Non Sequitur – So relevant it hurts!

Where do I begin…

First, the McDonald's issue isn't about hot coffee. It's about serving
coffee that was so hot that the victim–yes, I said victim–suffered third degree burns, was hospitalized for 8 days, and had to undergo skin grafts. The victim asked McDonald's for $20,000–hosptial costs, essentially. McDonalds's refused–thus, the law suit.

We also know that McDonald's knew they were making their coffee with excessively scalding hot water. Indeed, Prior to the suit, McDonald's had 700 claims by it's customers who were burned by the coffee. McDonald's knew they were wrong, didn't fix the problem, continued to serve excessively hot coffee and finally someone called them on it.
Don't get me started on tobacco companies whose execs lie about their product, add ingredients to make it even more addictive and market their product to children. Sorry, you make a dangerous product, lie about it, make it more addictive than ever, you deserve a spanking.

Let's talk about corporate responsibility and the people that fight companies who do bad things.
Yes, many are baby boomers. They fought for the environment, they fought against a war that made no sense, fought for better safety standards, they fought against corrupt politicians and corrupt businesses, created all this great technology we love so much, and listened to/created the greatest rock n roll in the world (had to mention the last part).

Are the baby boomers perfect? HELL NO! And, yes, we could use a break from ourselves, but I'm not at all embarrassed about/by us.

And, as a parent of GenY children, I have all the confidence in that generation (and GenX) to make this an even better world.

Wow …

It's a great post, Mark. Thanks for the reminder about responsibility.

What a relevant post to our generation. Kudos Mark.

I couldn't be in more agreement with your call for us to take responsibility. I have now put together the dots as to why I connect so well with baby boomers both in interviews and in the workplace. I have always been humble, hardworking, overly critical of myself, and a fiend for feedback.

I find that a lot of Gen. X and Y'ers that I have interviewed with, unfortunately, don't seem to care whether I'm future-oriented or that I want meaningful work. They seem to be more interested in my knowledge of something and whether I can prove it or not. Are we, perhaps, becoming skeptical of ourselves as a generation? Maybe too much knowledge and confidence has eroded our very foundation. And this is causing us to hold people to double standards.

Whatever it is, it is too early to say. I have hope though, that more of the our generation's managers and leaders will begin to embrace, and pro-actively show these ideals. 'Recruit or Die,' is an excellent example of forward progress. We seem to have hit some rocky roads during this transition. Just like anything else, it's about blending the old and the new and coming up with something better than before. Mark, thanks for reminding me to learn, and appreciate these concepts. We do not 'know it all' and it is not entitlement, but debt to the baby boomer's, that we owe our opportunities to.

Tim,

I appreciate your comments but don't agree. That is what is great about all of this. We can have different opinions.

Hot means hot.

You can die of cancer means you can die of cancer. You choose to buy the stuff if you want.

If they speed limit is 70 mph and you go 110 and wreck your car, it is not the car manufacturer's fault.

Just my thoughts . . .

Jacqui,

Thanks.

David,

Went to your blog. Great stuff. I can't believe you worry about your investments yet. Your parents must have read "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". Loved you post on the wedding, too.

The great news is that many of the people you will interview with in the upcoming years are boomers who will embrace your ideals. You are already discovering the secret to success for interviews – understand your audience!!! Wonderful insite, David!

Valpak Mark

[...] controversial blog posted to Employee Evolution is sure to spark some fiery water cooler conversations, and ultimately cause us to re-evaluate our [...]

Its obivous why Mark is the director of sales. He invokes deep thought towards the global marketplace initiative. I bet Valpak is very honored to have someone like Mark to work for them. Good Job Guys!

thanks for the GREAT post! Very useful…

I've just recently had a child and I intend to bring him up the best way possible, thanks for the informative post.

As I child I've never relied on teachers much, I was more of a self-study type, hopefully my child will be the same.

The difference between Gen y and the Boomers is hard to define. At my last job, I was working with three women from the Boomer generation, and it was very difficult for us to work together. I'm about efficiency, they were about thoroughness. They constantly struggled with technology; I got bogged down being tech support.

Often in my house, you hear the phrase, "Dammit, if the Boomers would just retire already!" From our perspective, Boomers do take credit for the work of their underlings (Gen Y, often), and we get stuck with just more work. They make plenty of money which makes entry level salaries ridiculously low. Often they forget being a starving new college grad and throw you into the catch-22 of "you don't have any experience, so I can't hire you." Of course if no one hires you, you get no experience.

I personally can't wait for the boomers to retire, and hopefully then, I'll have more job opportunities.

Kate,

Be kind. The first boomers are just turning 62 and eligible for Social Security.

Let me give you a different perspective. I'm just 53. I don't think the "you don't have any experience so I can't hire you" is any different today than it was in 1976. I heard it then. A lot! The only way to get anywhere was starting at the bottom and working your way up.

I remember my first "career" job. Management Trainee at General Finance. I was married. A baby on the way. My salary was $104 a week – and of course I had to work overtime to get the job done. Salary – not hourly. The "plenty of money" being made now, in my opinion, is only due to 30+ years of working hard. Again, Kate, just my opinion.

Finally, I couldn't agree more with you about technology. I am God awful – but good enough to get the job done. I do see, however, many sales reps in our organization who are boomers who have no desire to even learn e-mail. Sad. Thank God we have you to be our mentors!