From Boomers To Bloggers: Success Strategies Across Generations »

From Boomers to Bloggers offers critical information that will help both individuals and organizations achieve success across generations. Taking time to find common ground can only enhance relationships and company productivity. That common ground can often be found through focusing on the company's vision and mission. When organizations create a space where the strengths of each generation can flourish and are aligned with the vision and mission, they meet with success beyond comprehension.

Laurence Washington Business Journal

Author Misti Burmeister, by her own account, bolted out of college with her career guns blazing, jumping into her first job intent on making an impact. She met the stiff arm of resistance from an entrenched baby boomer, frequently referred to as a "seasoned professional" in the book.

Burmeister did not last long there. So she spent several months doing informational interviews with employers. Those experiences helped her conclude that miscues between generations are killing productivity and careers.

Like most smart chief executive officers, she found a need in the marketplace and started a company, consulting business Inspirion Inc., to boost productivity through improved communication across generations.

Boomers to Bloggers offers tips to help boomers, Xers and Yers get what they want from their careers while helping their employers and peers achieve their goals.
&3151;Timothy Burn

FOREWORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VI
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VII
CHAPTER ONE: "How do I . . . ?". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Productivity and Teamwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CHAPTER TWO: "Five Shifts to Common Understanding" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
CHAPTER THREE: Building Credibility/Creating a Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
With a Career Plan Comes Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
CHAPTER FOUR: Creating a Learning Relationship. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Creating a Learning Environment - A True Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
CHAPTER FIVE: Creating a Common Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appreciation of the Past, Preparing for the Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
What Are Vision /Mission? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Why create a vision/mission? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Who should create the vision/mission?. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Tips on creating a vision/mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
How do you contribute to your organization's vision/mission? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
CHAPTER SIX: Accountability for Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Staying Focused . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
CHAPTER SEVEN: Acceptable Risk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
CHAPTER EIGHT: Create a Sense of Community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
CHAPTER NINE: Leading Across Generations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Awareness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Understanding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
When a Leader Takes an Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Embrace Differences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Get Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Get into Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
CHAPTER TEN: The Benefit of Rotational Internship Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
An Award-Winning Internship Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
CHAPTER ELEVEN: The Win-Win of Mentorship Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
CHAPTER TWELVE: Promoting and Receiving Cross-Generational Mentoring. . . . . 101
An Award-Winning Cross Generational
Mentorship Program and Promoting a Culture Shift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Personal Success for Seasoned Professionals . . . . . . . . . . 109
Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Informational Interviews /Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Brag - Be clear, specific and targeted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Locate Sponsors/Mentors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
APPENDEX A: Suggested Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
APPENDEX B: Networking Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129