness, a friend took me aside and told me I’d be OK. How did she know this? “You have your peeps,” she said. She meant that I had people who could help me. That was a life lesson for me—to be willing to lean on people positioned to assist. And in the context of work and business, it’s a lesson too.
As change accelerates, we all need our peeps. Most of all, we need people who don’t look like us or think like us. We need the insight and innovation that can come only from other generations.
Amy Lynch is an author, speaker and consultant about generations in the workplace and marketplace. Contact her about your next event.