You're Not Going to
Convince Gen Z of Anything.
Their minds are warped
by the world they inherited. Instead, lead by doing, and making them feel
connected to the other humans on your team.
BY HOWARD TULLMAN, GENERAL
MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH INVESTORS@HOWARDTULLMAN1
These
are tough times for entrepreneurs because we're trying to educate and integrate
a brand-new wave of Gen Z team members into our companies and our corporate
cultures who (a) have never had a job before, never mind worked for a startup;
(b) may have never set foot in our current and shrinking places of business
(and may never do so); and (c) who -- worst of all -- have spent the last
decade in a truth-free and hostile environment where all the core beliefs,
values, and institutions that underpin our lives and our businesses have come
under constant attack.
After
decades of helicoptering parents, social promotion, and participation trophies,
followed by years of aggressive academic indoctrination into the evils of
capitalism and the soul-crushing ills of hard work and meritocracy, they've
been instructed to follow their own bliss and bring their whole self into every
equation and context. They believe they're doing us a favor if they deign to
join our organizations. No wonder you could come to believe quite readily that
you were speaking an entirely different language to these folks.
Trying
to find and share the right words and messages for this sorely jaundiced crowd
(with chips on both shoulders) isn't easy. You sometimes feel like you've got a
mouthful of paste and nothing meaningful to say. Spoiler alert: the answer may
be more in doing rather than saying, if there is an answer. What
you do and how you do it says much more about what you value than anything and
everything you might say.
Telling
newbies about the right way to do business, how fairness is a two-sided
measure, and how you expect them to treat customers, clients and even
competitors carefully and respectfully is quite a task when the default
response to every statement is criticism and cynicism. Not, mind you,
simply because they're bad people or had horrible parents and teachers, but
because they've also been overexposed to reports of bad behavior, hypocritical schemes,
and flat-out crimes, which get delivered to their devices all day long. And to
be clear, often the frauds and criminals foisting their lies on the unsuspected
and naïve public are at the same time being touted by the media rather than
chastised and condemned. As a result, we're increasingly having to train employees
for whom there's no such thing as truth, fact, or objective morality.
Everything out there is up for grabs and debate. Force, not facts, drives the
discussions. The louder the lie, the more likely it is to be believed.
Of
course, there's plenty of blame for the situation to spread around. The idiots
who have been elected to Congress put on a daily performative show of their
prejudices and evil intentions and then rush to a complacent, co-opted, and
pathetically needy set of flacks and media mouthpieces who -- in the
self-serving belief of both sides-ism -- promote and amplify their lies, fake
investigations, and invented disclosures. And don't even get me started on the
problems with the perverts and charlatans who are arrested weekly in churches
all across the country.
Sadly,
the courts which we once believed were the ultimate moral backstops and
constitutional guide rails are now also part of the problem. Our highest court
is a shambles of financially and politically corrupt judges: we've
watched two Supreme Court seats stolen by Mitch McConnell and filled with
justices who lied directly and repeatedly to Congress during their
confirmations. We've seen Clarence Thomas, among others on the Court, being
unethically and illegally fed, flown, funded, and feted by manipulative
billionaires. We've watched hack MAGA district court judges make absurd and
patently improper rulings without warrant, reason, or even jurisdiction. And
we've waited for years to see any semblance of justice meted out for the Orange
Monster, his minions, and co-conspirators.
So, in
the frightening face of so much despair and incoming negativity, what can you
do within your own business and with your own people to make a difference. Here
are three suggestions.
(1) Save
your breath
All
the old traditional messages about work, faith, hope, charity, just don't mean
much any longer. Lectures, lessons, and prayers all roll off these kids like
water off a duck's back. They've got Teflon shields to ward off all your
stories about leaders, heroes, and unselfish warriors; and they've got a
million counter examples to prove the opposite. All the emperors of our youth
have no clothes; they have clay feet, hidden bank accounts and a list of lies
and broken promises a mile long. There just aren't any external role models
worth citing. Truth, loyalty, commitment and even passion these days are just
empty phrases with no apparent connection to their lives or futures. The
solution needs to come from inside your organization.
(2)
Roll your own
Looking
elsewhere for solutions or answers is nowhere near as effective as looking
deeply inside your own shop. You're seeking connection and engagement --
something that starts to help bind all of your people and your business into a
greater organic whole. Ultimately creating a place where people want to be
along with a purpose that's important to them. But that's not where things
start. People commit to other people, not to companies or institutions. That's
especially true today when, as Elvis Costello said, we're all just looking for
a little peace, love and understanding in a crazy world. The best strategy is
to make your people appreciate that they're doing it for each other. These are
the people, apart from their families, that should and likely do matter the
most to them and the ones they don't want to disappoint or let down. We each
want to be heard, helped, and hugged in varying degrees and it's the people in
the trenches beside you every single day who best understand that and who are
the most likely to help provide it.
(3)
Do something now
Every
business is in a position to make a difference -- it's just a matter of degree.
If you can't commit to something big, commit to something small, but put your
whole heart into it. Chicago just had huge rainstorms, floods, and tornadoes
(as did half the country) and hundreds of homes were badly damaged with their
occupants displaced. The way back won't be easy, but one of the first
requirements is a secure place to store the stuff that wasn't ruined. Five
U-Haul stores in Chicago decided to immediately offer 30 days of free use of
their U-Box portable storage containers to anyone who needed them to safely
store their property. That's not a huge thing, but it's a demonstration of
commitment, community, and care that resonates far beyond the gesture. It
says something about the nameless and often underappreciated people who work at
these outlets and the kind of businesses they're building.
Bottom
line: Even a simple example, a basic gesture, makes a far greater impression on
your people than all the fancy speeches and presentations. Lending others a
helping hand is a great way to build your own team and culture as well. We
can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.