Understanding a Generation, Means You Understand What Molded Them During the Time in Which They Grew Up!
WHO YOU ARE IS WHAT YOU WERE WHEN!
In order to lead, coach, and influence the Traditional Generation, you have to know about who they were when! When they were in their formative years growing up. This time is during their most impressionable years, the time in which they developed the values by which they would rule the rest of their lives.
As a Business Coach, it is my responsibility to discover what motivates my clients. To understand this dimension of them, means I have to have a working knowledge regarding what makes them tick. And I made a wonderful discovery this past year. I found out that the best source for almost any body of information is YouTube! That’s right,that is exactly what I said, YouTube. And I’ll prove it here in this post. I learned that you can find powerful, condensed, brief and amazing, to the point snippets of stunning information and tutorials on YouTube, regarding almost any subject you could possibly come up with. This has revolutionized how I research almost any topic! And besides, it’s just plain FUN! Being profoundly kin-esthetic, I have to utilize every modality to stay engaged. To prove my point, here’s a wonderful video during the formative years the Traditional Generation, and once you’ve watched this, for your watching pleasure, they will suggest other videos along the same topic Enjoy!
How to Understand, Work with, Train and Coach the Traditional Generation (67 yrs. old to 80 Something)
Those if the Traditional Generation are Those That Were Born Between 1900 to 1945. Understanding and Appreciating Them Will Transform You!
Hopefully when you see what molded them into the way they are, so you’ll develop a fresh respect that will elevate how you work with them! Looking back at my last post, you can see what the Traditional Generation values, and why. This Generation is a perfect example of how our history and circumstances shape us. Having experienced two world wars and the Great Depression, it just makes sense that they are disciplined in every respect, especially with money, as it was so scarce. They experienced first hand, what “Here today and gone tomorrow” does to your perspective. It also explains their reticence to spend anything at all. Something that as a child, drove me crazy! Instead, they genuinely place a high value on “Saving for a rainy day”, along with “Waste not want not”! When I have the opportunity to do Business Coaching, I always recommend a company add this generation to the work mix, as they will bring a stability to the organization like none other!
WHAT THE TRADITIONAL GENERATION VALUES, WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THEM:
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Value R.E.S.P.E.C.T. and manners – please and thank you are paramount
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Have a desire to leave a legacy
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Believe that one has to earn respect, even earn ones position at work by starting at the bottom, as they did, doing menial things, paying ones dues you could say, while working ones way up through the ranks and organization
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Are fiercely patriotic
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Learned the purpose of the chain-of-command during war time, taking it with them into the corporate world. In their world, you don’t question authority!
THE BEST WAYS TO WORK WITH TRADITIONAL GENERATION ARE TO:
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Appreciate their stability, loyalty, dedication and hard work
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Utilize their expertise and knowledge by allowing them to mentor and train, especially the Millennial Generation, who are reverting to the Traditional Generation’s values, and love being trained by them.
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Assist them with technology either when they want to lean, or absolutely must learn.
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Allow them to share their experiences and history as a resource
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Be patient, make sure your have reasonable expectations
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Give them time to adapt to new ideas. Show them the benefits of change, they won’t ask
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Respect their “values”, of “rules”, “authority”. They want to know who’s in charge, and to whom they should report.
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Provide them with a detailed explanation of their role
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Give them work that shows they can still make a difference
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Keep your focus on their experience and legacy
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Provide them with opportunities to network and represent your company in the community
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Give them an opportunity to pace themselves, without shame, as necessary
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They are most comfortable with learning through the “lecture” mode
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Provide them aids in remembering important information and processes
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Be aware and careful of using jargon they won’t understand, or at least translate for when necessary.
Lastly, as with all generations,to influence and lead them, first look for the best in them. Make sure you express your appreciation, and they’ll be loyal to the end! As with everything, we need them to bring us balance, and a different perspective. We need them, and they need us. Here’s to you Dad and Mom, Dr. William D. Barnes and Betsy Barnes, some of the very best of this generation!
Your Coaching Application: Find someone you know of this generation and find something to appreciate and compliment them about. Watch their response, and then write below how this information caused you to now see them differently.
Working With Others Requires We Gain Generational Intelligence!
HOW YOU SEE: FAMILY LIFE, RELIGION, LEISURE TIME, AND YOUR WORK ARE ALL SHAPED BY THE DAY AND AGE IN WHICH YOU GREW UP!
When I discovered GENERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE, I knew I had stumbled upon a tool as profound and enlightening as the day I discovered Behavioral Styles. An understanding of this information has transformed not only how I view people, but has had a profound impact on how I work with and coach clients. Learning about Generational Cohorts is similar to learning a new language. This skill-set takes practice to learn and implement. My intent, over the next few weeks, is to spark your intrigue, so you will hopefully want to learn more. As a Business Coach, this is one of the issues creating conflict in the workplace, now learn why!
Along with genetics, behavioral styles, modality, birth order, our generational makeup is at the forefront of how we see the world, view our circumstances, and live out what we value most. We were molded, to a large degree, by the events and conditions we experienced during the formative years of our lives.
