7 Words Millennials Never Understand
These words are used in business but sometimes lead to
some serious confusion.
There's a big
misunderstanding with Millennials. Most of the
confusion is caused by not properly defining a few important work terms. Here
are seven to keep in mind.
1. Now
Now
means now in most office settings. But
for Millennials, it usually means when you are ready on your own time or done
with a project or task. When we track everything in microseconds, there is no now, right? Well, if
you run a company, there is always a now. If you need to meet urgently, make
sure people under 34 understand you mean right now.
2. Meeting
If you say
"let's have a meeting" to a Millennial, they might not get it. Do you
mean Skype, or instant message, or even Slack? Maybe it's a phone call? There's
no way you mean in-person because that's barely a thing anymore. However, the
word "meeting" is important because it means you want to communicate
about something. You should define "meeting" as important
face-to-face communication one on one or in a group.
3. Office
You can't
really ask a Millennial to meet in the office. It doesn't exist. To a
Millennial, an office is where you have a laptop and a cup of coffee. It
doesn't means your place of work. Yet, using the word "office" helps
in business because there is a place to work. It's usually the place where you send the
checks for your lease and where everyone else goes to work.
4. Friend
Facebook
has ruined the word "friend" forever. It doesn't have the same
meaning to Millennials. It's more of a social media connection and less of a
supportive, caring individual. However, in a work context, encouraging real
friendships--not the virtual kind--is a good idea. It might mean being clearer
about what you mean by a true friend..
5. Boss
Millennials
see the word "boss" as outdated. Are you kidding? A boss? They report
to a team leader or to no one in particular-they answer to fellow employees or
just to the person in charge of their project for that week. That's not going
to work in most businesses, though. Most companies have an org structure. For
clear communication, there needs to be a boss who directs employees.
6. Process
A business
process is not a bad thing. It's an agreement about how to work effectively.
Millennials usually balk at the word and view it as a negative. They can't seem
to adjust to the fact that "doing things my way" often goes against
the direction of the team. It's OK to let everyone know that a process is
something valuable.
7. Mission
In a startup,
a mission is a unifying message that creates value. Millennials view the word
as a higher calling that may or may not have anything to do with work. It's
important to define it in the context of business and not let a personal
mission interfere.
BY JOHN
BRANDON
http://www.inc.com/john-brandon/7-words-millennials-always-misunderstand.html?cid=em01014week47a
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