multi-generational – Media! Tech! Parenting!

Have you been ever in a work situation where you feel especially old — as younger colleagues occasionally roll their eyes, proudly demonstrating their up-to-the-minute technology skills? Or maybe you’ve seen more experienced workers shoot down younger worker’s ideas. Lots of people in mid and late career periods, well people of all ages really, note these frustrations. It’s not all about age or technology — it’s about working together.

…and guess what?

Teams with differing ages and skills are often the most productive. While technology skills are important, collaborative skills and teamwork are more significant. In today’s fast-changing world, we are spending considerable effort teaching tech-savvy students how to work together with people who have differing perspectives and different kinds of ideas. Twenty-first Century employers are on the lookout for workers who can collaborate.

Sometimes older and more experienced team members offer points of view that add innovative problem-solving puzzle pieces to a team’s project. Younger workers can push limits and eagerly try new things. Older workers can also be skilled mentors. Skilled leadership, the ability to help people form a cohesive team, is a key to success.

Read, Why Multi-Generational Teams Are Best, over at bNet, the CBS Interactive Business Network.

Two broad reasons that a variety of age groups work together well and produce better results: Continue reading “Multi-Generational Teams Do the Best Work” →

IBM social networking — Read the entire article.

Perhaps the parents of digital kids don’t have to worry quite so much about the focus on

According to a San Jose Mercury News report, IBM is exploring ways to use social media to improve its business practices. The company, working with San Jose State University graduate and undergraduate students, has identified potential ideas, related to social media, to connect and communicate.

The article, IBM Sees Students’ Facebook as More than a Waste of Time (yes, the headline could be grammatically tightened up),describes how the students, with so much experience using social media, are presenting all sorts of ideas that can possibly transform the connections that employees make with one another and with customers.

Another example that demonstrates how multi-generational groups that include (and different perspectives) can come together to make good discoveries.

BONUS: This type of activity prepares students to understand and work in the adult world.