A Generational Cohort is Made Up Those Who Share in:
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A Similar History
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Beliefs, Values
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Like-minded Attitudes, and Culture
The number one mistake most people make is to think that the other generations must view things, understand things, and think things, like …well like we do. Different doesn’t mean wrong, just different!
Let’s first look at the TRADITIONAL GENERATION, and some of what makes them who they are first!
A FEW PEOPLE who shaped the culture of this generation:
Franklin Delano Roosevelt John Wayne Bob Hope
Joe DiMaggio Duke Ellington Babe Ruth
Dr. Spock (not Star Trek) Marilyn Monroe Katherine Hepburn
A FEW PLACES that shaped the culture of this generation:
Pearl Harbor Normandy Iwo Jima
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Bay of Pigs Midway
Dance Clubs Where you lived, N or S
SOME CENTRAL EVENTS that shaped their future views on almost everything:
WWI & WWII The “A” Bomb Prohibition
The Great Depression The Roaring 20′s Tent Revivals
The New Deal
Look back on the above information about the Traditional Generation, answering these questions in the reply post below regarding.
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Why are they fiercely loyal regarding our country and their family?
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How do you think they view authority? Why was it important to obey without questioning?
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Why were these slogans part of their make-up? ”Waste not, want not” and “A penny earned, is a penny saved.” and part of their very makeup?
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Looking over their lives above (with this limited information) can you see what they would value at work? Explain your answer.
These are the cliff notes of a full-day workshop Sue delivers as a speaker or trainer. Although the information is limited, I hope you receive the gist of this post. It won’t be long before this generation won’t be with us in the work place. While they’re still with us, what could we do to value them, and accommodate their specific needs? Something to seriously consider and implement!
How to Conduct a Check-up On Your Marketing Strategies for 2012
Recently, as a Business Coach, I’ve been conducting client strategy and new client discovery sessions to assess the effectiveness of their business marketing strategies. We are then creating a relevant action plan that is applicable and exciting for 2012. Of course, this is an on-going process that isn’t static, but living, therefore requiring continuous assessing, tweaking, learning, planning, and readjusting. Here are some of the questions you should be working through as you determine how 2011 went for you. Then take the time to determine how you want 2012 to unfold regarding your marketing plan. Start here:
What was your customer acquisition goal for 2011?______
What percentage of customers did you retain?______
What percentage of customers did you lose?______
How many total customers do you have?______
How many of them were thrilled with your services? ______
Satisfied?________
Unhappy?________
How many new customers were acquired in 2012? ________
What percentage of new growth is this? ________
Where did they come from, what percentage came from which marketing strategy:
Personal contact? ________
Networking Event? ________
Social Media?________
Print? ________
Ezine?________
Because of a referral? ________
Where did the majority of these new orders come from?
Within your city? ________
Another state? ________
What percentage of returning customers re-ordered? ________
How often did you drop by, call, follow-up to receive
these returning orders?________
How many” touches” did it require for the order? ________
What form of touch worked best? Percentage from:
Personal contact? ________
Social Media? ________
Print? ________
Ezine? ________
What percentage of customers come from your
target market? ________
What other industries land in your top 20% revenue? ________
How many new customers make up your top 20% ________
of your revenue?
How many returning customers make up your top 20%
of your revenue? ________
What other industries land in your top 20% revenue? ________
What strategies do you employ to follow-up with new and existing customers?
Do this kind of assessment, and I guarantee you’ll be astounded at what you discover. With a few of my clients doing this process in January, they already not only discovered that 80% of their revenue in 2011 came from only 20% of their clientele, it was amazing to see that statistically they’re absolutely typical! The value of this information is that now they know where 80% of their time should be spent moving forward. If you add to this mix, a few new strategies, continuous training, and a bit more evaluation, you’ll find yourself developing a system to stay ahead of the roller coaster so many find themselves on when marketing ineffectively.
ARE YOU PREPARING YOUR GOALS TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN 2012?
ENTREPRENEURS CAN LEARN PREPAREDNESS SKILLS AND UNSHAKEABLE CONFIDENCE FROM MICHAEL JORDAN
Michael Jordan was being interviewed regarding how he would respond if he were faced with 0:01 second left on the clock at Game 7 of the NBA Finals, and his team is down by only one point. He’s holding the ball at the free throw line, giving him two shots. If he makes it, his team wins their first ever championship, but if he misses, they lose. The questions the interviewer, Susan Guzzetta, posed to him that day were the same ones I want to ask of you if this were your situation:
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How would you feel?
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Would you be nervous?
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Would you be distracted by all the opposing fans screaming, stomping and waving their hands, purposefully attempting to move you off your game by breaking your concentration?
“Michael”, she said “How do you handle an uncomfortable situations like this, whether it’s in basketball, business or life?” And what he said, as business owners/entrepreneurs, we can take to heart and implement ourselves! He said, “That’s easy, that situation wouldn’t bother me because I would have already disciplined myself to make sure I had already prepared for success in that or any other situation!”
