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Harnessing the Millennial Spirit

It turns out that Millennial staff are not your problem, but the way you are managing them may be.

We have heard all the rumors about this generation: Lazy. Self-absorbed. Entitled. But talk to Millennials—at least some of our “10 Under 30” profilees from the past few seasons— and they dispel many of those notions. We surveyed our 10 Under 30 group and asked, “What do you want from your job?” You can see the answers below.

We then asked a handful of Millennials to engage us in a frank follow-up conversation, in a format they felt comfortable with: Google Hangouts. No, I wasn’t familiar with this, either. Think online group text messaging.

The dialogue was fascinating and incredibly informative. When we asked what trait they have that older generations lack, the response was a resounding “Flexibility.” Their ease and ability to move and adapt in a high tech world, which often looks like ADD to some of us, makes them ideally suited to the changes coming at us from many different directions. You can read more about this in “The Future Is Now,” page 38.

These passionate players are your opportunity to embrace, mentor, and lead a group who are eager to show us some creative ways through change. Maybe it’s time to invite them to the table, as on this month’s cover. You might want to read “Meetings that Work” first, though, on page 47.

We’ll do our part, too. SAM has been committed to our future leaders for the past 19 years through our SAMMY Awards program. We have spotlighted even younger talent with our 10 Under 30 profiles, which we launched 10 years ago. To ramp it up, we plan to host a Google Hangouts chat each month, and we invite everyone, Millennials to the Greatest Generation, to join the conversation. Stay tuned for more details, or email me at olivia@saminfo.com with comments, suggestions, or questions.