MSP [] MATTSPLAINED [] MSPx

Mocked for their love of avocado toast and artisan everything, as the first Millennials get ready to embrace middle age and middle management, it’s time for them to settle into comfortable khakis and let Gen Z do the heavy lifting.

Hosts: Matt Armitage & Jeff Sandhu
Produced: Jeff Sandhu for BFM89.9

Resources:
https://www.bfm.my 

Excerpt:

Millennials. The generation that everyone loves to hate. But as the artisan food fanatics move towards Middle Age, MSP’s Matt Armitage thinks it’s time to reassess. 

So no cheap jokes about avocado toast today?

• I don’t know - you tell me.
• Identifying the cut-off points for generations is = as we’ve remarked on previous shows - a bit of a fool’s errand. 
• In fact, we did a couple of show a few weeks ago about my Generation C…

Where you laid out the case that generation are meaningless and the coronavirus has put us all in the same ‘bucket’ as you like to say. Are they suddenly more meaningful?

• In the sense that we’re heading back to some semblance of normality in a few lucky countries. 
• Economies reopening. People going back to work. Limited international travel.
• Talk about schools reopening and in some countries they even have. 
• So that shared experience - hopefully - is at or is coming to an end for most of us.
• It will be a shared memory - but it’s good that our experience diverges. 
• No one under the age of 30 wants to hear this covidiot go on about his doomscrolling or coronacation.
• They’re too busy Zumping their latest Corona Bae. 
• That means dumping someone over zoom in case anyone has the wrong idea.

We’ve talked about this before. You’re barred from using what you call ‘Young People Talk’…

• You can’t tell me to shut up any more.
• And that’s the purpose of this episode. 
• When we talk about generations they are often quite loosely defined. 
• In terms of date range. 
• Were the first Millennials born in 79, 81, 83?
• So we’re going to use the Pew Research model - because it’s widely respected and accepted.

Unlike you?

• Gosh. Someone didn’t have his vanilla almond milk on his artisan granola this morning. 
• So Pew defined Millennials as people who were born from 1981 to the end of 1996.
• Odd that - millennials were born in the last millennium. 
• 1980 and under - you’re Gen X like me. Or Boomer if we roll back the mists of time. 
• 97 - you’re Gen Z, digital native or whatever. 
• So, today is a bit of a briefing episode.
• Essentially to welcome Millennials into the world of middle age. 

Somehow that’s a very strange idea…

• The idea that they should be middle aged or that I’m the one welcoming them in?

Neither of those scenarios is ideal…

• Yeah - so over the last few months I’ve had various generational spats with people.
• Mostly the kind of people who call Greta Thunberg a Millennial. 
• And that’s another reason for today’s show - as well as ushering Millennials into the world of khaki pants and beige blouses - 
• It’s to illustrate how irritated the Gen Z-ers are at being lumped in with a bunch of Millennials they see as old people.

Old people. They see me as old people?

• Dude, the next gen, gen Alpha, the ones who are currently sitting at home not getting an education.
• That gen, Gen Alpha thinks Gen Z is old. You and me, we’re just dinosaurs to them. 

Bubbles. Living in them. Working in them. Socialising in them. Travelling in them. Is our future one of hermetically sealed environments? One where the needs of the lucky few are met by an on-demand workforce that never goes home?

Hosts: Matt Armitage & Jeff Sandhu

Produced: Jeff Sandhu for BFM89.9

EPISODE EXCERPT

Usually, when we talk about Bubbles in a business or economic context, there’s usually a negative association. But more recently - from tourism, to sporting events to business - bubbles have taken on a more positive meaning. Here to explain is someone who’s spent most of his life in a bubble, MSP’s Matt Armitage. 

Won’t be the first time you’ve been blowing bubbles on this show…

• I’ll take that to mean you think I’m blowing little bubbles of insight and ingenuity. 

Sure. If that’s what your bubble tells you I mean…

• Hmm. I’m inoculated from negativity today. 
• Your thoughts are but unformed soap suds.
• And simply slide over me.
• But yes, you’re right. When we talk about bubbles it’s often in a negative sense. 
• We talk about them in the sense of speculative markets and economic booms that have outpaced any rational measure of their expansion. 
• And we use the term bubble because it’s something that’s seen as fragile.
• It’s something that we expect to burst imminently. 
• But now we’re reframing the idea of bubbles as something that protects rather than isolates us from reality.
• And we’re seeing that idea being applied to multiple sectors of society as a way to restart economies, give people more freedom of movement and to kick start leisure activities. 

The travel bubble is one that has had a lot of press…

• Yes. There have been a few of these mooted.
• And they’ve thrown some really strange collections of countries together.
• The idea is that countries with low rates of coronavirus cases can form travel corridors with each other.
• In some instances this reopens completely closed borders, or removes those travellers from very onerous travel conditions, like quarantines at both ends. 

Are there any in operation or are they still all being discussed?

• China started a corridor with South Korea in May.
• Singapore launched one about two weeks ago between it and six provinces in China, including Shanghai and Guandong. 
• And it’s currently negotiating to establish corridors with Canada and South Korea.
• New Zealand is set to establish a corridor with Australia any time now.
• The Pacific islands are also lobbying to join the NZ-Aus corridor. 
• We’re seeing business organisations around the world pushing to at least start what companies see as essential business travel. 
• But we’re also seeing increasing pressure to set up these bubbles to facilitate international tourism as well.

It may be emotionally draining, technically challenging and socially isolating, but working from home could turn out to be a secret superpower. One that lowers business costs, boosts productivity and profits and gives employees more freedom, independence and flexibility.

Presented by: Matt Armitage & Jeff Sandhu
Produced by: Jeff Sandhu