I am a relatively new sales manager and have several Baby Boomers on my team. What do I need to know about them?

This week, let’s talk about the generation that is closest to my heart – The Boomers.

In 1920, my grandparents immigrated to the United States through Ellis Island along with 17 million other Europeans. They came to the US because they heard that the United States was the land of opportunity and the “Streets were paved with gold.” I heard this statement many times during my childhood

My grandparents settled in Detroit, Michigan and found work on the automotive productions lines that employed thousands of other immigrants. One of my grandfathers worked on a production line for Ford Motor Company and the other worked for DeSoto. (Who remembers DeSoto?) It was hard but honest work. The automotive industry has been good to the family. I think there may even be gasoline in our blood.

Henry Ford was quoted as saying, “ Why is it that every time I ask for a pair of hands, they come with a brain attached.” This was the management mentality of the time.

My father and mother were the product of depression-surviving, hard-working, and stoic parents. My parents were the poster children for the “Greatest Generation”. While my soon-to-be father fought in Word War II, my mother worked in a belt factory waiting for his safe return.

After my father returned from the war, they bought one of the thousands of story-and-a-half bungalows that proliferated Detroit that were made affordable to the returning GI’s. Mom and Dad settled in to have a family.

• 76 million Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.
• We currently represent 28% of the US population.
• Beginning in 2011, ten million Boomers will retire every day.
• By 2015 almost 33% of the workforce will be eligible to retire including 48% of our supervisors.
• We were shaped by Woodstock, JFK, RFK and MLK.
• We may be technologically challenged.

I really get tickled about the technology challenged thing. During my junior year in college, my Father bought me one of the first ever, hand-held, Texas Instruments, TI-35 scientific calculators. They were introduced to the market that year and cost $400 each.

Previously, engineers used slide rules to make our complex scientific calculations. Engineers designed the first lunar landing module using slide rules. The modern slide rule was actually invented in 1630…so give us a break.

• The average tenure for Boomers is 7 years.
• We tend to treat work as a source of stability and security.
• 48% of companies have no strategic plan to deal with Boomer retirement.
• Boomers love having a mission, so companies should provide a strong corporate mission for us to align ourselves with.
• Boomers love having meetings.
• Boomers appreciate personal attention, especially in one-on-one communications.
• We are more likely to use the phone more than any other generation.

Twenty-seven million Boomers said they would never retire. I may be one of them. I’m just having too much fun.

Everyone have a terrific week.

Ken

Ken Lazar, CEO

Ability Professional Network

(614) 403-6079