I was fortunate enough to be able to listen to a talk presented by John and Nilla Spark during the 2 day Alpha Leadership training program. John and Nilla were intending to attend the Sydney UYMG workshop but they had to be in Western Australia for the Australian Post Regional Franchise Award of the Year. They actually won the award too, so what an amazing effort.
John and Nilla spoke about how combining generations in businesses can be very beneficial if you use the right approach. I could relate to what they had to say, as I am currently working my business with my dad and my 16 year old son and I certainly feel that it is beneficial for me.
Typically, the baby boomers and generation X have more experience than those from generation Y, but the generation Y age group tends to perform better in technical procedures. However there are some other differences.
Generation Y people have been bought up where they want everything now. They have a different mindset to the older generations.
John and Nilla employ generation Y people and they told us that they often had to keep their mouths shut and let the generation Y people do their own thing.
They spoke about an example where 6 or so staff would go out for lunch, leaving only 2 to handle all of the work. It is not the way that John and Nilla would have run the place, but they feel that it is best to let them manage their selves. Generation Y people are very resourceful and can find ways of coping.
Generation Y people do not like to be told what to do. They will often leave a job if they feel that their boss is slightly a dictator.
If you want to get the most out of a generation Y person, then you are best to ask them 2 questions.
- What is important to you?
- Why is that important to you?
Earlier we had played a game with Stephen and Alicia Pierce that showed what type of person we were. There were 4 different categories that were similar to Analytical People, Evaluators, Creative People and Action People.
For a successful business it is best to have all 4 types of people in it. What I have learned here is that it is also beneficial to have varying generations in a business.
5 responses so far ↓
1 Stephen Pierce // Nov 28, 2007 at 10:48 pm
Hey Bryan,
Hats off to John and Nilla! They are truly amazing and their kids John and Lisa are just fabulous = ).
They deserve that award and so much more.
Thanks for acknowledging them.
Stephen
2 Alicia Pierce // Nov 28, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Bryan,
We have a multi-generational company. My mom and dad work with us as does my sister. And we’re all different. I’m the creative, my sister is the evaluator, my dad is analytical and my mom is the action master!
It was so important for us to all see that and acknowledge those strengths.
great post
3 John Stephens // Nov 29, 2007 at 3:39 am
I was fortunate to be able to sit in on the training sessions for the Alpha Group Leaders who helped to make the UYMG convention in Sydney a huge success all round.
It was my intention to help out with menial tasks etc before the event that I attended as a participant. This also gave me the opportunity to meet with my son, Bryan, who lives in Brisbane whilst I live 2 hours flying time away in Adelaide, and spend some valuable time with him.
However, I gained far more than I contributed from the training and the presentations from most of the speakers before the event.
I was most impressed that John and Nilla Spark traveled all the way from Perth just to speak to us before returning to Western Australia to receive an award for their business prowess. Their story, delivered with so much sincerity, was very inspiring, especially in view of the hurdles that they each had to jump.
I was honored to be able to speak to John and Nilla after their presentation, or friendly talk. John willingly helped me by assisting me to consolidate my thinking about a business venture that had been at the back of my mind for several years. And Nilla had no hesitation to help me with information about a common problem that we both shared in the past.
All of the speakers were both talented and friendly but I seemed to resonate most with John and Nilla. This probably had something to do with our age bracket. 🙂
4 Nilla Spark // Nov 29, 2007 at 1:26 pm
THANKYOU so much for your kind words, I feel very humbled by how we have affected you both John & Bryan. It was our absolute pleasure to meet you both and be able to share a little bit of our lives and knowledge with you all. I look forward to one day again meeting with you and spending more time together.
Always know that we are here for you if you need us.
Lots of love Nilla & John xxx
5 Rajesh G // Dec 3, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Yeah different generations in business do make a lot of difference. But it depends on how well we are managing these staffs from different generation. A wise business man will definitely chuck out ways to get the best out of both X & Y Generations.
Even i am a Y generation Guy i can say but i do like mixing with X Generation people which i am proud of !!
Leave a Comment