Are you? Are you disciplining and preparing yourself for success in every area of your life? Are you hoping and wishing that this is the year that will be different, but haven’t made the plans necessary to see it come into fruition? Or are you taking the steering wheel of life, and making plans, setting goals, and practicing the preeminent skills necessary for you to BE prepared to be a SUCCESS in 2012:
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Set GOALS in every aspect of your life and business, specifically high impact goals which will most affect the change or transition of your life/business
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Chunk them down to be bite sized
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Make a plan to accomplish them with a
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Create a date by which each goal be accomplished
Remember, without a strategy, you’re just wishing, just as you’ve done every year! This is the year to take a wish and make it a believable PLAN of ACTION whether you’re a boomer, Gen X’er or Millennial business person! Every generation needs an ACTION PLAN. Then once you have this, don’t stop there, go one step further and hire a coach to hold you accountable, and to support and cheer you along the way. Do each of these steps and I can guarantee, with this you will gain unstoppable confidence and will reach your goals in 2012.
Want to Learn to Blog, and Need a New Website?
Bea is offering her fabulous blogging program. This can then be your new website, like I did.
WHAT BEA SAYS ABOUT HER PROGRAM:
BEFORE YOU REGISTER:
This program is not well designed for the true beginner (meaning you have never touched a blog in the past.) It is designed for a self-starter who enjoys weekly participation in a live group and who also enjoys self-paced online training via a library of training materials and video tutorials. If you are brand new to blogging, I recommend considering one of our blog mentoring packages below , which will help get you ready for the Become a Blogging Maniac Program.
ABOUT THE BECOME A BLOGGING MANIAC START UP PROGRAM
PLEASE NOTE: We will be using the WordPress self hosted (meaning the blog is hosted on your own domain) blogging tool for this course. You will need a WordPress blog hosted on your own domain. If you use another blogging tool such as Blogger or Typepad, you can still benefit from the program, but the bulk of our materials presented will focus on using WordPress.
If you are in need of a hosting company that easily installs WordPress using a one-click installation feature, please contact http://Hostgator.com or http://BlueHost.com .
If you currently have your own website, and you would like to manually install WordPress to your existing website, please visit this link for installation instructions:
If you want your blog to match the current look and feel of your website, you will need to hire your designer or contact Bea Fields at beafields@beafields.com for names of someone who can help you with this.
PROGRAM DETAILS AND DATES:
This Webinar is held on the following dates via webinar and telephone: (PLEASE NOTE: We are not going to be using Voice Over IP during these calls. The telephone number is not toll free, so if you do not have unlimited long distance, I recommend purchasing a 1 cent or 2 cent per minute phone card with a company like http://callingcards.com or http://pennytalk.com ).
Call Dates:
Monday, October 24 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Monday, October 31 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Monday, November 7 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Monday, November 14 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Monday, November 21 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
Monday, November 28 from 1:00-3:00 PM Eastern
(All calls are both video and audio recorded for later viewing)
Faciliator: Is Business Coach Bea Fields
Benefits:
The Become a Blogging Maniac Start Up Course is designed to teach you how to become fully comfortable with the set up and technology side of running your own website using a WordPress blog platform. At the same time you’ll gain influence and credibility with your niche’.
For cost and all the details, click on the icon above.
The link above provides Sue with an affiliate fee, but does not increase your cost.
Over 20 Values an Executive Coach Provides
The Key Benefits of Enlisting a Business Coach 
The other day I was meeting with a woman who asked me, “Sue I know what a Life Coach does, but I don’t know the purpose of an Executive/Business Coach?” Well, it’s not counseling, and it’s not consulting, although I shift into this mode frequently. The best way I can describe it is for you to think of a coach of an Olympic Athlete. Now, that elicits exactly what we do, but for a business leader. We are your greatest supporter, your cheerleader, and a bit of a velvet brick. Our purpose is to ensure you become successful:
- To challenge, develop, and assist you in improving your leadership skills.
- Uncover and develop your unique leadership style.
- Provide essential feedback regarding gaps in your skills and abilities. Discovering feedback in a safe, private environment.
- Reveal so you can abort any self-sabotaging ways which would jeopardize your leadership and your job.
- Expedite the improvement of your time management and organizational skills.
- Help you to develop greater abilities in making appropriate, time bound decisions.
- Establish concrete goals for change and progress.
- Someone to hold you ACCOUNTABLE to do the things you know you need to do, to become the leader you aspire to be.
- A uniquely rich development opportunity to truly discover all you were meant to be.
- Have a non-partisan, non judgmental, objective third party who is an impartial sounding board.
- Assistance to execute key business initiatives.
- Help in balancing work and life priorities.
- Cultivate exceptional ability to influence those you lead.
- Development of your unique personal mission, vision, and values.
- Reduce turnover while building loyalty and retention.
- Successfully navigate the white waters of conflict.
- Enhance and fine-tune your decision making skills, learning to appropriately evaluate business risks, while navigating any politically entrenched environment.
- Inspire peak performance in employees by employing fresh leadership insights.
