Are Millennials Really a Thing?

Featured Guests:

Libby Mustaine - Professor of Sociology

Chris Leo - Lecturer, Integrated Business

Bill Steiger - Associate Instructor of Marketing; Instructor & Coordinator, Professional Selling Program

Bob Danna - Retired Managing Director, Deloitte

Episode Transcription:

Paul Jarley:                         Some say they're the result of failed parenting strategies. Others say they're addicted to their phones, narcissistic, and entitled. The Western Michigan Whitecaps celebrated them by giving the first thousand people to come watch the team's baseball game a participation trophy.

Whitecaps Fan:                 Oh, you know, we just really want a participation trophy.

Whitecaps Fan 2:             Yeah.

Whitecaps Fan:                 It's been a long week of hard work and-

Whitecaps Fan 2:             We really earned it.

Whitecaps Fan:                 I feel like we really deserve something.

Paul Jarley:                         They job hop, have no loyalty, and want to have an impact, yet their greatest invention just might be selfie. Consultants everywhere just can't stop talking about them. Millennials want you to think they're special, but maybe, just maybe, they're just like the rest of us.

Paul Jarley:                         This show is all about separating hype from fundamental change. I'm Paul Jarley, Dean of the College of Business here at UCF. I've got lots of questions. To get answers, I'm talking to people with interesting insights into the future of business. Have you ever wondered, "Is this really a thing?" On to our show.

Paul Jarley:                         Like all data-driven decision makers, I'm sensitive to the differences in my staff's dispositions when assigning them tasks. A few examples. Tiffany is an Aries like me. Anyone that knows Tiff recognizes that she needs to be in a leadership position to satisfy her need for control.

Tiffany Hughes:                I believe I'm tough. I believe I can negotiate extremely well.

Paul Jarley:                         But if Tiff is an Aries, she's also cold-hearted, reckless, and ruthless.

Tiffany Hughes:                Oh, my heavens, no. I hope not.

Paul Jarley:                         And then there's the Aries' legendary ability to deliver bad news.

Tiffany Hughes:                Every day I try to look for the sunshine.

Paul Jarley:                         Yeah, not her. My Associate Dean of Learning, Foard Jones, is a Libra. Like all Libras, he's extremely intellectual and needs a job that is mentally stimulating. Libras are excellent networkers and take a look at every aspect of the job before completing it. But if Foard's a Libra, that should also mean he's resentful, overindulgent, spiteful, indecisive, and gullible.

Foard Jones:                      At times, but most of the times, no. [laughs]

Paul Jarley:                         That doesn't sound like Foard. Libras sound more like Catbert, the evil HR manager from Gilbert. Good thing I took Foard out of that role. That sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? No one in their right mind would assign people jobs based on their astrological sign. I don't know a single reputable management consultant that argues we need to tailor our company HR policies and people's roles to their birth month. But I do know a ton that say we should vary these same policies based on people's birth year.

Paul Jarley:                         They say things like this.

Bob Danna:                         One of the things that we've teased out is that diversity and flexibility are the key to loyalty. The younger workers, the younger of the millennials feel that they are unprepared for industry 4.0.