By Maureen Renzi, Vice President - Communications
As a communicator, I’ve done a fair amount of research on intergenerational issues. I know lots about the traits of the boomers and generation X’s and Y’s. I won’t say it keeps me up at night, but I have wondered how the next generation will be coined? What will happen when we get to the end of the alphabet? How would it feel to be Generation Z? Sounds sleepy to me zzzzzzzzz.
No worries.
Neilson has skipped over “Z” as well as “A” and “B” and moved right on to Generation C. It coined the term
Generation C to describe Americans 18-35 because they are so connected. I think it’s going to catch on, and we need to have business models that adjust to the connected generation.
I know! Those of us in the Boomer Generation don’t want to adjust. We paid our dues. The Silent Generation (those that came before us) didn’t adjust – we did. But things have changed… no, let’s strike that. Everything has changed: how we work, how we plan our days, how we plan our trips, how we communicate, and how quickly we expect a response. We are so much more connected. With this expectation of quick access, the lines of authority and communication get blurred. We all have to stay connected, and learn from Generation C. Do you and your colleagues know what you can and cannot say? Is there a protocol that needs to be thrown out the window? Is a less structured protocol needed?
A few weeks ago, the PICPA developed a “What I Really Do” poster. I had seen a few of these floating around, including one about PR. Jenna Batchelor, our online communications editor (and Generation C member) saw it and said, “We should do one for CPAs.” I agreed, and I immediately started thinking about setting up a meeting, getting some people together to brainstorm, look for photos, and get it up on
Facebook in a week. Wrong! Jenna talked to a few people, found the template, branded it with the PICPA and got it on our Facebook page by lunch.Within five days, it was a viral success! We had more than 1,000 likes, 700 shares, and over 2,000 views of our funny little poster. It was shared by the AICPA and other state societies. If we did it the boomer way, we may have missed the opportunity. Someone else may have gotten the poster together more quickly, but of course, it would not have been as funny as ours.
So, it was a quick-and-easy project that engaged members by allowing them to enjoy poking some fun at themselves, and take a break from the rigors of tax season. All these connected people (as well as the boomers, X’s and Y’s) enjoyed the break. Think about this as Generation C joins us as colleagues, customers, and clients. They are connected, and they expect quick response. Are you nimble enough to keep them happy with your current business model?
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