WorldWide Drilling Resource

18 AUGUST 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Everything changes. Right now, the world seems to be spinning so fast I cannot keep up and like so many generations before me, I long for a simpler time when things just seemed better somehow. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I worry about the future of our ever-connected, fast-forward world. At the Virginia Water Well Association’s Winter Conference, finally someone offered a bit of insight into my dilemma. The conference began with an opening ceremony featuring Demographer Ken Gronbach who studies population trends and makes predictions based on his research. Gronbach’s presentation focused on Generation Y, also known as Millennials. “Generation Y was born in the 20 years between 1985 and 2004 and is currently 11-30 years old... Generation Y is actually bigger than the Baby Boomer generation, born 1945-1964, by over one million. It will easily rival the Boomer generation in consumption and influence,” explained Gronbach. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2015 is the year Baby Boomers will yield the majority of the workforce to Generation Y, representing the largest shift in human capital in history. Over the next 14 years, 10,000 Baby Boomers are expected to retire every day in the U.S. alone. Just as Boomers have revolutionized the world, Generation Y is set to do the same. This enormous group poses a great threat and a great opportunity. “Employers can now hire the best, brightest, and most attractive young labor in twenty years. Will this create management issues? More than you know. We will have three distinct generations in the workplace and they are from different planets. The obvious dif- ference of course is age, but it doesn’t stop there. Cultural issues come into play,” said Gronbach. In the book, Knowing Y: Engage the Next Generation Now , Sarah L. Sladek writes, “...No one seems to be paying any attention... Change is evolving all around us, yet in many ways organizations are still acting like it’s 1989. This is risky business. If we fail to engage the future, we prepare to fail. It’s that simple.” It’s more than just figuring out what to do with “kids these days”. It’s about learning how to engage bright young talent with untold potential waiting to be tapped. What comes to mind when you hear the word “Millennials”? Do you think of a spoiled group of youngsters who lack a strong work ethic, have no grit, are rude and impatient, and definitely don’t understand the real world? Listen to this: “To their deeply worried parents throughout the country, they seem more like dangerously deluded dropouts, candidates for a very sound spanking, and a cram course in civics...” Sound familiar? You may be surprised to learn this quote was written in 1967 about “hippies” (young Baby Boomers) who historian Arnold Toynbee described as “a red warning light for the American way of life.” Once upon a time, long-haired, mini- skirt-wearing young Baby Boomers were blasted by elders who thought they were all headed strait to hell in a handbasket of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll. They were misunderstood by society, and labeled as a generation who probably wouldn’t amount to much. Baby Boomers proved that theory wrong. They stood up for what they be- lieved in, including womens’ rights and civil rights. They lived through the Cold War and fought in Vietnam. No one can deny the influence of their legacy. If we are to learn anything from histo- ry, maybe there’s also more to Millennials than meets the eye. If you’re ready to learn more about Generation Y, don’t miss Getting to Know Y next month. Here’s a preview: “They should supply you with all the truck drivers you will ever need.” ~ Ken Gronbach on Generation Y Do You Know Y? Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® Demographer- Futurist and Generational Marketing Expert Ken Gronbach.