Hi to All:
I know, I know -- it's been a really long time since I posted. It's not that I have not had anything to say (I've got plenty), but like all of you, time is just crammed full of lots of opportunities to explore and challenges to be overcome. Enough of my excuse making and onto the subject of today's post. So, for the past few months I have been having a ball going to breakfast and lunch with many of the staff that I don't get to spend much time with very often. These have been fun meal times for me and so far, the staff members I have dined with have not run out of the restaurant screaming "Don't ever call me again" so I take that as a good sign. Seriously, I have learned something useful from all of the lunches and breakfasts (including some really cool restaurants that I had either never been to or had not visited in a long time). Most people really love their jobs, are energized by the people they get to work with each day and are proud to work for BJC HealthCare.
In my last lunch experience (which was about ten days ago), I experienced a first hand teachable moment with respect to generational difference. There were four of us at lunch, with me as a baby boomer being the oldest by a good margin. One of lunchers was part of the baby boomlet, another a GenX'r and another a GenY. (I know that boomletters and Gen Xers are sometimes used interchangeably, but there is a slight difference). We were discussing the passing of Les Paul and the conversation went like this: Me -- I heard on NPR that Les Paul died. Boomletter -- Yea, I saw it online. Gen X'r: I got a Tweat about it. Gen Y'r -- Who's Les Paul?
I absolutely LOVED this exchange (of course since it was almost two weeks ago, my memory may be a little fuzzy, but you get the idea.). This kind of reminder of generational difference is especially helpful in some of the work that we are engaged in now. Understanding how people receive and share information is critical for those of us in the business of communicating. What I learned at this lunch is that sooner rather than later, we have all got to embrace new technologies and methods of exchanging information. When I was a younger boomer, that was much easier. I moved seamlessly from vinyl to 8 track to cassette to cd. However, those changes were not as hard to navigate. I admit to having not Twittered, to only going on my Facebook page to accept a new friend (and only if it is someone I know) and I continue to get some of the names wrong -- it's rss feed, right?
I am determined to try to carve out time to get more knowledgeable about this new world of information. After all, at some point in time it is likely to be the only way I will be able to communicate with those grandchildren to come. While that is not happening anytime soon, as an empty nester of 3 days now, I know those days are coming! So thanks to my Boomlet, GenX and Gen Y companions for a memorable Lunch and Learn.
J
